It’s never enjoyable to lose the largest pot you’ve ever played, but the sting intensifies when you lose it to 7-2.
Regrettably, that was precisely the outcome of my three-day visit to Firekeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek for the Mid-States Poker Tour.
Let me provide you with a summary of the sequence of events leading up to that moment, along with an overview of my entire weekend experience at the record-breaking event.
Thursday evening turns into Friday morning and brings a tough loss
My trip began when I arrived at the casino around 4 p.m. on Thursday. My plan was to quickly check into my hotel room and then dive right into the cash games. Since the tournament attracted a large number of players, I worried that the cash games might not start until later. However, I was relieved to secure a seat in a cash game shortly before 5:30 p.m.
I participated in a $2/$5 no-limit hold ’em game. Initially, the maximum buy-in for this game was set at $1,000. However, after the first hand, the maximum buy-in increased to match the largest stack at the table. Therefore, if someone had $2,000 on the table, I had the option to buy-in for up to $2,000 as well. At the start, I bought-in for $1,000. Unfortunately, I lost a few smaller pots, prompting me to add-on an additional $300. As a result, my total investment in the game amounted to $1,300.
Over the course of the next 10 hours, I gradually build up momentum and increase my stack to an impressive $3,000. At this point, with a stack of $2,700 in front of me, I find myself engaged in the largest pot I have ever played.
How the 7-2 got me
The hand commences as I glance down at pocket kings on the button, which is considered the second-best starting hand in no-limit hold ’em.
In front of me, I observe a player making a $5 call, followed by another player in the cutoff raising to $25. This cutoff player is relatively new, having joined the game in the past 10 minutes. Although I haven’t played with them previously, I notice they possess a stack of approximately $2,000 and have garnered a reputation for being highly active, as per the table talk. Such details hold significant value, particularly when encountering unfamiliar opponents.
After the action is folded to me, I choose to make a 3-bet of $85. Subsequently, my opponent in the cutoff swiftly calls.
After accumulating approximately $170, the flop reveals T-7-2 with two clubs. Surprisingly, my opponent initiates the betting with a wager of $175. Considering the insights gathered from our fellow players, this appears to be a favorable circumstance. I possess a higher-ranked pair of cards, and there are several potential hands within our opponent’s range that we can surpass. We currently have the advantage over a hand like top pair, pocket queens, pocket jacks, as well as various drawing hands like flush draws or an open-ended straight draw with 9-8.
After considering whether to raise or simply call, I opt for the latter since we still have a significant amount of chips. It’s possible that our opponent holds any of the three sets, so I believe making a 3-bet on the flop would be too aggressive given the deep stack situation.
The pot size increases to approximately $520 after our call. The subsequent turn card, which is a non-club two, greatly benefits our hand. None of the potential draws connect, and given that two twos are now on the board, it is less probable that our opponent holds pocket twos. Moreover, if our opponent had initially called with T-7, their two pair is now invalidated, and our hand emerges as the stronger one.
My adversary opts to fold once more, but this time for a sum of $500. At this juncture, I believe we are faced with a choice between making a call or going all-in. If we opt to call, the pot will increase to $1,500, and our opponent will have approximately $1,250 remaining.
It seems like our opponent has committed a significant amount of their chips, indicating that it may be the right moment to go all-in. By doing so, we can make them pay to see the next community card and even compel them to call with hands that are slightly inferior to ours, like queens or jacks.
After making the bold decision to go all-in, my opponent instantly called. To our dismay, he informs us that we must obtain a king in order to secure victory. Regrettably, luck was not on our side as the river fails to produce a king. To our astonishment, our opponent reveals a full house with a 7-2 hand. Losing a pot worth $4,000, this unfortunate outcome marks the largest cash game loss I have ever experienced, all due to 7-2.
Despite the unfortunate outcome of this particular hand, we managed to limit our losses to just $165. Fortunately, shortly after the disappointing loss with K-K, I found myself in a situation where I went all-in with K-Q on a board showing J-T-4, competing for a pot worth $1,800 against the same opponent. Miraculously, luck was on my side as a 9 appeared on the turn, securing the victory. This marked the conclusion of a highly volatile 12.5-hour session.
Friday gets weird
The following day, I engaged in a brief four-hour cash game session, resulting in a loss of $160. Although this session lacked excitement, there was a standout moment involving one of the strangest hands I have ever encountered in live poker.
All confusion breaks loose when, on the river with the board showing A-Q-T-9-K, my opponent places a bet of approximately $260 into the pot. I hold A-J and, considering that there is no chance for a flush on the board, I confidently determine that I have the strongest hand. To capitalize on my advantage, I decide to go all-in. However, to my surprise, my opponent also reveals a Jack, leading to a chaotic turn of events.
As I flip the Jack over, it slips from my hand and accidentally collides with the stack of discarded cards. The dealer promptly comments on “mucking the hand,” leading me to initially assume he refers to the card touching the muck.
After a brief moment, he seems to direct his gaze towards the second card, mentioning the requirement of revealing both cards, which is a customary rule. Approximately 10 seconds later, the second card is revealed, unveiling a King. Now I understand why my opponent is slightly frustrated; they initially had the best possible hand, only to be unlucky enough for me to get a King on the final card, resulting in a split pot. We’ve all experienced being in our opponents’ situation, and it’s never an enjoyable position to be in.
Sometimes, you have to count your money at the table (sorry, Kenny)
Once the card is revealed, it appears that we have agreed to split the pot, and the dealer proceeds to push chips in my direction. However, there is a slight issue as the dealer mistakenly sent all the chips to me instead of splitting them evenly.
No sooner had I stacked the chips than our opponent whispered something to the dealer, and in an instant, everyone at our table was aware of what had transpired.
Dividing the pot becomes more challenging since I have already arranged the chips. However, I am confident that I can determine the amount my opponent deserves for half of the pot. By verbally going through the game’s actions and paying my opponent for his preflop call and turn raise size, I believe I have covered half of the pot that was given to me. This calculation assumes that the maximum $5 rake and $2 jackpot drop are covered by the blinds.
As we sit at the table, thinking we have everything under control and can proceed, a sense of amusement fills me, leading me to share a laugh with a few individuals present. However, after a short span of about 5-10 minutes, as I pick up my stack of $100 black chips to shuffle, it dawns on me in an instant that I possess an excess amount.
I inquire the player who was my opponent in the previous round if they still consider themselves to be short on chips, and they confirm that they do. Based on my knowledge of my stack size, which was estimated to be between $900 and $1,000 before the mentioned round, I can sense that I have an excess of chips. However, I am uncertain about the exact extent of the surplus. All I am aware of is that I possess an abundance of black chips and when counting my stack, it appears to have an excessive amount of money. Although I am not completely certain, I do not believe I have participated in any significant betting rounds since the mentioned round took place.
I was aware that my initial stack for the hand was no less than $900. In the $1,000 buy-in game, I always replenish my chips with $100 whenever my total falls below $900, ensuring it stays above that threshold but never exceeding $1,000. Additionally, I remembered that I had begun the session with a deficit and my stack was below $1,000.
After a while, I disclose to my opponent that I estimate my initial stack to be somewhere between $900 and $1,000. In addition to that, I hand over an extra $150, resulting in my stack now totaling $950.
The thought lingers
I don’t recall if it was at that exact moment or shortly after, but it occurs to me that the dealer probably collected their river bet, which was around $200. In that case, the amount I owed should have been half of that, not $150. If anything, it seems like I may have paid too much, but it’s not a big concern for me as I’m not even sure if my calculations are accurate.
I continued playing for approximately three more hours, but I didn’t derive the same level of enjoyment from the remaining session as I typically do. Despite my efforts to engage in conversation and laughter with the others at the table, my mind was preoccupied with replaying the hand repeatedly, attempting to determine the correct amount and reflecting on how this situation could have been prevented.
When I return to my hotel room that night, everything finally clicks. It becomes evident that the initial payment given to my opponent wasn’t sufficient, leaving the only plausible explanation that the sum my opponent had wagered on the river had been added to the pot I received. My mistake earlier was not returning all of that money to my opponent, as it should have been solely theirs since I hadn’t matched that specific amount. Therefore, rather than owing them an extra $150, I actually owed them the exact amount bet on the river.
Although I couldn’t pinpoint the exact amount, I was aware that it fell within the range of $200s, indicating that I still owed them a portion of the money I had borrowed. Assuming this hypothesis holds true, it is likely that I had lost a small sum of money between the occurrence of the hand in question and the moment I noticed my stack was incorrect.
Luckily, my adversary in the game happened to be someone I had already encountered earlier in the day. We frequently engage in online poker matches together, so I was aware that he would participate in the tournament on Saturday. With this knowledge, I made a mental note to seek him out when the time came.
I managed to meet up with them and clarify my perspective on the situation. I also inquired about the exact amount they had wagered on the river. According to his statement, he believed it was $270. Assuming my understanding is correct, it meant that I owed him $120 (subtracting the $150 I had already paid). Consequently, I promptly settled the debt by giving him the $120, and we proceeded with the tournament.
Even though this hand dampened the fun for me somewhat the previous night, I currently feel much more positive and confident that the correct number has been reached. Reflecting on it, there were areas where everyone involved could have improved.
- I should have been more attentive to the situation, particularly during the division of money and pot, as soon as the confusion arose.
- If I had been more attentive, I would have counted my stack and asked my opponent to do the same when I discovered that I had received the entire pot. This would have ensured that both of us were satisfied with the stacks. Had I followed this course of action, I would have immediately noticed that my stack was incorrect.
Despite the chaotic nature of the hand, I must commend my opponent for handling the situation gracefully once the mistake was acknowledged. Although I observed a hint of frustration and irritation from him when I realized my stack was incorrect (which is understandable), he remained polite and engaged in a constructive discussion as we tried to determine the correct amount owed.
Instead of merely confirming the discrepancy in the stacks, I realize I should have taken the initiative to clarify with my opponent the precise number they had in mind.
Tournament time
After leaving everything in the past, the moment had arrived to seize our opportunity in the $1,110 Mid-States Poker tournament event.
Even though I mainly focus on cash games, I find great delight in participating in tournaments, particularly in a live setting. The electrifying atmosphere and the sense of anticipation present in the room are unparalleled to the experience of playing cash games.
On the last day of the event, which marked the third and final day, the tournament was showing promising signs of surpassing a prize pool of $2 million! The day began on a positive note as I managed to increase my initial stack of 25,000 chips to 45,000.
Regrettably, I found myself in a tough situation when I played a hand with pocket jacks and ended up losing 29,000 chips against an opponent holding pocket queens. After that, my game spiraled downwards as I struggled to regain any momentum. Eventually, about five hours into the tournament, I faced another unlucky hand where I went all-in preflop with pocket nines, only to be defeated by an opponent holding Ace-King.
Although I didn’t achieve much success in the tournament, I had an amazing time and savored the remainder of the evening by socializing with fellow players over drinks and food. Meeting numerous online poker players from the Michigan community was a highlight of the weekend for me. Given that poker can sometimes seem like a niche hobby, it was truly enjoyable to connect and converse with like-minded individuals who share the same enthusiasm for the game.
In summary, my total losses for the trip would amount to $1,435. As a seasoned poker player, it is never desirable to walk away from a trip with a negative outcome, but occasional losses are inevitable, particularly when participating in tournaments.
We hope for greater success on the tables when the Mid-States Poker Tour makes its return to FireKeepers in October.
Mason’s very own David Kaye, a renowned poker content creator, shares his expertise through a regular column on Playinmichigan. For all updates on David’s poker adventures, you can connect with him on various social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, and Instagram, where he goes by the handle “DavidKayePoker.”
