Worst Week Ever

I’m cursed. I don’t know how it’s possible to run so bad. I’ve had my worst week ever in poker, and if you’ve been reading this blog, you know that’s a really low bar to get under.

I described my play to several pros I ran into at the WSOP, and they all said they would have played these hands the same way I did. I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong, but someone up there doesn’t like me. I entered the WSOP Mystery Millions Bounty tournament twice a day every day this week and four times on Saturday. For a $1,000 entry, you have a chance to get a $1 million bounty for busting out a player on Day 2 (Sunday) and the top prize of $1 million. I thought I had a shot. Here are just some of the bad beats I experienced this week.

Note: if you want a reference for poker lingo, click here.

Here was Friday:

I got dealt A3 and called a min raise. The flop was 232. The other player shoved. I called because I put him on a big ace. I was almost right; he had a small ace, A4. Still, odds were about 3:1 in my favor. The turn was 10. Odds were then almost 6:1 in my favor. The river was 5, giving him a straight. I busted out.

I bought back in. I got dealt J 10 in the big blind and called a min raise to get into a huge pot with 4 other players. The flop was KJJ. I bet big. Two players folded, two players called. The turn was Q. I bet big. One player folded, one shorter stack shoved. I called. He had KJ. I lost most of my chips.

I got dealt K6. The board ran out KQQQ4. Another player shoved. He hadn’t played like he had pocket As, so either had 1) a Q, which was unlikely with 3 already on the board, 2) a K, in which case we would chop, or 3) any other pair, in which case, I would win. Option 2 was most likely, so I called. He had a Q. I lost a lot of chips.

I rivered two pair, As and 4s. The other player had flopped a straight. I lost a lot of chips.

Very short stacked, I shoved with K9. A very large stack shoved, which was great because I only had to face one player. I said, “I need some luck; you’re ahead of me.”

She said, “Don’t be so certain; my hand isn’t so great.”

She showed K 10, dominating my K9. My fate was sealed when she turned a 10. I busted out.

Here was Saturday:

I entered very late, so I started with a small stack of about 25 big blinds. On the third hand, I got pocket As! I limped in under the gun, expecting someone to raise because all their stacks were much larger than mine. Instead, I got three callers. The flop was 2K5. I shoved. I got called by one player with pocket 2s. I busted out.

I reentered. On the third hand, I got AK. The giant stack to my right shoved. I called. He had AQ, which was great for me—I dominated him. Until he got a Q on the river. I busted out.

I wrote an article and napped in the lounge for almost 3 hours until the last flight of the tournament at 6 PM started up. If I made it to Day 2, I wouldn’t get much sleep in between, but I wanted that shot.

Within the first three hands, I got pocket Ks. I raised big and one player called. The flop was 5JJ. I bet big and he shoved. I folded and he told me he had a J. I believed him. I had lost a big chunk of my stack.

The next hand, in the big blind position, I got the worst possible starting hand in Hold ’Em poker, a 72 off suit. Someone min raised and I thought, I’ve been losing with the great hands, so I’ll try playing a really bad hand. I called. The flop was 345, which gave me an open-ended straight draw, so I shoved. He called with A2, giving him a “wheel,” which is the lowest straight but nonetheless better than my hand. An A would chop the pot and a 6 would give me the win, but neither came. I had one more rebuy.

I bought back in during the first break. I started winning a few hands and building my stack until I got a straight on the river, with A2345 on the board and a 6 in my hand. There were also three hearts on the board, and I didn’t have a heart. I bet very big and the other player shoved. If he was bluffing, it was a dangerous bluff because I could easily have a flush and call him. If he thought I was playing the straight on the board, he should have called me to see, in which case we would chop the pot. For any other reason, he should have folded. So I figured he had the flush, and I folded, having lost two thirds of my stack.

I immediately got A7 and min raised under the gun. Another player hesitated but called. A very short stack shoved. A short stack can call with almost any hand, so I called the shove. The third player shoved with a much bigger stack than mine. I figured luck was either with me or not, so I shoved. The short stack had AK. The big stack had pocket 7s. Between the two of them, my outs were gone. Only an A would save me. I would lose the main pot but win the bigger side pot. A K came on the flop and the remaining 7 came on the river. I lost to both of them and busted out. For the six entries in the last two days, I probably didn’t play more than four hours total, or, on average, about forty minutes for each $1,000 entry.

At one table, Juliet Hegedus sat across from me, and we talked a bit for the 5 minutes I played before I busted. She made final table at last year’s WSOP Ladies Championship and a long run in the WSOP Main Event. When I busted, I said, “I stink at this game,” as I stood and wished everyone good luck going forward. Juliet said, “But I’m sure you’re very good at your day job.” I was about to make a joke but stopped, then said, “You’re right.” It soothed the pain a little.

I still plan to play in the WSOP Main Event next week. The price is $10,000 and first place is $10 million dollars. However, I’m not feeling good about it. If my luck doesn’t change, I won’t last very long.

Bob Zeidman is a high-stakes recreational poker player. He created Good Beat Poker, a free online poker site using patented technology for audio and video—see and hear the other players at the table if you choose.