four fived

two nights ago, at the Friday night game, the following hand occurred: I was on the big blind, and Eric, to my left, straddled for $1. There were several callers, and when the small blind made it $2 to go, I looked down at AQ of hearts. Knowing for sure that this was the best hand, especially given the just-calls and the very tiny raise from the small blind, I made it $8 to go. The initial straddler called, and there were a few folds around to Trey, who doubled it to $16. Since Trey is a loose maniac, I knew this raise didn't mean much. I stuck my remaining $2.25 in on top of Trey's raise, and was called in two spots, by Eric and Trey. The flop came down J73, and they checked it down. The turn was a 6, the river another 3, and it didn't look too good for me. They turned over their hands.

4-5. Both of them had 4-5 offsuit and had willingly put in $18.25 (36½ big blinds) before the flop, and worst of all, they made the straight!! I was in for $40 at the time, and reloaded and managed to win back $24 of my lost $40, but was in utter shock at the play of this hand. While it was a brutal beat, I am glad to be playing in a game where this sort of thing occurs, because my expected value in these types of situations is huge.

I mean, they both had 4-5! The chances they catch a pair of 4s or 5s when my AQ blanks are reduced severely. They pretty much have to make either a straight or a BS flush, etc. to win the hand. I would willingly put the money in there again, and again, because the long-term payoff would be huge.

Sorry about the bad beat story.