Bruce's game

"Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you."

This is common expression in poker, used to express a sort of philosophical stoicism. It Includes a fine feeling of power. You are the bear hunter out in the wilderness, stalking this dangerous prey, and so it is just the luck of the day as to who manages to win. No matter what happens, you have had a day of power, a man alone with his dog and his gun.

This metaphor does not really catch my feelings coming out of the poker game yesterday.

No metaphorical bears.
No Hemingway like hunt in the wilderness.

No, it was more like the clubbing of the baby seal. There I was, huddled down on my ice flow and offering little to no resistance at all, and in came a bunch of laughing guys with clubs to beat me into a bloody pulp and drag my body away across poker's frozen wasteland.


I could not seem to get a grip on anything all day. For a very brief time a flow of queens brought me back from my perpetual buy-ins to even, but in the end, the cards fell like clubs and demolished me. Blowers wielded the most aggressive clubbing, and in the end, he took me out when I tried to bluff with an all-in and he called me with a pair of sixes and some straight draws catching two pair.

Two pair seemed to beat me often. I can't remember having two pair all afternoon.

And while Blowers administered the hardest hitting with the most laughter, the clubbing started well before Blowers arrived. I just lost each buy in, one at a time, and without much resistance. In came the players, I raised my head and bleated a bit, and wham, wham, wham.

It was a delightful setting and a relaxed and easy game. Bruce was a fine host and his table let the cards slide easily to all players, and my chips slide easily to them as well. There were six of us in comfortable chairs, and I can see that hosting more than that number would make it a bit crowded.

Casey came along to liven up the action and distract Peter so the clubbing crew could take his chips.

I was sleepy again. I had been awake since 4.

Phil and I got clubbed and dragged away. Bruce seemed up at the beginning, then lost it back. Peter was more like the bear hunter; he was ahead for a while and doing quite well, and then lost his stack.
His most frustrating loss was pocket queens to Blower 3-9 offsuit full house
Blowers was the big winner. Jerry came in second, playing very well in the tough seat just before Blowers.
I had only two pocket pairs all day that I remember. Both lost. I had one set of trips, eights, and they lost to Blower's set of nines that went full. Blowers often seemed to be playing with A-K. Jerry caught quad threes, but did not get fully paid for them. I don't remember too many close contests. Perhaps others can fill in some more of the details of hand they remember.

While we played, Blowers corrected a screenplay draft and afterward showed us a bit of promo on CD. The movie certainly looks exciting. There did not seem to be a scene depicting the clubbing of baby seals, but perhaps he'll borrow the idea and incorporate it. I'd be happy to play the seal, having now had so much time trying out for the part.

Thanks to Bruce for hosting in Greg's absence. We did miss Greg. Some of us had to offer the first bet to build the pots. You missed a cold day, Pokermaster, the first really cold day here.
I imagine Alabama was delightful. Certainly in your slide show and talk you did not experience any harsh fellows with clubs beating your weakness into pulp.