Nut Low!

Playing poker while your irritated is something you shouldn't do, and one of these days I'll learn that lesson.  After being eliminated from the World Series of Poker Event #45 I decided that I'd sit down at one of the cash games in the Rio's spacious room.  I signed up for the $2/$5 No-Limit game, and it took about 15 minutes for me to get a seat.

My cash game session turned in to a quick nightmare for me as in the first three hands I was dealt two pocket pairs that turned in to sets (three of a kind) and an Ace-Ten hand that made two pair with the board.  The net result of those first three hands:  -$650.  Yikes!  I spent the next hour trying to recover some of that and was doind a decent job of that when the following hand was dealt.  I looked down and saw the 5d 3d.  I often times will play suited connectors like this as they play very well against big hands of players that don't look for these types of hands to be played.  Well, when I limped and three others limped I thought I was going to see the flop cheaply, but the player on the button had other ideas.  He raised it to $25.  I knew that at least one of the other three players was calling so I got my $20 in to the pot.  The flop hit:  K - 4 - 7, with two diamonds.  Now I didn't have anything, but I was drawing to a flush with my diamonds and a gutshot straight draw, needing a 6 to complete the straight.  I checked, with the plan of check-raising the preflop raiser.  The next opponent checked, and the preflop raiser bet $60.  I moved all in for $325, and the player squeezed between those two bets called the all in.  This got the original raiser out of the hand and showed his QQ as he folded.  The turn was a 9, and the river was a 2.  Neither was a diamond.  My opponent looked at me and said, "You're good.  Your hand is way good."  He was also waiting for me to turn over my hand.  My only response was, "I don't think so.  I've got the nut low."  In poker, the best possible hand in combination with the board is referred to as the nuts and the worst possible hand is referred to often as the "nut low".  Well, I had the nut low, so the +$700 pot went to the guy holding 6-high!!   Ironically enough, that was the 3rd nut low for that board.  The original raiser just commented on how "sick" the two of us must be to be playing the way we were.

My session didn't have much rebound to it, and before the session was over I found myelf down $1061.  The trip was taking a turn for the worse, but it would be the last time I would leave a cash game down for the remainder of the trip.