When sitting down to play a game of poker how do you define the word LUCK. Have you heard someone say, "Man, you were Lucky"or "Man you ARE Lucky"(I’m sure you have all heard it). But my question is this...how long can you stay lucky? I have seen many scenarios at the tables where luck outweighs any measure of skill by any player. One scenario to show such luck could be as follows(this is only one, and there have to be many, many variations).
I am sitting in the Big Blind with a pair of Queens and the table all folds before the flop, except the player in the Small blind who not only matches the BB but boldly ups the ante to twice the BB. Now we are only starting out so this bet is only $40. I fiddle with my chips and double check to see if the two beauty Queens are still in front of me and haven’t magically changed to an offsuite 2 7. No they are there and it is time to deal with this other player. Hmmmm.....only doubled the blind....I think this guy/gal is sitting on AK or a middle pair. So I pump the bet before the flop(something I always preach against doing)up to $250(actually meant to only go to $150 but my slider had just been lubricated). My reasoning with this bet is that if I am called I still have a great chance, and if my worthy apponent folds, I pick up some easy pocket change. What’s this...All-In(the dreaded All-In)...No Way my friend I am pot commited, show me your best. The hands are revealed and I’m looking at a challenge from a pair of Jacks(not far off from what I had surmised). Down comes the flop of non-descrimitive little cards in a rainbow of colours and shapes. My heart skips a beat and with a life saving gasp out comes ...YES...White knuckling my keyboard I anxiously await the turn....Oh no...No Way...It is a Jack. Out of my chair and wiping my brow, all I can hope for now it to catch a Queen and float my boat on the river. The river falls to the sea of green and what should appear(No, not Santa and his tiny reindeer), but if you guessed a Queen, guess again...unbelievable overkill...down comes the 4th and final Jack.
Well, whether it was a feeling this player had or just random abandonment, he came out the victor. This had to be blind luck, for what are the odds of catching 4 of a kind against an over pocket pair. Hey, I congratulated this player on a great hand. I know if our seats had been reversed that I would have folded the Jacks and moved on, but then maybe I don’t feel I’m a lucky guy.
I won’t go on to show an example of a BAD BEAT, for I am sure that everyone at some time has experienced this phenominum. Bad beats or Bad Luck(or maybe it is just bad betting)are something that is not going to go away, so we have to learn to live and deal with it. I guess what we should do is take these experiences and try to learn from them so that we don’t fall into the same trap again. Yeh, right, this is easy to say but I know from experience that once you get the rush of adrenaline it is hard to choke it back. Guess I will just continue on and take the good with the bad, hopefully more of the good. It has been said that if one carries a heavy burden, they must learn to unbuckle the straps and let it drop, for that is the only way one can move on.
As Always...Good Luck to All at the tables...Keep your cards close and Beware the All-In
04-09-2008
BAD BEAT or BAD LUCK 
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