As some of you know, I currently live in Knoxville, TN. There’s not a poker room or slothoki within 1,754,352 miles. Or something like that, I haven’t measured.

In less than a month, I’ll be saying goodbye to Rocky Top and hello to Cajun Country.

I’ve gotten a new job in Lafayette, LA. If you care, check out my other blog and you can find more details there.

More importantly, I’m going to be closer to casinos and poker rooms. In fact, I’ll be just 2 hours from New Orleans and 2 1/2 hours from Austin (I’ve heard there’s a few poker players there).

Otis has already begun investigating for me and discovered there are poker rooms in Kinder, LA (67 miles) and Marksville, LA (70-something miles).

The good news is that I’m going to be making a little more money. The bad news is that with more gambling nearby, I’ll likely be losing a little more money, too. Sure gives me an incentive to become a better player!

Restless Sleep

I hate going to bed after a bad beat. But that’s exactly what I’m about to do.

I’m in late position with A-10s. I raise to $1, but the small blind re-raises to $3.50. I call.

The flop comes 8-9-J rainbow. I’ve now got an open-ended straight draw with a back door flush draw and an overcard. Playable. He bets $3.

At this point, the pot is about $12. I’d be putting in another $3. I think pot odds probably said fold, but I’m not good enough at those numbers. I call.

The turn is the Q. Bingo! He bets the pot, I think it was about $15. I raise him all-in (I had about $57 going into the hand). He calls.

I wasn’t worried at this point. There’s no way he was holding K-10, based on his previous bets. If he flopped the straight, at worst I’m splitting. If he flopped a set, he’s got very few outs (I’d be about a 70% favorite). If it’s an overpair, I’m in even better shape. Hell, if it’s American Airlines, he’s drawing dead!

It wasn’t rockets, it was cowboys.

The handy-dandy Hand Analyzer puts me at a 94% favorite. He’s got just three outs, that would be the three 10’s not in my hand.

We all know what happened next. Without playing that hand, I finish the night up about $75. If I win that hand, I finish up about $125. Instead, it’s just $25 for my three and a half hours of play.

I think I’ll be able to sleep easier tonight thanks to this blog. It’s been cathartic.