How Stupid Are You?

I witnessed a hand today at the poker table that really confused me.  It unfolded as follows:  Action was heads-up between two seemingly reasonable players.  Player-1 had 55 and Player-2 had KJ.  The flop was 1057.  Player-1 bet his set and Player-2 called with his heart-draw.  The turn was the 8, and the same action took place.  The river was the 9.  Player-1 once again bet his set.  Player-2 turned his cards face up (into the muck) and said, “I missed.”  Everybody looked at each other confusedly as the pot was slowly pushed toward Player-1.  Of course, it didn’t take long for somebody to say, “Hey, dude, you had a straight.”  His response was a predictable, “I did?  No.  Really?  Oh, shit!”  He was so focused on the flush draw that he completely missed the fact that he hit a winning straight.

“You’re a dumbass,” was, of course, my initial reaction.  But ultimately, it was just a stupid mistake.  It happens.  I’m certainly not immune from being a dumbass.  In fact, witnessing that hand made me recount one of the really stupid things I did at the poker table.  During a recently frustrating session, the following dumbass hand occurred.  I’d been playing for three hours and had won only one pot.  It was one of those days.  During this hand, I was in the small-blind with AK.  I raised pre-flop after three people limped.  The big-blind and the rest of the limpers called, and we saw the flop five-handed.  The flop was Q93.  I bet my nut flush-draw, the big-blind folded as did one limper, and another limper raised me.  The guy on the button called two-bets cold.  I, too, called.  The turn was the 4.  I checked,  the next player bet, and he was all-in.  The guy on the button then raised him.  The pot was big enough for me to call with the nut flush-draw, even an ugly two bets cold, so I did.  The river was the 4.  I had missed everything.  I was irritated and pissed off that I had missed yet another hand, and being as our river betting was heads-up, I just threw my cards right in the muck without even allowing action to occur.  Well, the side-pot was won by the guy on the button with K10, and he also managed to scoop the main pot with king-high when the all-in guy turned over J10.  I felt like such a petulant dipshit.

What’s your stupidest poker mistake?

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