Bad beat after bad beat.....a night of Bad Beats!

The Saturday after Christmas I went to my local home game.  They have been running a tournament bad beat jackpot, adding $5 to the buy-in for a bad beat jackpot.  It had recently gotten large (nearly 4K!) and the decision was made to separate it into 2 bad beat jackpots.  The large one is Aces full or better beaten, and the smaller one is 10's full or better beaten.

Early in the tournament, we hear whooping and hollering from table 2.  I started at table 3.  Table 2 was located in the living room,while tables 1 and 3 were in the kitchen.  Table 2 had hit the big bad beat.  3 Aces on the board, 2 players with pocket pairs, and Aces full had lost.

It was a rather uneventful night for me.  I lost some chips early, came back and had more than a starting stack for awhile, and then was card dead and couldn't even make a move for awhile.  With 27 players to start, we were down to 17 at 2 tables.  I had an M of 4, with the blinds having just increased.  I had been looking for a spot to push for some time, but I had no hand to even try.  The few times I had something marginal that I might have been able to shove, it had been raised ahead of me and I had to let it go.  Plus, being moved to this table when we broke from 3 to 2, there were a few unfamiliar faces and I quickly noticed a big stack not hesitating to call raises preflop and be involved in many pots.  I looked down at KQo UTG, and shoved.  The player to my left called, and everyone else folded.  Now, this player is solid, but likes to take risks also.  The later it gets, the worse he plays, as he tends to drink....A LOT.  Also, we both had bounty chips, and people tend to call off a little lighter with the bounties in play.  So, I flip my KQ, he says "You're way good" and shows Q9, and I say, "The way I've been running here lately, I'm sure you'll hit the 9."  Sure enough, he flops a 9, and I'm out.

Right before I had busted out, we hear more hollering from Table 2.  I am now at table 1.  The small bad beat had hit at table 2, Jacks full losing to a smaller Jacks full.  2 bad beat jackpots hit in 1 night, at the same table, and it was the only 1 I hadn't been at all night.  Granted, they weren't large payouts, but it still would have been nice.  Then, add in the bad beat I took when I got knocked out, and it truly was a night of bad beats.

I left and went to the local casino.  This was the night after I had played badly, missed all my draws, and lost 4 buy-ins while playing with Lightning36.  I started out slowly, missing draws again, but not really playing badly per se.  I transferred to a different table due to certain players at that table, including one from the previous night who had busted me once.  I started at this table with 3 good starting hands.  I had AKhh, raised pre, was called, flopped the A, and took it down with a C-bet.  The opponent was sure I was on 10's, and I thought maybe he had JJ or QQ, and niether of those was on the board.  He ultimately folded.  Very next hand, I get AKo, raise pre, and get called.  Flop was K-K-3, and I bet after it was checked to me.  Opponent folds, and I show to establish an image.  Next hand was AA and I raise pre and get no callers.  After that I had a dry spell for awhile, missing flops and leaking chips.  I was down to my final $100 when I got JJ in the BB.  There was a raise to $12, so I 3-bet to $35.  The preflop raiser called.  The flop was J high, 2 clubs.  I shoved the flop, not wanting to slow play with the flush draw.  Opponent calls, I show my set, the board blanks with no club, and the opponent folds.  I don't know if he had  big Ace, a pair, or a flush draw.  I proceeded to win a few decent pots, and work my stack up to a little over $400 when I look down at AJo on the button.  There was a raie from middle position to $15 from a player who joked that he couldn't beat me that night, as I had been slightly better in the hands we had played in thus far.  I re-raise to isolate him, making it $40.  It folds to him, and he calls.  The flop was A-K-3, 2 spades.  He checks, and I bet $75, just under the pot, and over half of his stack.  He pushes all in for $125 and I call.  He turns over A-10, no spades, and I dodge a 10 to felt him.  I leave a little while later, up $110 for the night.  Not bad after a slow start and a terrible night the night before.

For the record, I rarely 3-bet AJ or other equally marginal hands, but this table was raising pre-flop with marginal hands all night and I was reacting to the situation.  K-10, KJ, A-rag were all being raised preflop.  I was able to pick my spots, use position, and make some good plays to isolate with hands that I felt were good preflop and it worked in my favor on this night.