There Are Much Worse Things Than Treading Water

I've been slowly chipping up this week at the poker tables, with no huge swings either way. Which is actually sort of refreshing.

For all you bonus junkies doing the Martinspoker bonuses, or thinking about doing them, apparently the decreload bonus code I posted is dead, so don't count on that one. The site never publicly offered it and CS has been removing it from accounts that deposited for it. The initial bonus of up to 600 euros and the 200 euro reload are very much alive, though. And for everyone that used "frogalog" as a referral when signing up, you also got a 25 euro bonus thrown in there, after 200 VIP points. I didn't know about that previously, so hey, cool, free money.

I'm still sort of amazed the stakes that some people will play, given their general understanding of the game. I realize people have many different motivations and underpinning financial situation, but still.

This may sound like a bad beat story, but no, don't break out the pitchforks, it really isn't. 10/20 shorthanded game, I have AA on the button, pretty bad player limps from UTG, I raise, we see the flop heads-up, which is K K 8.

He bets, I raise, he calls. Turn is 8.

He bets, I raise, he calls. River is 2.

He bets, I pre-emptively clutch my junk and call, prepared to see an 8, and he rolls over 22 and takes it down.

I mutter under my breath but another player lights into him, asking him how he can call with 22 on the turn. His answer? (Which I tend to believe, given how badly he played.) That he had had two pair and he thought I just had an A and was trying to scare him into folding.

You, sir, are the champion, my friend.