It's 6:30 am as of now, just got back home from the BBC state of mind. After a loooong day, i finally got to play some poker. The only table was the 5K max 50/100.It was my first time playing the big table, and for a guy like me with an almost non-existent bankroll, playing a 50/100 No Limit holdem game can be pretty intimidating. i buy in a measly 1K, just wanted to see some cards, maybe get to see a good hand and win a little money. im sitting with the big fish, Big wally, Misha, Barbiemanila, NickG, and checkpoint louie.

I'm sitting tp the right of Misha so my hopes of limping in on the big blind pre-flop is nil, what with his consistent straddling of the blinds. slowly my 10X big blind buy in is dwindling into oblivion, and im getting crap hands. on the big blind with 350 left to me, i go all in when everybody limped to me. i had 10h-5h and was happy to see everyone folding, then nick calls me. He had As-9s. My 10 spiked the river and so i win my first hand of playing real poker. Next hand i play is an As-Qs, with 3 callers to my pre flop raise. Flop hits 2 spades and a nothing card. i had the button, everyone checks to me, and i bet and get 2 callers. turn is nothing again, all check, so i bet more than 3X my first bet (about 700) and i get Misha to call "coz he likes my style" so he says. im thinking "damn im beat on this hand for sure!", but then Misha shows a spade flush draw too! turns out Big wally folded his Pocket queens on my turn bet! wow, at this point, my 350 all in is now almost 4000 in chips. (cash out! cash out!) so i say to myself "last hand, this is my last hand..."

i get A-K offsuit. trouble.

nick raises 300, so it's 400 to call for me, whcih i gladly do, thinking "at least i can fold if i dont hit the flop. everyone else folds.

Flop is K-Q-K. ohmygod. Trips with an Ace kicker. nickG checks, i check too. Turn is a 6. NickG checks again, bet 200, he calls. River is a 2. Nick goes ALL IN. WTF!

now im in some deep shit. What could he have? im thinking maybe A-Q? POCKET QUEENS? K-6??? no way, he raised pre-flop. i KNOW he doesnt have a king. i ask him "nick, what do you have? got pocket queens?" to which he coldly replies "No i dont." so i think about it for a looong time, my hearts' pounding, my hands are shaking. Im up 3K, which is a lot for a guy like me. im thinking nick is trying to make a play and steal the 1K plus pot.. but ALL IN? i got him covered, and i'd still have about 500 in chips left if i lose, and that did it for me. i reluctantly call, and he shows me POCKET QUEENS. pocket queens. he even asks me if i have the kings full. im now too numb to react. My burger suddenly tastes like paper and my iced tea like water. i cant believe i fell for it. i would have folded that any other time for sure... but he said he didnt have pocket queens without batting an eyelash. the burger still tastes like paper.

it takes me a while to pick up the pieces of myself on the floor before i go all in again without looking at my cards. i even hit the flush but got beat by a full house. i didnt even matter. it keeps on playing over and over again in my head...

"nick, you got queens?" "Nope, i dont." like a broken record.

i learned a lot playing those few hands at that table. I learned it in a painful, harsh way, but the first lesson in poker is NEVER EVER EVER believe in anybody but yourself at the poker table. they might be your friends outside the table, but poker is WAR. another lesson i learned is that REAL poker is when the stakes matter to you. they might be playing 50/100 the way i play the 10/20 game, but 3K is a lot of money to me. And the last lesson is that when you play at stakes that hurt, THAT is when you find out what poker is all about. Really, ive never felt better losing all that hard earned money like that. Whatta rush!

i played again and won some of it back before having to go home coz of the time.

one thing's for sure, I'll be playing more of that game. no more retard poker for me!

Watch your back! hehehe. (i should have folded! argh!)

"It's hard work, gambling, playing poker. Don't let anyone tell you different. Think about what it's like to sit at a poker table with people whose only goal is to cut you throat, take away your money, and leave you out back talking to yourself about what went wrong inside. That probably sounds harsh, but that's the way it is at the poker table. if you dont believe me, then your'e the lamb going off to the slaughter."-- Stuey Ungar, 3-time World Series of Poker champion, best card player to walk the face of the earth.