Three Kings. No, this is not a critique of a George Clooney movie. And it’s not the start of a Christmas story because it certainly has nothing to do with the greatest story ever told. That’s the hand I went all in with...and lost. It was the culmination of an amazing tournament I played on BorgataPoker.com. It was a tournament full of highs and lows, of huge and small pots and of good and bad decisions. The elements that make up every great poker tournament.
Last week I played in a $500 Guaranteed Deepstack tournament on Borgatapoker.com. For a $10 buy-in a player gets $10,000 worth of chips and tables full of poker players from every corner of the Garden State. The tournament was amazing. Big pots were won by several players and the stacks of chips rose and fell throughout the evening. Hell, even I was up over $50,000 in chips at one point. I was also as far down as $7,000 at another point in the night. But I managed to claw myself back to over $30,000 in chips when IT happened.
The Three Kings found their way to me. The one player I had my on my right was John1032. He was a very good player and even when he lost big pots, he managed to replenish his stack with good play and great decisions. I considered him my chief opponent. And I was right to do so.
Since I started playing poker I had always lived by the words of the writer Jack London who said “Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.” It’s a wonderful saying that applies far beyond the rails of a poker table. During the present tournament that saying slipped my mind because I thought my cards were that good. In actuality, relatively speaking, I guess the cards were not that good. Upon seeing the three Kings, I confidently went all in and the only other player that didn’t fold was John1032. He matched my confidence, called my bet and revealed an Ace High Straight. He played the hand perfectly.
Hopefully I will get another chance to play John1032 and the other players in a tournament during the month of July. I think this is one of the best months for poker that Borgata offers. If anyone has not experienced the Borgata Summer Poker Open, they have not truly experienced poker in New Jersey. Borgatapoker.com is offering several events online as well as many great tournaments in the brick-and-mortar casino. The Borgata Summer Poker Open runs from July 12 to the 29th, and is one of the premiere poker events on the East Coast. Being from New Jersey, the Jersey shore has always been a tradition in the summertime and the Borgata Summer Poker Open has become part of that ritual. So if you run into me online at Borgatapoker.com or see me in the brick-and-mortar casino, stop by and say hi and please give me some advice on how to play a hand with Three Kings.