A problem and a solution

I went to the dentist today.* I have a cavity. A year ago, it was small enough that I could let it slide. Not now. Must be fixed. $200, please.


A few days ago I was playing at the Mirage. After a couple of hours, I had just broken even--a little up, a little down, but I was looking at a stack that was only a few dollars bigger than the one I had started with. I was thinking it was looking like a waste of time and I should go find someplace else to play or something else to do entirely.

Then a miracle hand happened. I had 6-7 offsuit on the button. I called a raise from the tightest guy at the table, figuring that his range was very narrow and if I hit a sneaky hand he might stack off to me. The table drunk, who had been running hot as a volcano, was in between us and came along--thank goodness.

The flop was J-6-2. Rock bets, both drunk and I call. I think if he missed (e.g., A-K) the rock won't fire again, or I might hit two pair or trips and beat his overpair, if that's what he has. Drunk guy could have anything--he has played nothing all the way to the river at times. Turn is another 6. Ahhhhhhhhh! Rock checks, drunk bets, I call, rock folds. River: the case 6. Cha-ching! Drunk bets $50. I raise to $150. He calls with A-J, and asks me, "You got that 6?" Yes, sir. Yes, I do. Net profit on hand: just over $200.

So I would like to thank the drunk guy for paying for my tooth to be mended.

(I wish I could give credit for the excellent photo posted above, but I can't. I found it here, with no indication of where the blogger got it.)


*The dentist, incidentally, is AnnaLee Kruyer, whom I can recommend enthusiastically for general or cosmetic dental issues. See her web site here. For fun, see also the rather remarkable story involving her year as a dentist in Iraq, as run in snopes.com here. The story includes a bonus side note about how playing poker can save your life!