Tao of Poker

Blizzard Hold'em

I sat down and played some short-handed heads-up Hold'em with my brother. We both started out with $50 each in chips and played $2-4 with 1/2 blinds. He's been learnign how to play and he's ready for his first trip to a Casino to play in a live game (he plays on a good computer program that I gave him to learn Hold'em). He's a fast learner and picked up things quick. He just needs to sit and play at a live table to pick up more things. Anyway, we got bored playing Limit and shifted to No-Limit. I broke out more chips... $100 each. We raised the blinds ever ten minutes. Things got cooking when the blinds were $5-10. Derek was short stacked and I held K-8 offsuit on the button. He held A-6 suited and called. The flop: 8-6-J (all different suits). I bet $25. he called. On the turn a 2 fell. I bet $25 more and put him all in for his chips. He called and turned over his cards. He told me he would have folded online or at a casino, but since it was shorthanded, he decided to play. Alas, he caught an A on the river to fuck his older brother. Now I was the short stack. A couple of hands later, I was on the button again with 9-10 suited. After 9-2-9 fell ont he flop, I raised $25. My brother called. He put me All-in for my chips on the turn, and he ended up catching the Wheel on the river. I had no more chips and lost $150 in pretty much two hands. Yikes. I did a $100 rebuy and got smacked down within fiftenn minutes. This time it hurt. I held 4-5 off suit and limped in. The flop: 5c-7h-10d. I bet and he called. On the turn: 4c. I had two pair and went all-in. My brother called me with A-9 suited clubs and caught a club on the river to make a Flush. In less than a half hour, I had three bad beats and was out $200 to my brother!!

After the first session I was down $110. For our second session, I lost $200. I walked into an insane hand that my brother flopped. I held Q-5 suited (h). The flop: Q-7-7. I bet he calls. The turn: K. I bet he raises, I call. The river: 5. I go all-in. he quickly calls and turns over a full house Qs and 7s. He flopped the full house and I lost all my chips to go down $310.