Yeah, OK. It’s all external dark forces, nothing you are doing wrong. Keep thinking like that, you will go far. Off into the wild blue yonder. SMH
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I’d love to think something else. Once I get caught up with variance over the next 200000 hands, winning 90% of my all ins, I’ll apologize and take it all back.
For example, why would anyone ever bet here after the flop?? Why didn’t I call when I finally hit on the river? Because I knew V had A4 by that point. It was only obvious since they checked every street that I had no value here. How often do I see a board go higher than 8 when I’m holding AK AQ?
Here’s a hand–a beautiful straight–that falls in the painful category for my friend Cherie. I’d like to have been the guy with the full house! Hand #787371501 · Replay Poker
How’s this for crazy… Flopped 2K ended up with quads… Lost to 4 A’s…
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Heres why playing after a chip sale is high variance, I suppose you want people to play hands like that but still hurts lol. Second time on this table that I got sucked out by a rubbish hand that hit a straight on the flop (after a big bet with AA that time), got to be in it to win it tho, but 2 million down on the session eek. I will soldier on…
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Hi Skirmish47,
I have my own link on here where I tell poker stores.
Mine starts with “I worked in poker and blackjack for 35 years”.
I will write one Bad Beat story on here for you that I think that you will like, and then I will tell some more stories on my link.
Ok, here goes.
I started dealing poker back in 1973 in Las Vegas for a Mob controlled casino, the Aladdin Hotel and Casino, pretty much in the center of the Las Vegas Strip. The casino was Mob owned, but my boss was Johnny Moss who rented space in the casino for his own privately run poker room. We were paid by Johnny, not by the Mob. We had the highest limit poker games in town with the largest pots. We had one to three limit seven card stud for the tourists and other games including no limit Hold’em for the professional players who mostly lived in Las Vegas. There were no daily run single poker tournaments in Las vegas at that time, so all of our games were live action. Some of the individual pots were over $1,000,000, in cash and chips in the middle of the table for just that one hand being played. But that was the rare exemption. Most of the large pots were between $50,000 and $300,000 on a daily basis.
I had just seated myself at the table to deal, and it was about my third hand when it hit the fan. The game was $300/$600 limit seven card stud high only. A lot of big names were at the table, Johhny Moss, Puggy Pearson, Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim. Eric drake, Dirty Frenchie and two more players that I did not recognize. The action was pretty fierce with multiple raises and on sixth street, Eric Drake went all-in on the second raise during that betting round. There were five players still in the hand at this time, including Eric.
Now Eric was a nice guy. Everyone liked him and all the dealers enjoyed dealing to him except for one thing. Although he was considered one of the best poker players in the world, he had a fatal flaw in his playing technique. This should explain what I mean.
Eric was once interviewed by a magazine and was asked the question, “How would you rate yourself as a world-renowned poker player?” His answer, “Without being modest, I would consider myself to be the 10th best poker player in the world.
Unfortunately, I always seem to be playing with the other 9”.
No truer words were ever spoken. Eric liked to play high stakes poker. If he would just drop down a notch and play with other players, he did great. But something drove him to keep playing with the world’s best. Now mind you, he would sometimes win, but his losses more than made up for it. Not only was he out classed, but he was also unlucky when he played with these players.
Now here is my poker story which will show you what I mean by his bad luck when playing with these players. This pot, with Eric all-in on 6th street, probably had over $30,000 in it. When he went all in, he stood up at the number 4 seat to watch the rest of the hand play out. When the raises stopped on 6th street, I carefully dealt out the last round of down cards to the players. As I was dealing them, Eric said out loud to the table, “Dealer, you better give me a Joker, because I think I am going to need it.”
The players started carefully peeking at their last down card to see what lady luck had given them. Before the highest hand could start the betting round, Eric said, " Now this is what I call a dealer. I asked him to give me a Joker, (at this point he turned his seventh down card face up on the table for all to see),
and he gave me a Joker." Not a word was spoken at the table while we all looked. There for all to see, was an actual Joker, at a table playing a game that did not use jokers.
Before I dealt him the card, he could have said anything. “I need help dealer”, or “Lady Luck, please be kind”. He could have said any number of things, but he actually asked for a Joker, and got one. Now the yelling started, in earnest!. I called over the floor person and explained the situation. He looked just as confused as I did.
Eric actually looked happy. He knew what was going to happen.
Before I go any further, all of you readers, make your own decision of what the floor person is about to say. Ready?
“Players, this is a fouled deck. All players will be given back any money they have in the pot. This hand is dead”. Now these were mostly professional players, they all knew the rules. Most of the yelling now was how come this could have happened, with most of the players looking at me and thinking about all those holes already dug in the nearby desert ready to be filled in.
The rest of the story is now anticlimactic, but not for me. This is where it helps to have an experienced dealer in the box. The floor person asked, and I had to relive the whole hand for him and who was in the pot and how the betting went. After I told him all of that, while the floor watched, I started taking money out of the pot to represent the action, starting on 6th street and going backward. If I remembered correctly, when I was finished, there would be no money left in the pot. Thankfully, I remembered the betting from beginning to end, or end to beginning, and the correct amount was given back to each player. This whole hand, from beginning to end probably took over 15 minutes.
I was pulled from the table and the third degree of questions started. “WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!!!”
We finally figured it out and I was not to blame, (this time).
It seemed that this day we had an unusual game being played at another table. Five Card Low Ball Draw. Just about the only game of poker played with an extra Joker in the deck as a wild card making it a 53-card deck. In the podium up front, they kept a replacement setup set aside when they need the decks changed at that table. Just before I came to my table, the dealer called for a setup and, sure enough. that setup was brought to this table by mistake. When it was brought in, the dealer missed seeing the joker when he spread the deck before using it. Back in the 70s, it was not standard practice for the dealer coming into a table to count the deck early in his 20 minute down. Anyway, evidently the joker was not dealt to any player until Eric said the magic words.
I mean, what are the odds. Asking specifically for a Joker in a game that does not use Jokers and getting one? Only Eric.
A little long, but I hope you enjoyed it.
The next bad beat story in my link will be about when one of the poker dealers at the Dunes where I was working was threatened by a player at the table.
The Dunes was a Mob owned and run casino.
The player in question worked for Tony Spilotro as a hit man.
Happy Holidays, David
That’s a great story! (Not sure it qualifies as a bad beat, though.)
I met Eric Drache—was lucky enough to be chatting with him for about 20 minutes at the finals of the '88 WSOP at Binion’s, watching Johnny Chan knock out Erik Seidel. His most memorable line didn’t even involve poker: Someone came up and gave Eric a message; “Excuse me,” he said. “I’ve got a collect call from a guy doing life in prison.”
Thanks for the story. I’ll check out your forum thread.
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I don’t know, you could be right, but the guy with the best hand did not just win over thirty thousand dollars. What do you think he was thinking?
By the way, did Eric still have that pageboy haircut from the 13th century?
It was a long time ago – but yes, I believe he did!
Here’s a fun one that happened yesterday - not really a “bad beat” given the hands held - but the WAY the “slightly disagreeable beat” came about - ouch!
Nine seat table, the cards have been particularly cruel to me - virtually nothing to work with every hand, and it’s a tight table - one of the longest stretches I recall seeing nine people still in their seats, and blinds are growing. I find myself holding down the fort firmly in 9th place with a dwindling stack. I’m dealt pocket tens and, getting a bunch of folds before me, I decide it’s now or never to take a shot at at least doubling up, so I shove. Only one taker. We show and my 10’s are up against AKo.
OK, OK… If I lose with an ace or king hitting the board I can take it - I’m a big boy now! I was at the “go out now or continue going out slow” stage anyway, so there is something to being put out of my misery that is more appealing than continuing to slowly bleed out.
What was a little hard to take, though, was the board that hit the table:
2; 3; 2; 4; 5
Good times. Goooooooood times.
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It’s a cruel world out there sometimes…
Yep. “It’s a dog eat dog world and I’m wearing milk bone underwear.” (Norm from “Cheers”)
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You can decide if this constitutes a bad beat.
Years ago, I was playing poker at the Excalibur poker room in Las Vegas. Suddenly a lot of cheering began at a nearby table.
I finally squirmed around enough bystanders to see the board.
The game was $4 & $8 Texas Hold’em and it was part of a $27,000 bad beat jackpot in progress. I read the board and then looked at the hands. Yep, sure enough, two players were showing a straight flush in hearts, one on the top end and one on the bottom. Qualifiers for the bad beat were three Aces full of Jacks, or better, beaten by any four of a kind or better. Everyone kept cheering, but me, I just backed away, looking sad and really feeling sorry for what was about to happen to all 9 players at the table. Having been on the floor myself for many years, I knew what was about to go down, and it was not going to be pretty.
So here is what I just saw on the table. The flop was 5(Hearts), 6(Hearts), and the Queen of Spades. At this time one player was holding the 3 & 4 of Hearts, the other player was holding the 9 & 10 of Hearts. Neither player really had anything at this time, but there were definitely possibilities yet to come. I have no idea of how the betting went or how many playing started playing that hand, just that at the showdown only two players were left still holding cards. The turn card came the 7 of Hearts giving the 3/4 a straight flush in Hearts. The other player had just made a medium size Heart Flush. The river came out. The 8 of Hearts, giving the 9/10 of Hearts a higher straight flush. We now had a new winner of the pot, and each player was holding a straight flush. That’s why all the cheering. The payout of a bad beat at that time was 50% to the looser of the hand. 25% to the winner of the hand (plus the pot). The rest of the players who were dealt into the hand were entitled to split the other 25% between them, that would give each of them approximately $1,000 each, a little more in this case because there was an empty seat at the 9 handed table.
Ok, can anyone see the problem yet? Read it again and write it down if that makes it easier to visualize.
Ok, let me clarify it a little.
One hand did not qualify for the bad beat jackpot.
The manager on duty came over and immediately saw what I had seen. He looked at the players and said,“Sorry players, this hand does not qualify for a bad beat jack pot.” He waited for the noise to quiet down and held up his hands for silence. When he finally got it (some of the players had to help him getting others to be quiet so that the manager did not have to yell). It was quite evident that the manager was not going to start yelling over the noise. I was very proud of him. He handled this problem to perfection. (By the way, this is the first time that I had actually seen this play out in front of me in over 20 years in the poker business). He finally explained to the players that yes, there were two straight flushes on the table, but one of them did not qualify as being part of a bad beat jackpot. As everyone knows, in the game of poker, every player must play his best 5 out of his 7-card hand. The one player did qualify with a 10 high straight flush using both of his hole cards. But the other player had an 8 high straight flush that did not use the lowest of his two-hole cards. That is also a condition of a bad beat jackpot in the game of Hold’em. Each player must use both of his hole cards to qualify for his best possible hand and a 6 card straight flush is just not part of the game. Sorry. He had the 3 and 4 but the 3 did not count as part of his best 5 out of 7 cards. His straight flush was the 4-5-6-7-8 of hearts and the 3 did not play. Sorry.
Everyone studied the board and it started to make sense. The manager was right. The rules were clear. This was not a bad beat jack pot qualifying hand.
Here is where it got even more interesting. The player holding the3/4 did not want to use the 8 on the board. He had a seven high straight flush and that was that. The manager took him over to the side and the two talked for awhile, but the player remained adamant. He did not want to use the 8 and wanted to complain to a higher authority. The manager explained about the Nevada Gaming Commision and even wrote down the telephone number for the tourist to call to make a formal complaint.
That was the end of the excitement for the day.
I had to get the rest of the story from the Poker Room Manager,
We both knew each other enough to talk poker stories now and again and knew each other’s names and background. The poker world in Las Vegas used to be a very small community.
It seems that about a week after the excitement at the table, an official investigator from the Nevada Control Board showed up to hear the other side of the story. She already had everything that the tourist had to say, now she wanted to hear what the manager had to say in order to make a final determination.
She asked for a copy of the poker room bad beat jackpot rules used at the Excaliber. When the discussion ended, she made her decision. “Pay the man”
The manager was caught off guard and simply asked “Why”
She said I have read your jackpot rules and they do not state that the player cannot use both of his cards if he wishes to do so. The manager replied that that is a basic rule of poker and is known as such everywhere. It just is! She said that it is too bad that they did not list that rule along with all the other rules that were posted on the wall of the poker room for all to see.
He said, look, it is a generic rule, everyone uses it. We have booklets up front explaining each game that is played here.
We even have a special booklet up front for the players to read explaining the general rules of poker. They were sitting in the manager’s office, and they both walked out to the front desk of the card room where all the booklets were on display.
She took a copy of each, and they walked back to the office.
After looking through them she had read where it was stipulated in all poker games played in this cardroom that the players must play the best 5 out of 7 cards in each hand. There was no booklet on bad beat jackpots. Just the poster with the rules posted on the card room wall.
She thought about it and said, “ok, I will let you skate by on this one, but you must add that rule to the poster on the wall”
He said “Thank you, no problem.” He proceeded to reach in his desk and took out a permanent black magic marker, walked out of the office to the poster and right then added the rule for all to see. The agent just smiled and said thank you before leaving.
Well, I hope that is a story that you have not heard before.
I have many more stories posted on,
“I worked in Poker and Blackjack for 35 years”
I think the stories starting from when the Mob ruled Las Vegas are worth reading. You be the judge.
Have a Happy New Year,
David
Good thing there is no crying in poker. I lost in my first Muckers game on my favorite day, Friday 13th. Look at this one. 947800238 Is there anyone who would have folded?
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Been there, done that. I wouldn’t have folded either - but I’m pretty sure my thought process would have been something like “Hmmmm… she’s just bet like she’s got the nut flush… but I’ve got the nut flush… so if she doesn’t have the nut flush, maybe she has a full hou… ah, God Bless her if she does. Shove.”
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Thank you. I appreciate your reply. I was feeling great right up till that 2nd 9 falling. With an Ace in my hand, and on the table, it never entered my mind she would have AA down. That said, I still worried about the FH. By then, I was in to stay with a little poker prayer. I had such a great hand. grrrrrrrr
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At least you were nice enough to just post Grrrrr in the chat Sue 
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Here is mine,. This was a hard hand to lose. (514585926)
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Yes Bobby. That has happen to me several times. Stinks. That is a GRRRRRR hand. Good Luck at the tables.
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