POKER HAND # 64

ROUNDERS 2.0: So it was 4:00 am, early Saturday morning. I was wasted in NYC and tired of sitting at a crowded bar. I left with a friend and took a cab to "Wall Street," a poker club in SoHo. Having recently seen Rounders, I was excited to play a few hands at a back door game in New York. I climbed the unassuming staircase to a generic apartment where an overweight Russian woman was eagerly preparing cantaloupe in styrofoam cups. Tony pointed proudly to his four tables, two of which were active. "We have a 10/20 limit, $100 minimum buy-in and a 5/10 no limit table, $200 minimum." Since I only had $100 on me, the choice was clear...I should have eaten some melon and gotten the fuck out of there. Instead, I ate some crumb cake and sat down with a $100 in front of me at the limit table. The guy two positions to my right had over $7,000 in chips on the table. I should have waited for him to leave, then jumped him outside. Instead, I lost $20 on the big blind. But I'm drunk, so I figure I'll double-up on the next hand, see a few more flops, then cash out. I see 9h-10h in the small blind. Two callers for the flop, so I raise. One caller. I put him on a low pocket pair. The flop gives me my heart draw. He checks, and I consider checking, but I have $50 at this point, so why not raise? Plus, I'm still drunk and I'm a really loose player when I'm sober. I raise, he calls. Since I was drunk, I can't remember the cards other than my two hearts. The turn comes, no heart, so I bet $20, hoping to scare him out and figuring that if he calls, all I need is any heart, a nine, or a ten. He brings me all in. He's got pocket fives. There's no heart on fifth street. I'm stunned. Where did all my chips go? Did I just lose $100 in five minutes? I went into the stairwell and smoked a cigarette, vowing never to play 10/20 limit poker with a $100 buy-in ever again.