Ten High

I told you the last poker story so I could tell you this one.
Again I plan to write it with the jargon included. So if you’re uninterested in learning the poker lingo I will include a summary at the bottom. You may scroll down now.

The Story:
Last summer I was playing in a 1/3 no-limit game. I was dealt 9To in late middle position and I limped in hoping to see a cheap flop. Unfortunately, the kid to my left raised to $15. Usually, I would be happy to fold this hand, but everyone was coming along. By the time it got back to me there were 5 other players involved and no chance of a re-raise.

This kid looked like his most recent birthday party was his 21st, and he bought in for the minimum $100. My guess was he walked in with about $108 in his pocket. He was down to about $70 and didn’t want to bust out.

I called the $12 and took the flop. It came out 443. It was checked to me and I passed as well. The preflop raiser bet out $20. To my surprise everyone else folded. I thought there was a decent chance he was betting with AK. If that was the case it should be pretty easy to bet him off his hand. I said “raise” and slid in a stack of chips large enough to put him all-in.
The kid deliberated for a long time. He was thinking out loud trying to figure out how I had a 4 in my hand. He even guessed the possibility of A3 (which wasn’t a bad guess; I likely would have made the same play with A3). After enough time convincing himself he finally believed there was a chance he was behind. So he asked me, “If I fold will you show me in your hand?”

I answered, “sure.”

He flipped over his whole cards revealing two jacks. He looked on with a mix of disbelief and disgust as I unveiled a ten-high.

I don’t play poker often so it took me five years to have the situation come up again. I learned from the past. This time I said “sure” loud enough.

The Summary:
Several years ago I was playing poker and lost a pot because I did not say “sure” loud enough. Last summer I was playing again and bluffing with absolutely nothing. The guy next to me asked me the same question I was asked years ago, “Will you show me your cards if I fold?” This time I said, “sure” loud enough. He folded, and I won the pot.