Last Friday night Steve and Kraig picked me up for poker night down in Manchlanta with Dick and some other guys we play with normally. It was only the second time I played with them, having never really had the intestinal fortitude to try my shoddy poker skills out on anyone other than a computer monitor. I went in with the sole goal of not being the first one out in any of the games and not going all in on the first hand. This should give you a good indication on how the first poker night went for me.
The first game came and went and I was the 2nd person knocked out out of 7 guys. I picked up some things that I figured might help in the future, even watching the hands I wasn't playing gave me a little more insight into how I can improve. I mean, I still am not sure if 3 of a kind beats a flush or if 4 of a kind beats a straight, so there's still a lot for me to learn.
And yes, that is 100% true.
The second game started and I won the first 3 hands, and before I knew it I knocked each and every guy out and won. Skill really was only about 20% at best in this equation, I was dealt amazing cards the entire game - I got a Full House three times, twice I hit it on the flop, and I folded a Full House that I would have hit on the river. Crazy.
The third game started of much like the first - I won the first two hands and then Steve started winning a few. Between the two of us we knocked everyone out and because of the way the rules are that we agreed upon before we started we tied for first. When it gets down to 2 guys playing if the difference in chips between the two guys is $10k then you split it, otherwise you could be playing heads up for hours and we try to get in as many games as we can.
The fourth and final game turned out to be a marathon. At least a marathon I can envision myself running someday - by getting knocked out within the first 30 minutes of what would be a 2+ hour game. It was crazy. I was knocked around when I had a Full House with 10s and the guy playing against me in the hand had a Full House with Queens. Damn bitches. It wasn't long before I was done for the night as that hand took most of my chips but I watched Steve go to the brink of defeat and ended up coming back like the Sox did against the Yankees in the ALCS. It was a beautiful thing to watch. Between the two of us we won 3 of the 4 games and even though it was past 1:30am when I walked in the door it was well worth it.
Maybe for next time I'll try to learn what beats what...that might help me.
