Huge Poker Hand

Tonight played a big poker game. One hand totally stands out as a weird one that had an interesting dynamic.

I was dealt a Jack-Ten, unsuited. One of my favorite hands to play. I raise before the flop. You should note, I have the big chip stack, about 3x as many chips as the two other remaining players. It's important to me to not let them back in the game by conceding all-in's.

One player folds.

The other player calls.

The flop comes out: 9-9-3. Not good for me. The player checks.

I smell weakness. I put out a medium sized bet. He calls. Hmmmm. The turn comes. A queen. (That gives me an open ended straight draw). I sense, from his check and call that he does not have a 9. I sense he might possibly have a 3, but I want to scare him off. I make a big bet that almost puts him all in.

I figure no matter what, he's going to fold. He would not have played 9's the way he did. If he's got a three, it's going to be a hard call to make. Would you want to go all in with a pair of 3's?

But there he goes - he calls. Damn. Okay. The river. It comes. Another 3.

So now the board is 9-9-3-Q-3. I look at my hand. I don't have shit. I didn't make my straight. I don't have a kicker. He just called a huge amount. What can I possibly do? He'll call any bet I make. So I'm stuck. Dammit.

I check.

He pauses. Now he smells weakness. He decides to go all in.

I think for a moment. My first instinct is to fold. I don't have shit. But his bet isn't THAT much more than what's already in the pot. It is significant, but not that significant.

Hmmmm.

The fact that a 3 came up on the river makes me think there is a smaller percentage chance he had a 3 in the first place. I got a weird gut vibe he didn't have a full house. He didn't seem full house confident. And he seemed surprised when I checked.

So then I get to thinking. The two pair plus the queen kicker might be the best hand. What are the chances he has an Ace or a King? He probably would have raised before the flop with either an Ace or King. I'm thinking he doesn't have it.

So I'm looking at the cards in the middle, knowing I can't possibily win the hand, but only split the pot and I make the call, because I don't want to lose it and don't think I will.

It turns out he has 8-10. We end up splitting the pot.

I found that to be an interesting hand.