Feels so good (non-grumpy content)

On Friday, for some reason, I was thinking about the frequency of getting the high poker hands (four-of-a-kind and straight flushes) that qualify for jackpots in many local casinos. To the best of my recollection, I had not hit a straight flush since about August, though I had seen quads three times since then. I was thinking that I must be about due for a straight flush.

Yesterday I played in the weekly Hilton Saturday afternoon tournament--went out as the week's official Bubble Boy. Oh well--it was a "nothing you can do about it" situation. Anyway, I then sat down in a $3-$6 limit game while waiting for a $1-$2 no-limit seat to open up. My second hand, I had the 7-8 of diamonds.

Flop came 4-5-6 of diamonds. Not only did I flop a straight flush, I flopped the highest possible straight flush. This was that rare situation of the immortal nuts: I was 100% certain to win the pot, no matter how many other people were in it, no matter what hole cards they had, and no matter what cards fell on the turn and river. You just don't get that very often. It was particularly sweet because 6 other people were in the hand, and betting and raising to the cap! I won what I'm pretty sure is the biggest pot I've ever taken in a $3-6 game.

Alas, the jackpot amount was only $34, the lowest of all of the straight flush jackpots available, since it was the only one that had been hit recently. *sigh* just my luck. The rest of the straight-flush bonuses were hovering between $150 and $505, and I get the one that's sitting at $34. The last two times I had quads at the Hilton, on each occasion the same hand had been hit earlier in the day, and I racked up the big $20 minimum bonus.

Still, it's one of the loveliest sights in poker: an all-diamond flop of 4-5-6 when I'm holding the 7-8. So, so, so pretty!