"Sure."

The people have spoken. And overwhelming they are in favor of having this blog include columns about poker. However, if you are not very familiar with poker, or you are one of the three people to vote against it I have provided an article summary at the bottom. You may skip down there now. You do not need to read “the story” and “the summary” as they will both contain the same information. For anyone not familiar with all the poker jargon I wrote some poker information here that may make it easier to understand the story.

The Story:
Five or six years ago I was playing no-limit hold ‘em in St. Louis. I had AdQd and made a small raise pre-flop. Several other players called. The flop came out Kxx, with two diamonds. The guy to my right bet out $15. I called, and at least one other guy called behind. The turn was a blank. The initial bettor checked and I fired $25 or $30. The young kid in late position called (I say young kid because he looked only 2 or 3 years older than I was at the time.) The initial bettor folded and left us heads up going to the river. If a diamond hits I make the nuts, and I think I would also be good with an ace.

The river came another blank. I missed. Obviously, my only chance to win is with a bet. I bet out $50. The kid goes into the think tank. He clearly believes he’s behind, but is reluctant to fold his hand. Finally, he asks me, “If I fold will you show me?” I’m thrilled with the prospect, but don’t want to seem too excited. So I shrug my shoulders and act reluctant as I say, “sure.” Even after the comment he still thinks about if for another minute. Finally, he announces, “Call.”

He turns over KJo and takes down the pot.

I’m left baffled. Could this rook really pull off a read like that? Finally, I ask him, “Why did you ask me if I would show my hand?”

“I just really wanted to know what you had.”
“I said, `sure.'”
“You did? Oh, I didn’t hear you.”

Are you kidding me? I just lost a $200 pot because I didn’t say “sure” loud enough. I meant, “YES. SURE. Yes, sir. I’ll show my cards if you fold. No problem, sir.” *


The summary:
I was playing poker in St. Louis a few years ago. I had a very poor hand, but decided to make a bluff at the end. The other guy spent a great deal of time contemplating calling my bet. After much deliberation he asked me, “If I fold will you show me your hand?” I said, “sure.” He called anyway and won the hand. It turned out he only called because he didn’t hear me. If I had said “sure” louder I would have won over 200 more dollars.

*Next time I’ll tell you about a hand five years later when I bluffed with ten high and an even younger kid asked me, “If I fold will you show me your hand?”