Bitches, Man!...Yet Again.

Sunday was an off day since the tourney that day was the women's event. There wouldn't be any extra action from busted out players getting into the cash games. The majority of the female players just don't do that as most men do. Monday was also a day off for me because it was Monday.

I went back to the Bike on Tuesday, hoping for alot of company. That much worked out with seven 5-5 NLH tables running. Other than that, things were the same as they had been the previous week. I had a bitch of a time getting things going (not the same "bitch" you are waiting for). After an hour plus, I was sitting with $300 on the SB with Ad-7d. UTG raised to $20, three others called, and I decided I was priced in...and I was dying to get lucky.

The flop was 3d-5d-Qc. This was what I had been looking for (obviously, three diamonds would have been better but...) so I lead out for $80. The preflop raiser paused and thought briefly before putting in a raise to $180. It folded back to me and I counted up to find $200 remaining (for those of you who had not been doing the math). This presented an interesting yet common situation where the raise was not enough for me to fold, giving the right price to call, but not leaving me with enough to just call. So I moved all-in.

To my surprise, the raiser went into the tank and was visibly upset. He must have held K-Q and now thought I had A-Q or a set. But he correctly called anyway. The turn was a 6 and I immediately realized how sick it would be if I took down the pot with a back-door straight. Instead, the river brought an Ace. So I missed the flush and straight but paired my Ace. He waited for me to show and I obliged sheepishly saying, "Well, I got the ace." Guess how he reacted. Shocked, then disbelieving, and finally heart broken.

That pot really set me on the right path. I won a bunch of small pots over the next couple hours. Then the table started to get short-handed. We had eight players but two of them were MIA. That was when I picked up a string of top starters. I raised with Ah-6h from the cutoff and got one caller. T-9-6 flop, I bet after it was checked to me and was called. He checked the turn so I did, too. He lead out on the river and I folded. A friend of his was certain that he had paired the 10 so I felt OK about my fold. The very next hand, I got A-Qo and raised again. Two callers this time. I missed the flop and the first player bet out strong...so I folded. Then I found A-A UTG and, of course, raised. This time, no one called.

That was fun. Thanks.

Even after all that, I still had a bunch of chips and the missing players returned so we were back to 8-handed. About one round later, I picked up Q-Q in the cutoff and raised. The SB, who had been fun and chatty all night, suddenly seemed peeved. He asked, "Are you ready for a bad beat? There's a bad beat coming. Sorry." I always welcome action, though, so I said it was OK. He called and the BB folded. The flop was T-T-6. He checked and I bet $50. He called quickly while still declaring that a bad beat was coming. The turn was a 9 that also put a flush draw out. Once again, he checked. I thought about slowing down but decided against it since it would be the wrong play having no real reason to think I was beat. So I made it $100 to go. My opponent started thinking and really seemed like he was done with the hand. I felt very confident. Then he called, leaned forward, looked right at me, and slapped the table saying "check dark." The river was a black 2 which changed nothing. If anything, my hand seemed stronger. But there was no value in betting. I'd only be called by a hand that beat me and he would probably raise me all-in if he paired even just the deuce and thought I was bluffing. Could I stand such a raise? No need to find out. I checked, too, and he said he had a 10. I showed my cards and he tabled his K-T.

Good timing on his part for sure. But he played the hand poorly. I would have called a sizable value bet on the river. He kept on about how he said a beat was coming and I simply replied that he had played it well. I was serious in as much as I was not upset and he had me fooled on the turn. This seemed to upset him a bit. I guess he hoped to put me on tilt. "I don't rattle, kid. Just for that I'm gonna beat ya straight!" Oh, wait. I didn't say that. That was Paul Newman (The Hustler).

I stayed in the game for a while longer but the table just didn't suit my game. I either got no action or was called by everyone trying to catch a busting hand so I couldn't follow up unless I hit the flop. I just couldn't be creative with them. I called it quits at 2:30am -65.

Alright, time for the non-poker content. Remember that chick I wrote about a while back? Her name is Gretchen. On the night that we met, we got drunk, then naked. We didn't go all the way but had a damn good time. We didn't end up going out for two more weeks because I was in Vegas the next weekend. But we did finally get together for drinks on a Friday. Everything went well. We had some great conversation at a beach cafe before finding a more secluded spot on the beach where things got intimate. That was pretty much it for the night.

The following day was Fred's b-day. He, Scott, and I played golf all day. Then Fred and I hit up a party at his friend's place (not a b-day party) where Gretchen also happened to be. She was already drunk by the time we got there. Still, she was happy to see me and I had fun briefly hanging with her. Then things got nutty. Gretchen and her friend, Ashley, threw each other in the pool. Apparently, its something they do all the time. While they swam, I mingled.

Later, they were out of the pool but not so dry and the woman of the house (Kim?) was freaked out over the idea that Gretchen would get her couch wet. Turns out she was falling-down-drunk by that point and ready to rest her eyes. Suddenly Kim and others were ushering Gretchen into the back yard toward the fire pit and bushes. They thought she was going to throw up but I could see she was just doubled over laughing at something. Even Ashley was worried about her because she was drunk herself and couldn't tell the difference. She was in no shape to help matters. I decided it would be best if I stepped in based on Ashley's state and the fact that Kim and her friends appeared they would rather Gretchen had not come to the party. They were all kind of catty.

End result...I was left with Gretchen by the fire pit while everyone else went inside to do some more shots. It was a while before Ashley and her husband were ready leave so I was stuck in the "nice guy" spot. I got back to partying after that.

The next day, I received a text from Gretchen thanking me for looking out for her and indicating that she didn't remember any of it. I gave it a couple of days before trying to get in touch with her again so she could recover from the weekend. When I finally did, she was slow to respond. Then it occurred to me that she had never answered the phone when I called. She did return a call once but everything else was via text. And even that was never a quick resonse. WHAT'S THE MATTER? YOU CAN'T CALL NOBODY? I decided to step back for the next week and see if she called or texted me. She didn't.

This all seemed weird...maybe even shitty. Ah, hell! It sucked. I liked her and we had plenty in common. I figured it was worth one more try. I texted on a Thursday with the ultimate pick up line: "So....Do you like...stuff?" Nine hours later, she replied with "Stuff?" I replied to that and followed up with another text to suggest we meet for drinks the next day. I never heard back from her. I expected more from someone my own age. Its a shame but she is officially a bitch. As SMC would say, "Redundant."

When I started this "Bitches, Man" series, I was in a foul mood thanks to Gretchen and some trying times in poker. While poker isn't always so good, at least it is sometimes. It seems women never are. Yet I find myself wanting to meet a new chick right now. I quess its been a while and I'm tired of the s.o.s.

Enough of that. I've got more poker to recap and I've been getting my pool game in shape. There's some good stuff to come.

SEEYa