Been awhile since I had seen a pocket pair.
That happens.
Even with a fast dealer cranking out 28-30 hands an hour, you might on average only see a pocket pair every dealer down or 30 minutes.
But there I was under-the-gun with two black 10s staring me straight in the face. Twenty miles, an old-timer once called the hand, or 20 miles of railroad track.
Pushed out a raise but it inspired absolutely no respect, and five people called.
Considering there was a decent chance at least one overcard would flop, our hero was pleased with a rainbow flop of 9-6-6.
Pushed out a flop bet and two of the five people were still interested.
The dealer, a woman who was nowhere near 28-30 HPH (hands per hour), burned very deliberately and put down another 6.
Our hero was starting to like his hand even more. Sixes full of tens would handily beat sixes full of nines, which would surely pay off. Though it was entirely possible the remaining other two players were drawing to overcards, such as K-J. Our hero does think from time to time.
One more time, the dealer burned and turned, and a lovely red 10 fell on the river. Overkill, our hero thought smugly to myself, and pushed out another bet.
A woman in the middle abruptly dumped her hand, but a guy in the No. 10 seat quickly called and even turned up his hand out of order.
I know this guy. He always sits in the No. 10 seat. He is always well-dressed and always wears a gimme cap, usually one from a Las Vegas casino. The cap shields his eyes, and he rarely shows any body language. He doesn’t gets out of line, but he always pays off.
Oh, his hand?
He showed K-K and was ready to claim the pot until the dealer pointed out 10s full of sixes beat sixes full of kings. (If she hadn’t, I was more than willing to point it out.)
The hand required a little reflection. My pocket 10s had actually been behind all the way.
What if had raised on the turn? Our hero would certainly have slowed down, crediting him with a big pocket pair or even A-6. But had he followed through with a turn check-raise and a river bet, out hero would have been obligated to fire out a river check-raise.
Was I running good? Or just oblivious?
Funny game, poker.
