BAD BEATS

I have been playing erratically of late, so I keep making concerted efforts to bear down in tournament play, and when I am on my A-game, crazy stuff like this happens:

Last night, I was down $500 from my initial $1500, even though I was playing decently. I waited and waited and wound up with AA. I make a minimal raise under the gun, and one player reraises. I end up all in and he plays me with KK and flops a K.

This morning, I hold QJ in the big blind and a late position player ups the bet to $70 early in the game. I like the QJ, especially when I figure the opponent to have Ax or similar. The flop comes 6J5. He makes a huge bet of $250, which I call. I figure he has the AK, A6, A5, or a middle pair. The turn is a Q and he lamely bets $40. Now, I figure either he's going to fold to a raise, or he will go all in with his KK. I come back for $350. He comes back over the top all in. Okay, he could have KK or AA, but I still have him beat, so I call. He shows K5 of all things. The river of course is a 5.

We were playing only for a $110 ticket, but could you imagine if we were playing for $5 million? You'd think that wouldn't happen in a game of that magnitude, but it goes to show that you never are safe until all five cards hit the board. You are disappointed when stuff like that happens, but there is also a certain satisfaction of knowing that you made the right decisions and it was only luck that beat you.