This weekend I was playing at a home poker game, and like almost every poker game I play, the game started out very slowly. After about an hour and a half of judicious folding and the occasional big blind win, the blinds were going up and it was about time to start making a few plays. Usually, this means that it’s time to start playing some speculative poker hands and hoping that the flop does me some good. Luckily for me, I was dealt Jack-10 of Clubs from the dealer button, and I called the bet, knowing that the blinds were passive and not likely to raise before the flop.
I was right-the blinds either called or checked, and I got to see a flop of Ace-5-9 of Clubs. I called an opponent’s bet, and after a King of Hearts came out on the turn, one of my opponents drew top two pair, he raised again a few of us called. A 4 of Diamonds on the river didn’t help anyone, and I went all in with two callers-the one who paired his Ace and King, and another who drew a set of 9’s on the flop. Playing that spec hand more than tripled me up and gave me a stack that I’d ride to a first place finish.