Inexplicable

I just got eliminated from an $11 razz tournament. I lasted about 30 minutes--probably the shortest time in my personal history for such an event. That was largely because the thing started with the most bizarre series of razz hands I've ever seen.

I was a couple of minutes late registering, so one or two hands had been played before I joined the table. On my first hand, I was dealt (43)A, one of the best possible starting hands. I was delighted. But I had two challengers in the hand, and it was already getting weird because it was a player with a queen showing that first completed. It was then raised by my second opponent, and I reraised. We got it capped. In fact, we got it capped on every betting round except the last, where I bet out and then just called a raise because of a suspicion that my one sensible opponent might have caught a lucky river card. He had just a K-7 on 6th. I had an 8-4, but when I didn't improve on 7th, I needed to be cautious. I was right, unfortunately:




The weird thing, as you can see, is that the guy with the queen showing came along--not only came along, in fact, but was driving the raising just as much as I was. It was only because of his actions that we got it capped every street. Otherwise, I believe my more sensible opponent would have just called one bet each time, and possibly even folded. And the guy with the queen did this despite catching, in succession, a king, a nine, and another queen! As the final hand history shows, the best hand he could have started with (we don't know exactly because of FTP's scrambling of the three down cards) was 10-J-Q!

Here's the full hand history:

Full Tilt Poker Game #22044079393: $10 + $1 Tournament (170066414), Table 4 - 30/60 Ante 5 - Limit Razz - 1:18:27 ET - 2010/07/03
Seat 1: BreckGoat (1,495)
Seat 2: spie10 (1,485)
Seat 3: Rakewell (1,500)
Seat 4: john21703 (1,500)
Seat 5: goldenphoenix98 (1,260)
Seat 6: ozzykorn (1,375)
Seat 7: VegasHerelCome (1,495)
BreckGoat antes 5
spie10 antes 5
Rakewell antes 5
john21703 antes 5
goldenphoenix98 antes 5
ozzykorn antes 5
VegasHerelCome antes 5
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to BreckGoat [7h]
Dealt to spie10 [8c]
Dealt to Rakewell [4h 3d] [Ah]
Dealt to john21703 [Qs]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [Qc]
Dealt to ozzykorn [9s]
Dealt to VegasHerelCome [Ac]
john21703 is high with [Qs]
john21703 brings in for 10
goldenphoenix98 completes it to 30
ozzykorn folds
VegasHerelCome raises to 60
BreckGoat folds
spie10 folds
Rakewell raises to 90
john21703 folds
goldenphoenix98 calls 60
VegasHerelCome raises to 120
Rakewell calls 30
goldenphoenix98 calls 30
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to Rakewell [4h 3d Ah] [8h]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [Qc] [Ks]
Dealt to VegasHerelCome [Ac] [7s]
VegasHerelCome bets 30
Rakewell raises to 60
goldenphoenix98 raises to 90
VegasHerelCome raises to 120
Rakewell calls 60
goldenphoenix98 calls 30
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to Rakewell [4h 3d Ah 8h] [2s]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [Qc Ks] [9h]
Dealt to VegasHerelCome [Ac 7s] [Kh]
Rakewell bets 60
goldenphoenix98 raises to 120
VegasHerelCome calls 120
Rakewell raises to 180
goldenphoenix98 raises to 240
VegasHerelCome calls 120
Rakewell calls 60
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to Rakewell [4h 3d Ah 8h 2s] [As]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [Qc Ks 9h] [Qd]
Dealt to VegasHerelCome [Ac 7s Kh] [Ad]
Rakewell bets 60
goldenphoenix98 has been disconnected
rubbersoul sits down
goldenphoenix98 has 15 seconds left to act
goldenphoenix98 has reconnected
goldenphoenix98 has 15 seconds left to act
goldenphoenix98 raises to 120
rubbersoul is feeling happy
VegasHerelCome calls 120
Rakewell raises to 180
goldenphoenix98 raises to 240
VegasHerelCome calls 120
Rakewell calls 60
ozzykorn: were playing razz right?
*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to Rakewell [4h 3d Ah 8h 2s As] [3h]
Rakewell bets 60
goldenphoenix98 raises to 120
VegasHerelCome calls 120
Rakewell calls 60
*** SHOW DOWN ***
goldenphoenix98 shows [Qh Jd Qc Ks 9h Qd Th] K,Q,J,T,9
VegasHerelCome shows [6s 5d Ac 7s Kh Ad 2h] 7,6,5,2,A
Rakewell mucks
VegasHerelCome wins the pot (2,565) with 7,6,5,2,A
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,565 Rake 0
Seat 1: BreckGoat folded on 3rd St.
Seat 2: spie10 folded on 3rd St.
Seat 3: Rakewell mucked [4h 3h Ah 8h 2s As 3d] - 8,4,3,2,A
Seat 4: john21703 folded on 3rd St.
Seat 5: goldenphoenix98 showed [Qh Jd Qc Ks 9h Qd Th] and lost with K,Q,J,T,9
Seat 6: ozzykorn folded on 3rd St.
Seat 7: VegasHerelCome showed [6s 5d Ac 7s Kh Ad 2h] and won (2,565) with 7,6,5,2,A


So, OK, I figure that the queen guy meant to sign up for a regular stud tournament and accidentally got razz instead. But now he made three queens (as he would see it) and lost to what would appear to be a pair of aces. Now he will surely give himself a dope slap, figure out what happened, and make the best of what's left of his stack, right?

Nope.

This was the very next hand:



I was dealt the (45)2, another premium starter, but could only improve to a smooth 10, after getting a pair and a king. My nutty opponent started with either (Q8)5 or (88)5, finished with a Q-8 and was still leading at the betting. It didn't get capped because my king and pair made me cautious. Against most opponents, I probably would have folded, but after the previous hand I suspected that more insanity was afoot, and I was right.

Hand history:

Full Tilt Poker Game #22044104742: $10 + $1 Tournament (170066414), Table 4 - 30/60 Ante 5 - Limit Razz - 1:20:13 ET - 2010/07/03
Seat 2: NSAID (1,500)
Seat 3: Rakewell (655)
Seat 4: john21703 (1,485)
Seat 5: goldenphoenix98 (415)
Seat 6: ozzykorn (1,370)
Seat 7: VegasHerelCome (3,215)
Seat 8: rubbersoul (1,500)
NSAID antes 5
Rakewell antes 5
john21703 antes 5
goldenphoenix98 antes 5
ozzykorn antes 5
VegasHerelCome antes 5
rubbersoul antes 5
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to NSAID [7d]
Dealt to Rakewell [4s 5h] [2c]
Dealt to john21703 [3h]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [5s]
Dealt to ozzykorn [4h]
Dealt to VegasHerelCome [5d]
Dealt to rubbersoul [Kd]
rubbersoul is high with [Kd]
poguemahone68 sits down
rubbersoul has 15 seconds left to act
rubbersoul brings in for 10
NSAID completes it to 30
Rakewell raises to 60
john21703 folds
goldenphoenix98 raises to 90
ozzykorn folds
VegasHerelCome folds
rubbersoul folds
NSAID calls 60
Rakewell raises to 120
goldenphoenix98 calls 30
NSAID calls 30
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to NSAID [7d] [9h]
Dealt to Rakewell [4s 5h 2c] [Kc]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [5s] [7s]
goldenphoenix98 bets 30
NSAID calls 30
Rakewell calls 30
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to NSAID [7d 9h] [7h]
Dealt to Rakewell [4s 5h 2c Kc] [2s]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [5s 7s] [Qs]
goldenphoenix98 bets 60
NSAID calls 60
Rakewell calls 60
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to NSAID [7d 9h 7h] [7c]
Dealt to Rakewell [4s 5h 2c Kc 2s] [6d]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [5s 7s Qs] [4c]
goldenphoenix98 bets 60
NSAID folds
Rakewell calls 60
*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to Rakewell [4s 5h 2c Kc 2s 6d] [Td]
goldenphoenix98 bets 60
Rakewell calls 60
*** SHOW DOWN ***
goldenphoenix98 shows [Qh 8s 5s 7s Qs 4c 8c] Q,8,7,5,4
Rakewell shows [Td 5h 2c Kc 2s 6d 4s] T,6,5,4,2
Rakewell wins the pot (915) with T,6,5,4,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 915 Rake 0
Seat 2: NSAID folded on 6th St.
Seat 3: Rakewell showed [Td 5h 2c Kc 2s 6d 4s] and won (915) with T,6,5,4,2
Seat 4: john21703 folded on 3rd St.
Seat 5: goldenphoenix98 showed [Qh 8s 5s 7s Qs 4c 8c] and lost with Q,8,7,5,4
Seat 6: ozzykorn folded on 3rd St.
Seat 7: VegasHerelCome folded on 3rd St.
Seat 8: rubbersoul folded on 3rd St.

On the next hand, I got my third good one in a row: (73)6. Would you like to guess who my opponent was?



This time, though, he or she was actually ahead. We got it all in on 3rd street, so the cards were revealed at that point, with no subsequent scrambling by FTP. I didn't catch up:

Full Tilt Poker Game #22044121030: $10 + $1 Tournament (170066414), Table 4 - 30/60 Ante 5 - Limit Razz - 1:21:22 ET - 2010/07/03
Seat 1: poguemahone68 (1,500)
Seat 2: NSAID (1,285)
Seat 3: Rakewell (1,235)
Seat 4: john21703 (1,480)
Seat 5: goldenphoenix98 (80)
Seat 6: ozzykorn (1,365)
Seat 7: VegasHerelCome (3,210)
Seat 8: rubbersoul (1,485)
poguemahone68 antes 5
NSAID antes 5
Rakewell antes 5
john21703 antes 5
goldenphoenix98 antes 5
ozzykorn antes 5
VegasHerelCome antes 5
rubbersoul antes 5
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to poguemahone68 [Kh]
Dealt to NSAID [5c]
Dealt to Rakewell [7s 3h] [6d]
Dealt to john21703 [8s]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [4c]
Dealt to ozzykorn [Ah]
Dealt to VegasHerelCome [Qc]
Dealt to rubbersoul [Ac]
poguemahone68 is high with [Kh]
poguemahone68 brings in for 10
NSAID folds
Rakewell completes it to 30
john21703 folds
goldenphoenix98 raises to 60
ozzykorn folds
VegasHerelCome folds
rubbersoul folds
poguemahone68 folds
Rakewell raises to 90
goldenphoenix98 calls 15, and is all in
Rakewell shows [7s 3h 6d]
goldenphoenix98 shows [As 3s 4c]
Uncalled bet of 15 returned to Rakewell
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to Rakewell [7s 3h 6d] [8d]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [As 3s 4c] [Ts]
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to Rakewell [7s 3h 6d 8d] [Kc]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [As 3s 4c Ts] [2s]
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to Rakewell [7s 3h 6d 8d Kc] [7h]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [As 3s 4c Ts 2s] [8c]
*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to Rakewell [7s 3h 6d 8d Kc 7h] [5s]
Dealt to goldenphoenix98 [As 3s 4c Ts 2s 8c] [Js]
Rakewell shows [7s 3h 6d 8d Kc 7h 5s] 8,7,6,5,3
goldenphoenix98 shows [As 3s 4c Ts 2s 8c Js] 8,4,3,2,A
goldenphoenix98 wins the pot (200) with 8,4,3,2,A
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 200 Rake 0
Seat 1: poguemahone68 folded on 3rd St.
Seat 2: NSAID folded on 3rd St.
Seat 3: Rakewell showed [7s 3h 6d 8d Kc 7h 5s] and lost with 8,7,6,5,3
Seat 4: john21703 folded on 3rd St.
Seat 5: goldenphoenix98 showed [As 3s 4c Ts 2s 8c Js] and won (200) with 8,4,3,2,A
Seat 6: ozzykorn folded on 3rd St.
Seat 7: VegasHerelCome folded on 3rd St.
Seat 8: rubbersoul folded on 3rd St.

Anyway, the net result of this series of hands was that I was very quickly the shortest stack in the game. I might have won another small pot or two, but that was about it for me. Everything else was a big ol' pile of bricks on my few good starting hands, and I was out.

Better than bubbling, I guess, which usually seems to be my fate in these things, after wasting two or three hours. And I did get a decent story out of it: the story of the kamikaze razz player.