If you are sitting at home reading this article, chances are you’re just like me – you can’t get enough of online poker. Whether you’re in it for the thrill of the game or you’re trying to make a living, playing online offers several distinct advantages over the “live” game. The online game is a faster game, which essentially means more and potentially larger pots and more risks per hour than a standard B&M (brick and mortar) game. When you see a larger volume of hands, chances are that during each session you play, you are bound to see something that leaves you speechless, shaking your head, mystified, or (shudder at the thought) having to re-buy. In this column, each month we will take a look at a different hand that fits the previously mentioned criteria. My involvement in the hand notwithstanding, I will try to remain as impartial as possible, and for the hands that I didn’t win, I will keep my bitterness to a minimum. (At least, this is my intent)

I was playing at a $3 - $6 NL Hold ‘Em game over the weekend. I’d been playing for about an hour, and built up my stack from my original modest buy-in of $200 to about $550. I was feeling pretty good, as my reads on other players were pretty solid and I was getting a lot of favorable flops. In the big blind, I looked at my cards to see Ks/As - doesn’t get much better in the big blind. Pre-flop, the player to my left raises to $12 and one player calls, everyone else folds including the small blind. I decide to call here because I am in the least favorable position on the table and will be first to act post-flop.

Furthermore, I can’t imagine my opponents putting me on a suited Big Slick! So there is a modest $34 in the pot. The flop comes down and I like what I see – Qs, 8s, 9s – that’s right, I flopped a nut straight! Not wanting to scare anyone off prematurely, I check with the intention of coming over the top and check-raising. Sure enough, the original raiser bets $20 which is immediately raised to $40 by the second player. Slow-playing is clearly not an option. I think for a second and re-raise to $80 which both players call! “I’m thinking to myself, what the heck do these guys have? Do they not see the flush on the board?” The turn card is a harmless 5c.

I come out firing and bet $100. The original raiser calls and is all-in and the 2nd player raises to $200 which I immediately call. There is now $674 in the pot and I have $300 or so left and the other player has $400. It is clear we’re fighting this one to the proverbial death while the all-in player just sits back and watches. The river card comes down with the 9d. Not the card I wanted to see because now there is a full house possibility on the board. I bet $150 and my opponent raises to $300 effectively putting me all-in should I call. I pause for a moment and look at the $1100+ pot and feel my stomach turn. I’m thinking this guy hit his full house, but then again, he may be bluffing and having invested so much in this pot, I call and go all-in. (Note – The fact that a loss here, though somewhat demoralizing, would not bankrupt me, alleviated my anxiety ever so slightly..)

The cards flip over and my stomach turns even more. Player one who was all-in had pocket 9’s giving him quad 9’s for the main pot. Player two’s cards reveal pocket 8’s giving him a full house 8’s over 9’s giving him the substantial side pot. While my Ace High flush, my precious nut flush on the flop is left with nothing but the flashing prompt all online poker players dread…”You have insufficient funds, please re-buy to continue.”

Not a great outcome for now, but a great hand nonetheless. As they say, “that’s poker.” Until next time, may the chips fall your way.

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