Praire Band Casino.

Months ago my buddy Prasad asked if I wanted to go to an Indian casino, Prairie Band, on a Friday night. I gave my wife plenty of notice and that day was Friday last. Prasad was telling me how they spread a 2-5 game. I have never played above 1-2 before, but he said the game was pretty soft. It turns out I got myself into a game with a bunch of regulars. I picked a hell of a time to move up in limits. I had the worst run of cards I had ever experienced in my life. I saw AQ or AK four times. AJ, 33, 44, 66, 88, 99, JJ, and AA exactly one time. I got KK once in a chopped pot. I played for eleven hours straight. And the marginal hands I did play were getting drawn out on.

My best play of the night was when I started out seated at the feeder table. I get a walk with A7os in the big blind. Flop 7A5. Bingo. The small blind bets out. I smooth call and the button min raises. I go from bingo to uh oh. 57 flashed in my head. I had been playing with this guy for a while and he had been active. This is the type of bet he would make with that hand. The only other hand that fit for him here is A5. I could not put him on a set. The turn is a nasty 5. We check to him and he bets over 3/4 the pot. Now I know I am beat. The small blind folds and so do I. I flash him my cards and says "me too". I asked if he had top two pair as well. He only had an ace. His eyes got huge when he saw my lay down. I was right though. The button flipped up 57 for the boat. He was so proud. If he only knew.

I got moved to the main table and things just kept getting worse. Fold after fold. I finally got short and went broke on the nut flush draw. I reloaded and started to fold some more. There was this crazy Asian woman sitting at the table. She put the sickest beat on a guy to my left. She was calling all pre flop bets with any two cards. It got heads up on the flop of 423 when she bet and he moved all in. She called a $400 flop bet. The pot was over $500. The turn was a ten. The river was an ace. He had flipped over her jacks after the flop. She was standing holding her cards. She looked at the board, looked at her cards, back and forth. She very deliberately and smugly took one card out and placed it face up next to the the ace on the board, pairing it. He other card was a seven. Yep. A7 calls $400 bet on a 423 board. JJ guy was reeling while the rest of us salivated. She announced she would leave when she got to 2K. She only had $150 to go. If I could only get a hand.

The night wore on and I had little to no traction. We are playing five handed. The lady is still there. We are there because she is there. I get AJs and raise it up. She calls and we are heads up. Flop is Ac9h2d. I bet out $50, which is a little less than the pot. She calls. The turn is the 4d. I bet out the pot. She calls and only has $6 left. I toss the $6 in the pot as the river is dealt. It is the 9d. I flip over my hand. She does the same thing that she did with the JJ guy. Can you guess what she had? J2 of diamonds. She yells "frush" and tells the dealer to "give me his money" I had my hand to get paid and get screwed by the poker gods. I win that hand and I am back to even after a horrendous night. She goes broke soon afterward and reaches in to her pocket for $150 more. She busts again and goes to do it again. The dealer asks if she can short buy again. We all about scream YES!!! I finally pick up AA on the button. I raise it to $25 knowing she is going to call from the big blind. The board comes J high and we get it all in. She has J2 again and my aces hold. She has had enough and the game breaks. The last hand gets me to only a few hundred down.

Prasad tells me that there are usually three or four more like her. It was just a slow night. I was just not my night.