There but for the grace of the poker gods...

I've been playing the super turbo tournaments at Full Tilt lately. It works well with my short attention span.

Full Tilt Poker Game #_: $28 + $2 Sit & Go (Super Turbo) (_), Table 1 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:15:54 ET - 2008/07/27
Seat 1: villain (330)
Seat 2: hero (255)
Seat 3: (300)
Seat 4: (270)
Seat 5: (300)
Seat 6: (300)
Seat 7: Luigi (300)
Seat 8: (300)
Seat 9: Mario (345)
Seat 4 posts the small blind of 15
Seat 5 posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hero [Ts Td]
Seat 6 folds
Luigi calls 30
Seat 8 folds
Mario raises to 345, and is all in
villain calls 330, and is all in

Well, shoot.

Against one caller, I'd figure my tens would be good to go. I'm probably against either a smaller pair or an ace. Only if my opponent has a bigger pair am I in any real trouble.

But with two opponents, the chances are much better that one of them has a bigger pair or an ace with a better-than-ten kicker (if two opponents have an ace and neither has pocket aces, the odds go up a little - each has one of the other's outs, after all). Besides, there is the early position limper to consider. What's he gonna do?

This is a hard one, but I've got to give it up.

hero folds
Seat 3 folds
Seat 4 folds
Seat 5 folds
Luigi calls 270, and is all in

Sure enough, he did join the party.

Mario shows [7h 7s]
villain shows [4h 4c]
Luigi shows [6s 6c]

AAARRRGGGHH!!!!

FOURS?! You CALLED all-in with fours?!

I mean, being the third in with sixes is pretty dumb too, but if you're second in with fours, you're at BEST a coin-flip.

Uncalled bet of 15 returned to Seat 9
*** FLOP *** [5d Tc 4d]

Holy dog shit.

At this point, the 4s would have one out to beat me had I made the call - That's about 19:1. It has to come runner-runner 9 for the 9s to win. That's also about 19:1, it turns out.

Of course, as it happens, he's in fat city. There are 4 cards in the deck left that beat him, so he's about a 5:1 favorite.

*** TURN *** [5d Tc 4d] [4s]

Wow. Nice catch, Eeyore.

*** RIVER *** [5d Tc 4d 4s] [9d]

Had the river been a ten, and had I made the call, this hand might have gone down in history as the ultimate cooler. 4 pocket pairs all-in before the flop, two of which flopped sets, and both of which made quads.

Maybe next time.

Mario shows two pair, Sevens and Fours
villain shows four of a kind, Fours
villain wins the side pot (60) with four of a kind, Fours
Luigi shows two pair, Sixes and Fours
villain wins the main pot (945) with four of a kind, Fours
Luigi is sitting out
Luigi stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,005 Main pot 945. Side pot 60. | Rake 0
Board: [5d Tc 4d 4s 9d]
Seat 1: villain showed [4h 4c] and won (1,005) with four of a kind, Fours
Seat 2: hero didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: Luigi showed [6s 6c] and lost with two pair, Sixes and Fours
Seat 8: didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: Mario showed [7h 7s] and lost with two pair, Sevens and Fours