One Spade Shy...

Busy, exciting weekend for me. So much so, I called in sick on Monday for a mental relaxation day. :)

Obviously Sunday was a big day for the entire city of Seattle. The wife put out the chips and dip and BBQ meatballs and we had a rocking time watching the game. We made the kids join us to watch history in the making... the 15 year old was unimpressed, but the 4 and 7 year olds were jumping and cheering right along with us. In fact, the 4 year old was so inspired by the "Sea-Fence" she started tackling her sisters.

Yup, my wife and I both agree, we'll be grooming our little bruiser to be the first female drafted in the NFL. Salaries should be up in the gajabillions by then!

Back to the bayou for all you Panther lovin' pansies... sit back and enjoy the show as the Steelers get held back and ripped apart! Final score of SuperBowl XL, 'Hawks: 33-17, with 7 of those points by the defense.

The other adrenaline pumping occurrence happened at the Poker table, of course. It wasn't as big as hitting a six-figure win... hell, it didn't even involve winning. It was being one card away - one Spade away - from $40,000.

Was playing at the Muckleshoot, where their Bad Beat Jackpot was up to $170,000, Quads or better beaten. I had been playing 4/8 Full-Kill for about 2 hours, just not getting any cards. I'd win the occassional pot, just enough to keep my butt planted in the seat. Things started going south halfway through that third hour... I hit two-pair with AQ and was betting right into slowplayed AA, and if I tried to represent a hand on a coordinated board, sure enough someone else actually had it!

I was down to $30 of my original rack buy-in and I see QJ of Spades in the CO. I limp in behind 4 others, figure I'll see a flop and then decide if it was worth putting the rest of my chips in. I rolled my eyes when the BB raised, but followed along with everyone else.

Flop is 9sTsTd... wow, helluva draw I've got! Definitely got to get it all in now. BB bets, a few callers. I raise and he re-raises, scaring everybody else off. I re-raise for the last of my stack and he calls. I look around to make sure that no one else is in the hand, and the dealer confirms it by saying, "Okay, go ahead and turn 'em up."

I flip my cards over and show off my monster draw with a shrug. The dealer says, "Wow! Let's see some pocket Tens..." This is the usual spiel when there's a "Jackpot Board" - two pair, pair and straight flush draw, etc. The board looks pretty, but usually no one is even close. The dealers like to count the time between the Bad Beat Jackpots: "I usually deal one every two years, so I'm due!" or telling oh-so-close stories.

The dealer's eyes light up as the BB shows his Tens.

One of the regulars stands up and leans over the table, practically drooling. Someone else starts calculating what the shares will work out to be. Someone calls their friend over from another table to watch, and the floorman and other off-duty dealers stop by to huddle over the table. One lady had turned around to eat her food and was completely oblivious to the commotion.

The dealer rubs the felt as he burns and turns... everyone is chanting: "C'mon 8 of Spades, c'mon K of Spades!!!" . The Turn is absolutely nothing, I can't even remember it.

Burns the next card, rubs the felt, and deals the River.

Spades.

The 7 of.