This time I have a mysteriously, weird tale to tell.

I went to the casino Monday as I had a few hours to kill between shooting for this Steven Seagal TV show on A&E (weird, I know!). Anyway, since everyone is at the W hotel and it’s right across from Harrah’s, what was I going to do?

So, I go over there with $200. First, I eat and get myself in a good state of mind to play some poker and then let the games begin. Unlike my last game there, I’m missing a lot. I’m playing $1/$2 No-Limit and the table is new from the start, so I played fairly tight early on until I could get to know the players. I limped where I could, but generally, my cards were horrible. After a little more than 30 minutes, I pickup KK in late position. One person is ahead of me in early position bumped it up to $10. I re-raise $30. The original raiser, pushes all-in for $30 more. Hrm. She probably has Aces, but she could have AK or QQ to make that play… so I figure she’s probably 50% aces and 50% AK or the unlikely QQ, so I call. Anyway, long story short she had AA, which holds up and I’m out a nice pot.

Hard luck, but what could I do?

I win a few hands and I’m starting to get my stride around the two hour mark when I look down and see KK again in late position. Okay… Let me set this up… cause I’ve been thinking about this hand for a week now and I’m still really confused by the way it played out.

There’s a few limpers for $2, when the girl on my right takes her remaining $60 and goes all-in. I only have about $105 left, but there’s no way I can get away from this, is there? The AA beat is still ringing in my ears, but this girl had been catching some bad beats and was a little on tilt by it. My range of hands for her is AA, QQ, JJ, TT, AKs, and AKo. I’ve been sitting right next to her for two hours and I know she knows how to play and wouldn’t really make a move like this with something she didn’t want to get heads-up with or just win the blinds right there. So, I fight my urge to just assume AA (just because my emotions are wounded from last time), and decide to just call.

Why just call? Well… no one had shown any strength by limping so I wasn’t really expecting a caller to come behind me. Also, I guess, that was my compromise about the beat down I took last time I looked at KK. I think it was a bad play at any rate… I should have just pushed… but, somehow I got it in my head that if someone called and an Ace came on the flop, I could then fold to hands like AK that might call behind me.

So, to my surprise (but I hope not yours), a person in early position calls. Now, I know NOTHING about this player. He just sat down, this is his first hand and he doesn’t even have chips yet. Three players.

The board comes down 8 7 6

Not really a flop I wanted to see, but still given the action, unlikely to hit anyone. I start thinking that when the person in first position checks, I’m just going to raise all-in and take away any draws he might have. Well, that was the plan… before I know it though, HE’S raising all-in!

I go to the tank. What about this board could possibly help him? I decide nothing. Does he have AA? Well, why didn’t he push pre-flop after one person goes all-in and another person flat called? This whole thing doesn’t make sense! He’s betting into a dry side pot. There’s no more money to win if I fold now. So, what could he have?

I finally put him on an over-pair and employing the tactic I was going to use… so I call.

The turn brings the dreaded A and the river is a blank. I’m stunned to see the early position player flip over AJs!

What the hell! A high and he was betting into a dry side pot? What did he think he was beating?!

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