Best Hand I ever played!

ESPN has been televising the World Series of Poker pretty heavily over the past month or so, and they typically inject different things into the broadcast to break up the poker sessions.

One of the things that they would play is a series of "The Best Hand I Ever Played!" in which they ask different pros to explain their best hand. It is intriguing that in some cases that the best hand isn't a winning hand but a good fold.

A complete amateur probably would not understand this, but I can see where a fold could be the best hand ever played. I guess it's probably because there is more thought that goes into a fold than a win in most cases.

The Best Hand I ever played

I don't know if this is the absolute best hand that I ever played, but it was one of my most profitable. It was online earlier this year in a tourney event that cost me $10 to enter.

There were over 1400 players total, and the payouts were pretty high if you made it to the top 50 or so. I was able to get up early with some loose play and move my initial chipstack of 1500 to over 8000 before the first round was up.

During the second and third rounds I was able to build my stack to about 14ooo which was tough because you move very quickly from table to table as players go out and the system consolidates the tables.

I finally got settled at a table and was stuck between two really bad and obnoxious players. They would play any two cards, and then throw out some really unnecessary comments when they drew out. I lost about 2000 chips very quickly with strong hands when they both caught two cards each to catch a flush or straight.

It's not that they are that bad (which they are), but it's this idea that they are winning because they are very good. That was not the case, so I decided to sit it out until I got a monster hand or they were knocked out through attrition.

About 30 minutes pass and I am dealt pocket 7's on the button. 5 Players limp in with the blinds at 200/400, and I just call since I don't perceive my hand to be that strong at this point.

The flop comes out with 7h/Kh/7c. Finally I catch a monster hand.

The first guy to act is the SB and he bets 2000 chips which is about the size of the pot. He gets called by some poor sap in middle position. A few fold to the guy on my right. He raises the bet to 4000 and he is all-in. I wait about 10 seconds and call. SB calls and the MP guy calls as well.

OK, so I think that SB has Ax and MP probably has an AK or Kx or has a nice flush draw. I also put the idiot to my right on trash based on his aggressively loose play.

Then the idiot to my right types in the chat window that he has pocket 7's and that we are all going to loose! This tells me that he probably has a small or medium pocket pair. He isn't thinking about the other possibilities, and he probably has 6's or 8's because of way he just blurted it out.

Turn card is an Ace of hearts.

SB bets 3500 chips (leaving him 1500 left). MP calls the 3500 (leaving him 4100) chips. I call (leaving me 4800 chips).

River card is an Jack of spades.

SB checks. MP bets 1500. Now here is where I have to think. I cannot tell if SB is actually going to call the 1500, and I want to maximize the bet but I don't want the MP to fold.

If think that MP has the nut flush or a full boat with the jack coming out on the river. If I call the bet, I am showing some strength - but if I push all-in I am showing some weakness and may get both players to call. Since I have a larger stack than anyone else in the hand, I can make it look like I hit my straight by pushing here and the MP with the flush/boat will call which would negate a fold by the SB.

I push all-in with my remaining 4800. SB calls and MP calls.

SB had pocket 4's

MP had pocket Jack's

LP (my right) had King/10 offsuit

I show my 7's and it's all over!!!

I put three players out in one hand, and got rid of two table cancers in the process. I went on to come in 9th in the tourney which was a nice achievement.

You typically remember the bad hands that you play, but this was a good example of a good hand that I will probably always remember.