Three Hands

I just had to show those creeps and those punks what the game is like when it's great, when it's really great. You know, like anything can be great -- anything can be great ... I don't care, bricklaying can be great. If a guy knows. If he knows what he's doing and why, and if he can make it come off. I mean, when I'm goin' -- when I'm really goin' -- I feel like...

... like a jockey must feel. He's sittin' on his horse, he's got all that speed and that power underneath him, he's comin' into the stretch, the pressure's on him -- and he knows -- just feels -- when to let it go, and how much. 'Cause he's got everything workin' for him -- timing, touch. It's a great feeling, boy, it's a real great feeling when you're right, and you know you're right. It's like all of a sudden I got oil in my arm. Pool cue's part of me. You know, it's a -- pool cue's got nerves in it. It's a piece of wood -- it's got nerves in it. You feel the roll of those balls. You don't have to look. You just know. Ya make shots that nobody's ever made before. And you play that game the way nobody's ever played it before.

"The Hustler"

LAS VEGAS _ The Mirage owed me.

It's a nice poker room -- It's like an ancestor of the Bellagio and the Wynn. A place that definitely wasn't built so Doyle and Chip could get rich. A place that was built for the poker player.

The under the gun player min raised to $10, a middle position player called, and I peeked down at the prettiest pair of pocket rockets. I raised to $40, and both players called.

The flop came 7 high, it was checked to me, and I bet about half the pot. The under the gun player check-raised me all in, and I called.

He flipped over 77. I was dead.

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When I busted out of the blogger tourney, I headed to Bally's and sat in a $1/$2 no limit game. After an hour of folding and watching fish swap their money, I was down $7. That wouldn't do.

So I walked back over to Ceasar's and bought into the $2/$5 no limit game.

Four players limped, and I popped it on the button with AQo. Two players called. The flop came QJ7 rainbow. I bet, and the under the gun player called.

The turn paired the board with Jacks.

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In the first hand, I suffered a good beat!

The turn brought an Ace, a magical two-outer, a 22- or 23-to-1 shot of catching up when way behind. I scooped in a large pot.

In the second hand, I checked the turn, hoping to induce a bluff, or, at worst, minimize my losses to three Jacks. When the villain bet the full amount of the pot on the river, I called pretty quickly, nearly positive that he was bluffing. He mucked his cards without showing.

I've already written about the third hand.

Those are the only three big hands I had all weekend. It was all I needed. One suckout and two premium hands holding up.

When your good hands hold up and your bad hands don't cost you, you're bound to win some money.