McJo's Poker League Chronicles

After very nearly not playing (I usually don't play Big Money Night), the reduced $10 fee and the realization that I could put off some work until later enticed me to jump in at the last second. I jumped into an early lead after a lucky Q on the river early on helped me take a big chunk out of Ray's stack and almost double up. That cushion proved to be helpful later when my luck turned and I found myself at low stack.

Thankfully, it wasn't as low as some stacks I've had, and the rising blinds never put much pressure on me. I steadily worked my way back with a series of modest wins (I twice had runs of three consecutive), and found myself in the Final Four.

My memory of exactly how the major hands went down is foggy (thanks for the Scotch, Ray), so please correct me if I'm wrong on these. I can't remember who took Randy out, but it likely was Heidi. (Seriously, folks — after coming in the top 3, including a win, at about half of her appearances, I think it's time to stop giving her any "newbie" charity.) Heidi then made a misstep against Seamus, which gave him a 2-1 or maybe 3-1 advantage over me.

That advantage was reversed when (I think I'm remembering this right) I hit a straight on fourth street and he didn't believe me. We kept trading blows at the $2K-$4K blind level for a while, but I finally (again, I'm not certain about this) I drew A-8 and an ace on the flop. Other cards came indicating a straight possibility. Seamus made a bold all-in, and I had to wonder if he had A with a better kicker or if he'd played a suited 8-9 for the straight. I finally decided my chip advantage was enough to risk it and called, and it turned out he was bluffing with nothing. A laudable way to go down, as he very nearly ran me off.