Chapter 4 Ep. 10 From the Felt at Lone Butte

Summary

Episode Overview

In this episode of the Ante Up Poker Magazine Podcast, host Joe Scales comes to us live from the bustling Gila River Lone Butte Poker Room in Arizona during a major tournament weekend. Joined by co-host Elle and local poker legend Brownie, they deliver their signature mix of humor, sharp commentary, and practical poker insight. The episode features on-the-felt observations, colorful stories about Arizona poker culture, and the regular strategy segments: Table Talk, Call the Floor, and Hand of the Week. Elliott Schechter weighs in with rulings and advice, and the episode closes with Joe's reflective "One Outer" monologue, focusing on the psychological demands of tournament play.

---

Table Talk: Live from Lone Butte

[02:05–22:59]

Poker Room Atmosphere & Hospitality

• Joe Scales opens by praising the Lone Butte Poker Room for its electric energy and outstanding hospitality:

  "They've seriously gone above and beyond all week... this is truly next level hospitality." (00:55)

• Elle and Joe welcome Brownie to the show. Elle notes Brownie's reputation:

  "Brownie's, I think, a legend here in the valley... you come highly recommended." (02:12)

Brownie’s Famous Business Card Story

• Brownie shares a comedic story about how his penchant for chopping tournaments inspired his business card featuring a trophy:

  "I said, I'll give you the trophy, you chop... My grandson calls, and I say, you want the trophy? Okay, my grandma's gonna hussy! I'm only teasing. You can have the damn trophy." (03:17-03:40)

Lone Butte Innovations & Poker Room Management

• Discussing poker room manager Tia’s impact:

  • She introduced giving tournament players $1.50/hour in comps—a progressive move in the region.
  • Both staff and player retention are attributed to a friendly, well-run environment:

    "If your employees like you, they're going to do [well]." – Brownie (07:45)
    "The staff here has been phenomenal." – Joe (08:11)

• Elle highlights the laid-back yet competitive player atmosphere:

  "The competition is stiff, but it's fair... everybody is relaxed." (05:19)

Arizona Poker Culture & Tournament Scene

• Brownie describes the depth and competitiveness of Arizona’s player pool, mentioning state champions and notable cash/tournament grinders:

  "You need that... Arizona poker is probably... the best ranked state around because we have some great players." (11:28)

• Arizona State Championship:

  • Draws 3,000 players; an unmissable yearly event.
  • Brownie: "People don't miss that." (12:14)

Room Design & Gameplay Experience

• Sound design and player comfort get special praise:
  • No invasive casino noise, just music and laughter.

    "You’re shielded... this is your space and you're not being invaded." – Elle (10:39)

  • Comfortable chairs and ample tables create a true player’s environment.

Community and Staff Recognition

• A travel ordeal with United Airways becomes a positive anecdote, ending with a call for listener connections to recognize great airline staff.

  "It restored my faith in industry right now." – Elle (19:18)

• Shout-outs close the segment, especially to marketing staff Shauna and Jack for making guests feel VIP.

---

Call the Floor with Elliot Schechter

[23:19–36:58]

Main Question (Submitted by Marcus Lee):
How should the floor handle when a drunk player, with messy chip stacks, raises with an indeterminate amount and chips spill—some even roll into other players’ stacks?

Elliot’s Ruling and Key Points

• The roots of the problem: Dealers and players must enforce chips to be stacked in piles of 20; messy stacks create situations where bet amounts can't be determined.
• Floor’s solution (settling on $80): “At some point you just gotta take it as the number and move on… many worse outcomes. This isn’t a bad outcome.” (29:31)
• Tangent: Growing annoyance at players laying chips in lines (“not a thing” in NL games).
• On drunkenness at the table: Fine line between fun and disruptive; casino operators have to intervene if things cross the line:

  “If people aren’t having fun, or they’re disturbing other tables… something’s got to be done.” – Elliot (35:02)

Notable Quote:

"I’m not a big fan of turning molehills into mountains... this seemed to be a pretty quick, speedy and reasonable decision by the operator." – Elliot (30:53)

---

Hand of the Week

[37:11–54:49]

Submitted by Brian Leonard (1/3 NL, $500 effective stacks):

• Button: 💎A♦Q♦
• Two limpers, MP raises to $15. Button three-bets to $50, MP calls.
• Flop: Q♠ 10♣ 8♦ (pot $110). MP checks, Button bets $50, MP check-raises to $150.
• Turn: 2♣ (pot $410). MP snap-shoves $290.
• Should Button call or fold with only top pair, top kicker?

Analysis & Debate:

• Patrick advocates for calling on the flop but recognizes it's a razor-thin value spot as played.
• Joe folds on the flop; stacks aren’t deep enough to justify continuing with just one pair against aggression on a dynamic board.
• Analysis explores player range (could villain have combo draws, sets, or bluffs?). The quick all-in on the turn suggests a made-up mind, usually a draw.

Outcome:

• Brian folds, opponent shows K♣J♣—combo draw.
• Joe: "The two of clubs changes nothing... if I were to make it to the turn, I’m calling here." (48:01)
• Patrick: "If he's not there already, I feel like that's a big bet on a draw and only one draw." (44:30)

Lessons & Reflection

• Cannot avoid tough spots when top pair, top kicker faces maximum pressure on draw-heavy boards.
• Playing big pots with one pair can feel unavoidable in these dynamics—sizing and reading aggression are key.
• Not every big laydown is a mistake; avoiding “rabbit hunting” after folding a huge hand is sage advice.

---

Joe’s One Outer

[55:43–End]

Main Theme: Waiting vs. Acting Under Pressure

• Reflects on how players often mask fear as patience, waiting for the “perfect” spot—yet the game sometimes demands courage, not caution.
• “Poker stops asking politely. It forces you to decide. And that's when the game becomes real.” (56:30)
• The pressure moments—when options are shrinking—define players more than big wins or heaters.
• Calls players to trust preparation and act boldly, playing not just for results but for freedom from regret.

Notable Quote:

"The goal isn't just to play poker. It's to play without regret. Go take your seat. Enjoy the moment. Embrace the pressure. And when your moment comes, be ready to take it." (59:00)

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Brownie’s wisdom about room management:

  "You can always tell if you have a good poker room manager, because the staff… is a direct reflection of them." – Joe (07:52)

• On Arizona culture:

  "That's Arizona—that's what we've experienced so far." – Elle (21:38)

• Call to recognize staff and community:

  "If you have any connection to United Airways, reach out to me... I need to make sure that they know we saw them and we appreciated what they did." – Elle (20:06)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:17]—Joe’s live intro
• [02:05]–[22:59]—Table Talk with Brownie (Arizona poker, hospitality, narrative)
• [23:19]–[36:58]—Call the Floor (chaotic chip ruling discussion)
• [37:11]–[54:49]—Hand of the Week (top pair vs. pressure)
• [55:43]–End—Joe’s One Outer (psychology and courage in tournament poker)

---

Episode Tone

The episode is warm, collegial, and often jovial, punctuated by practical wisdom, candid advice, and a strong sense of poker community. Brownie’s storytelling and local insights add authenticity, while the hosts' open camaraderie and conversational banter make for an inviting and instructional listen.

---

For Listeners:

This episode is a masterclass in both poker community and strategy, offering behind-the-scenes views of a vibrant room, practical ethics and floor rulings, and a close look at difficult in-game decisions. The community feel of Arizona poker, paired with real on-the-felt drama and Joe’s finals words on playing boldly, make it a can’t-miss for both the everyday player and the serious tournament grinder.

Transcript

[Narrator]

Take your seat. The cards are flying high. Shuffle up and deal at the Aces Lie longest running show. Yeah, we've seen it all. From the river to the rail, we answer the call.

[Joe Scales]

Hello, a team, and welcome back to another episode of the Ante Up Poker podcast, where every hand is an opportunity, every player is a friend, every and every episode is a winning experience. I'm your host, Joe Scales, and this week we're coming to you straight from the Gila River Lone Butte Poker Room. We're right in the middle of the action, actually. I'm trying to be a little bit quiet because there is literally poker happening all around me. Day 1c is happening on the tables in the back. There's cash game happening on the left. There's people buzzing, chips flying. The energy has been really incredible all week, especially today. The staff's been absolutely fantastic. They've seriously gone above and beyond all week. Our bags didn't even arrive until yesterday, but they've kept us in some branded gear so we could actually change clothes, clean up and still look like we belong here. It's really, truly been next level hospitality. We've also met a ton of great players out here, but even more importantly, we've met some genuinely great people. That's what makes these stops so special, you know. In fact, one of those players will be joining L and I for table talk, so you'll definitely want to stick around for that. So I'm not going to take too much time here. That's all I really have. So let's get on with the show.

[Narrator]

Welcome to the show. You're on the A team. Stack your chips and chase the dream. Joe's got the booth, his mic's on fire.

[Joe Scales]

Elle and I are back around the

[Elle]

poker table with our new friend, Brownie.

[Brownie]

Hey, how about that?

[Joe Scales]

Hey, Brownie.

[Elle]

Brownie's, I think, a legend here in the. In the valley. You come highly recommended by Gila River Lone View Cloaker Room, and we are more than thrilled to have you with us today. I know no one else can see this, but you got a hell of a business card.

[Brownie]

Oh, thank you.

[Elle]

Where did that idea come from?

[Brownie]

That card? I came up with the idea because I won this tournament at the window and we were 3 o' clock in the morning and I was chip leader and six guys won the chop. And I said, I'll do an ICM chop. That's all I'll do. And I said, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. Typical. One guy from Minnesota said, I'm not doing it. And I said, you're third chips. What are you talking about? He goes, they teased me last year so bad because I went home and I didn't win a trophy. I said, I'll tell you what. I'll give you the trust. You chop, I'll give you the full right? He said, okay. So we chop. We're standing in line at the K line, and I text a friend, and I said, you know, call my phone and hang up after the third break.

[Elle]

Yeah.

[Brownie]

So he did. My grandson, I taught how to play poker. He loves to play poker. So I pick up the phone, I said, hey, Henson, how are you?

[Elliot Schecter]

I won.

[Brownie]

Yeah. I. I got a trophy. Yeah. Oh, you want the trophy? You can have the trophy. Okay. I turned to the guy and I said, sorry, my grandma's gonna hussy. I thought the guy was gonna have a heart attack.

[Elle]

Good old Hudson.

[Brownie]

I'm only teasing. You can have the damn trophy.

[Joe Scales]

I don't care.

[Brownie]

I got more trophies home. So that's. That's how the card.

[Elle]

But your photo has the trophy in it. It does, which makes me happy. I was most impressed when I met you. I said to Joe immediately, I like this guy already. So. So tell us a Gila River.

[Brownie]

Gila River. Since it's been over here at Lone beach, the poker room, Tia has changed poker in the Valley. And what I mean by that is, when she came over here, she put. She made a bunch of changes. One is tournament players very seldom would get cops playing in a tournament.

[Elle]

Yeah, that's typical, Right?

[Brownie]

So usually the cash game guys, Right?

[Elliot Schecter]

Yeah.

[Brownie]

She started giving the tournament players a dollar an hour to comps in tournament play nice. Then other casinos start doing that.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Brownie]

Well, now she's raised it to a buck and a half an hour.

[Elle]

I'd be coming back here, too.

[Brownie]

Which.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Brownie]

Adds up after a while.

[Elle]

Well, it does. And I met a guy the other night who said, oh, yeah. I get enough incomes here. I take my wife to down to the Prime Steakhouse once a month.

[Brownie]

Yeah.

[Elle]

And we ate there. It's phenomenal.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Elle]

And I thought, whoa, yeah. What's happening there? So.

[Brownie]

And if you don't want. If you don't want to use the cops, you can take it over and write you a check for it. So if you got 500 bucks in comps, you can get the cash going back and playing a journal.

[Joe Scales]

Really?

[Brownie]

Yeah.

[Elle]

I've never heard that before.

[Joe Scales]

Right.

[Elle]

Yeah. Okay.

[Brownie]

Yeah, you can do that. So it's. It's just. She's done stuff like that. There's just changed the room the room and the room and the whole valley.

[Elle]

Right.

[Brownie]

Because now everybody's falling into place with that.

[Elle]

So it's a great deal, it seems like to me she's been a pioneer for the game here. Woman after my own heart. She's very soft spoken, but means what she says. She does run a good room. And that's one thing Joe and I have said immediately and we even spoke last night. We've been here, what, 72 hours and the feel here is people enjoy seeing each other. The competition is stiff, but it's fair. And there's not a lot of frenetic running around.

[Brownie]

No.

[Elle]

Everybody is relaxed.

[Brownie]

Well, on a competition side, last night at my table.

[Elle]

Yeah, let's hear it.

[Brownie]

I had the two time Arizona state champion, Ryan Steiner. I had Stephen Jones, who came second in the WSOP main event.

[Elle]

Right. I was gonna say three years ago, forced to be reckoned with your table

[Brownie]

and three other guys. We had Dustin, your ambassador.

[Elle]

Yes.

[Brownie]

At the table.

[Elle]

Yes.

[Joe Scales]

Jordan Griff was playing.

[Brownie]

Jordan Griff was playing here. So we get some good players here.

[Elle]

Yeah, I'd say so.

[Brownie]

And you know, and the dealers here are great. Yeah, the staff is great.

[Elle]

You know, there's a lot of when, when I see dealers right now, I can look across the room sitting at tables and talking to each other or having meals together or high fiving. They have a good time. And that makes a world of a difference for players. I scout my dealers. I know people think that's ridiculous, but when I go play Cash, I'm like, can I just. I asked nicely, could I hit that table just to start. Right.

[Brownie]

And Adidas here are all friendly.

[Elle]

They really are.

[Brownie]

And you can joke with them. Yeah, there's a couple of them in here that I, I tease a lot.

[Elle]

Well, why not?

[Brownie]

And you know, and they just go right along, right?

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brownie]

And the guys at the table, if you don't want to be teased, don't play in his room.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, you're gonna get part of the game.

[Brownie]

Yeah, yeah. You know you're gonna get it.

[Elle]

That's fair.

[Brownie]

But it's a fun room. Well, have some fun and play poker. This is it.

[Elle]

I agree. And honestly, I mean, I think probably for gaming purposes, we've got kind of a wall behind us, but if you look out across the room, we've got 36 tables. These chairs are so comfortable. I've been sitting in them for many, many hours already myself, and I haven't even had, I haven't even had a chance to play. What else can you expect? From Gila river, when you come just.

[Brownie]

You're going to have a good time. Yeah, you are going to have a good time here. There's no doubt about it. And like I said, Tia is the director of poker. She runs the post, she runs the room.

[Elle]

Right.

[Brownie]

And everybody gets along with it. All the employees like it. And that's half the battle. If your employees like you, they're going to do.

[Joe Scales]

That's one thing. Yeah, that's one thing that we can always tell your, your poker room manager, director, whatever, you can always tell if you have a good one, because the staff under them is a direct reflection of them. And, and the, the staff here has been phenomenal.

[Elle]

Well, it's true. You can tell when things come from

[Brownie]

the top down and you don't get very. You don't get a lot of trin over here.

[Elle]

Right.

[Brownie]

I mean, these dealers have been here almost from day one, so. And they. They're treated nice and a nice tip.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, Right.

[Brownie]

So that's. That's nice.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. And even the wait staff that comes in is. Is great. You know, they. They take care of everybody in this room.

[Elle]

So let's talk tournament. Yesterday you said a little bit about the day one.

[Joe Scales]

Congratulations.

[Elle]

Congratulations.

[Brownie]

I begged. Yeah. And thank you two for coming along and coaching me a little bit.

[Elle]

You're welcome.

[Brownie]

You know, everybody needs a little pat

[Elle]

on the back throughout that long day.

[Brownie]

You did well.

[Elle]

Well, thank you. I appreciate it. What? So we talked a little bit about tournaments. Maybe let's switch to cash. You play cash often here?

[Brownie]

Not very. I don't play cash hardly at all.

[Elle]

Say more.

[Brownie]

I'm just a tournament.

[Elle]

Okay.

[Brownie]

I play tournaments.

[Joe Scales]

I like tournaments.

[Brownie]

Some reason I will play cash. I played the other day here. I got knocked out, but I made enough to buy another ticket, so there you go. What the heck.

[Elle]

Actually, you're not the only one. I saw a couple of people who left the tournament, sat down and played hours of cash, and said, I'll be back tomorrow. And I said, lovely. I'm glad to hear that. Really, really happy to see. To see that happening.

[Joe Scales]

One of the things that we talked about was the acoustics in here.

[Elle]

Yes.

[Brownie]

Yeah. And the music.

[Joe Scales]

The music great. But you walk into some rooms and maybe it's because they're smaller, but, like, all you can hear is chips clicking, you know? And you walk in here and. And you don't just hear the chips click. You've got the, the music. You've got people laughing and talking and whatnot. It's not overwhelming when you walk in the.

[Brownie]

And the music like last night, it's fant were down to two tables and that music they were playing, I mean one guy got up and started doing dance and guys were sitting there tapping like this, you know. Yeah, it just, it lightens the whole thing up.

[Elle]

It really does.

[Brownie]

Makes it, you know, you're gonna, you know, you're there to play poker or serious poker, but it gets you going, gets your juices going.

[Elle]

I was gonna say it keeps, it keeps the momentum moving and gives you a little pep in your step. I. I've quite honestly, I was actually going to share like a review on some new earplugs I bought and I brought them with me. I haven't needed them. There's no casino sound here. I don't hear the machines.

[Joe Scales]

We're off a little bit.

[Elle]

We are off in our own little world over here. And I kind of like it here.

[Brownie]

Yeah.

[Elle]

You know, it's. You're shielded and I think that's another thing they offer to their players is this is your space and you're not being invaded by all of that slot machine noise, people running by, yelling, whatever. You know, the music that they have on a Friday night.

[Joe Scales]

This is your space.

[Elle]

You're protected. I agree.

[Brownie]

Since they moved it up to the shop area, you don't get any of the slots gone and all that stuff. It's quiet.

[Elle]

And Tommy got a hard time with that said. Oh, I don't know if you're really going to be able to. To pull people. He has done a phenomenal job. We'll actually be back there between Christmas and New Year's if you'd like to join us.

[Brownie]

I probably will because Tommy's a good friend of mine and I.

[Elle]

Fantastic.

[Joe Scales]

Well, we would love to have you

[Brownie]

let me know the dates. Okay.

[Elle]

All right. What about Arizona poker in general? What would, what would you say?

[Brownie]

It's just a. Arizona poker is probably. I'm a. People prejudice here is probably the best ranked state around because we have some great players and as a result. So two Arizona State championships.

[Elle]

Yes.

[Brownie]

You know Stephen Jones.

[Elle]

Right.

[Brownie]

And Greg, the other guy that plays, you know, they're all, they're all good and we get some good players and it's just competition. You need that.

[Elle]

Well, this state championship, I don't know how many people we've invited on our cruise and it's happening in the middle of the state championship and that is like a non negotiable. We are not missing the state championship. So it is very serious here.

[Brownie]

They'll get 3,000 players each.

[Elle]

Really?

[Brownie]

Yeah.

[Elle]

Okay.

[Brownie]

Yeah, that's. Yeah, people don't miss that.

[Elle]

As a matter of fact, I can

[Brownie]

tell they just had a MSPT tournament over there and all of those guys.

[Elle]

Right.

[Brownie]

Are coming back. So that the Arizona State Championship this year is going to be huge. Yeah, it's going to be huge.

[Elle]

I hate that we're missing it.

[Brownie]

Unfortunately it's not here, but you know, it's. It's going to be big. But that's Arizona poker.

[Elle]

Right, that's what I was going to say.

[Brownie]

That's Arizona poker.

[Elle]

What you can expect.

[Brownie]

Yeah.

[Elle]

Right. How long have you lived in Arizona? Because I lived in a desert for three years and this is, this is a true desert. I lived in Dubai for three years, which is completely different. I kind of thought I knew what to expect when we landed and I can't stop staring.

[Brownie]

Yeah.

[Elle]

It's beautiful.

[Joe Scales]

It is, it is.

[Brownie]

Yeah. I've been here 26 years.

[Elle]

What brought you?

[Brownie]

Well, I was in the cemetery and mortuary business for. Took 32 years.

[Elle]

Wow.

[Brownie]

And we built a home in Scottsdale.

[Elle]

Okay.

[Brownie]

When I was a program chairman for a convention out there. And I told my wife go finders, they supposed to build a house off it was actually dead. She took me seriously. I thought I was joking, but she, she wanted to do it, so we did it. And then when I retired at 56, I said, we're moving out to Arizona. She goes, okay, so we just moved out here and the rest is history.

[Elle]

And you've been happy ever since?

[Brownie]

Oh, yeah, yeah, it's been great.

[Elle]

Well, and the. I will say you gotta get used

[Brownie]

to the heat in the summertime.

[Elle]

Yeah.

[Brownie]

But you got three and a half months. Big deal.

[Elle]

It's a trade off.

[Brownie]

They're like.

[Elliot Schecter]

Yeah.

[Brownie]

Now here the weather's kind of warm right now.

[Elle]

It's like seasonably warm.

[Brownie]

20 degrees higher than normal.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. Breaking records.

[Brownie]

It is. Yeah. Every day we're breaking.

[Elle]

Yeah. People have been blaming me for that. I don't know why that's a good idea. I know. Yes, exactly.

[Brownie]

I think I'll blog that tomorrow.

[Elle]

Okay.

[Brownie]

This is why the temperature so bad. The jelly's full.

[Elle]

Yeah, exactly.

[Brownie]

I never thought about that.

[Elle]

Yeah, I wasn't. We weren't anticipating 103. 7. I was listening to the news coming in this morning and. Or yesterday morning and they said we've already broken the record so let's see if we can keep it going.

[Joe Scales]

And I was like, like, can we not see if we out for a

[Brownie]

while but then you come in here, you don't worry about it.

[Joe Scales]

True. That's fair.

[Brownie]

And I think that's why poker rooms are full.

[Elle]

Right.

[Brownie]

Because that's true.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Elle]

Well, let's talk recent headlines. This is something we always like to talk around the table because, you know, that's really going to happen in real life. We've got several things happening.

[Joe Scales]

The Resorts World.

[Elle]

Resorts World. We are really sad to hear they're closing their poker room on March 30th. So if you're in the area, please go show them some love before they close their doors. And, you know, this Lodge saga is continuing. So what are you hearing around, I

[Brownie]

think, on that, that deal there? I think if you look at it and read about it, the governor doesn't like. And he wrote a bill when he wasn't the governor.

[Elle]

Right.

[Brownie]

That wanted to put a stop to it.

[Elle]

Right.

[Brownie]

And now they're claiming money laundering and all that stuff. I think they just want to get rid of all the culture and text, which is unfortunate.

[Elle]

It's a volatile market right now, for sure. And I think more will unfold over time. And this is one of those stories that everybody's so anxious about. Joe. Joe and I have been talking about some headlines where he's like, why is it that everybody pays attention to these stories? I go, because we don't know the information. Everybody's trying to fill in the info. And I think if we're just patient, we may come to find out what's truly behind it.

[Brownie]

So money laundering, I don't know about that. That's kind of. I think that's an excuse they're using.

[Joe Scales]

I think you're right, because you can bank.

[Brownie]

You can have a business in one state and bank another business in another state.

[Elle]

Absolutely.

[Brownie]

That's. That's not a big deal. And I don't think Doug Polk's going to put his reputation up for money laundering just because he moved money to another state.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Brownie]

And Brad Owen, he's not going to do it.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Brownie]

You know, so it's crazy. I think so. But like you said, we don't know all the facts.

[Elle]

True.

[Brownie]

So there might be something under the rug here that we don't know about.

[Joe Scales]

Right. Yeah.

[Brownie]

That the feds are going to turn over that rug and say, hey, what's this all about? But we don't know yet.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, we'll see. What we've talked about on the podcast numerous times is, don't everybody try to fill in those blanks yet.

[Brownie]

Just.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, let this unfold for what it is, and we'll find the answers eventually.

[Elle]

Just maybe not as staff as.

[Brownie]

I feel sorry for all the employees.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Brownie]

He's got like two or three hundred employees now, don't have a job.

[Elle]

Right. And I think that's one thing at least. Doug. I think Doug has come out publicly and said that's one of the difficult things. And he also wants to ensure that everybody knows that their money's safe. He will see to it that that's returned. So there's a lot of pressure there. And you're absolutely right, you know, especially in this economy. I mean, gas is, what, close to five bucks a gallon out here right now. It's a tough spot that they've been put in. For sure, for sure, for sure.

[Brownie]

But like you said, let it play out. See where the chips fall and, you know, go from there.

[Elle]

Absolutely, Absolutely. Before we leave today or sign off today to go back and hit the tournament, if anybody listening has an in with United Airways, oh, my God. I need a contact. I need a contact to say thank you to at least five people. Personally, I need to know how we recognize United Airways employees, because let me just tell you, Joe and I got to the airport 7:30 in the morning. Your flight has been rescheduled. So we had Virginia, Illinois, Illinois, Arizona. Easy peasy, right? No, no, no. Then they wanted to send us southwest Virginia to D.C. d.C. To Newark, spend the night in Newark Airport, fly to Arizona. And I said, are you kidding me?

[Joe Scales]

We were like, can we not.

[Elle]

Could we figure out something else? This gate agent says, what's your phone number? I said, okay, here's our phone number. How about I go to breakfast and I come back and we just see how these flights shuffle around? She said, it's a great idea.

[Joe Scales]

Middle of breakfast, before we even finished breakfast.

[Brownie]

Yeah.

[Elle]

We get a personal phone call. I've got you rebooked exactly the same route that you went before. You're gonna have to spend the night. I said, well, St. Patrick's Day in Chicago is not going to be that bad.

[Brownie]

I think we can do that.

[Elle]

I think we can do that. So we get on. We get on the flight, and I told them from Virginia, I said, you know, if we get to Chicago and get on a standby, we're going. So let's. Let's make this happen. Get off the plane.

[Joe Scales]

We book it, though.

[Elle]

What?

[Joe Scales]

We had to book it across that airport to find.

[Elle]

Because they do this texting thing now instead of face to face. They don't want these long lines, which is phenomenal. Okay. I get on a text. I forgot her name. Tasha, I think, says, go to gate C19. I get to C19. 8 agent there goes, let's get you. Oh, you're already on the standby list. Stay right there. They get us on the flight.

[Brownie]

Holy, man.

[Elle]

We get here the same day we're supposed to get here, and I'm just.

[Joe Scales]

A little later.

[Elle]

A little later than we anticipated, but not a big deal. And I mean, every single person personable, not upset, not yelling, not exasperated. Just, let's see what happens. And I was really it. It. I'm not kidding, because I fly a lot. We fly a lot, and I've flown a ton. It restored my faith in industry right now because there's so much, so many things that you don't look forward to flying. I mean, our bag, luggage delivery. We could talk about that later. But even the guy when I'm trying to look for three bags that are all over the U.S. he's like, we're gonna figure this out.

[Joe Scales]

He worked on it right up until he left, and then comes in the next morning and was. Started working on finding our bags again the next morning. Like it was his personal vendetta. He was gonna find these bags. Yeah.

[Brownie]

And your bags got here, though.

[Elle]

They did.

[Brownie]

Finally.

[Elle]

And here I am saying, hey, can you help me with this? This file? Case file, whatever. Yeah. And then Joe goes in the next day, and he walks in and he goes, joe Scales. I'm not even kidding. I'm not even kidding. He goes, I just got here. I'm already working on your back. That is showing me that they love what they're doing, and I want to be able to recognize these people. So no joke. If you have any connection to United Airways, reach out to me E L L e@antiop magazine.com. i need to get these people recognized. I need to make sure that they know we saw them and we appreciated what they did.

[Joe Scales]

Right? Yep. And then we also have to give a shout out to Mr. Pickleman, who came here.

[Elle]

One of our listeners is on family vacation, spring break vacation, and he just left his family and came and hung out with us last night. Mr. Pickleman. He goes by. Mr. Pickleman. He goes by. Really great to meet you. Oh, I didn't ask.

[Brownie]

Oh, you can't do it. I just want to find out. I didn't know. I was just checking. You know, I thought you'd ask that. Ellie, too. Well, I know that's an important question.

[Elle]

Yeah. It sounded personal. Yeah, but you could ask it it's true.

[Joe Scales]

You know.

[Brownie]

Come on. Jeez. Good Lord.

[Elle]

It's true.

[Joe Scales]

Well, he came, he hung out, really made our day, made our night. We were just out there.

[Elle]

We.

[Joe Scales]

I don't know how long he was here, but we. We sat there and chatted for a long time and it was really nice.

[Brownie]

Good. That's Arizona.

[Elle]

It is.

[Brownie]

Yeah. That's Arizona.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Elle]

That's all we've experienced so far.

[Brownie]

That's Arizona.

[Elle]

Well, thank you, Brownie, for joining us.

[Brownie]

You're welcome.

[Elle]

We really appreciate it. What an ambassador you are for the game. Keep up the good work.

[Brownie]

I'm trying.

[Elle]

We appreciate what you're doing for everybody here. And I've heard that from other people, too, that they appreciate you.

[Brownie]

So I have a lot of money to say that. And Tia said I had to say something nice about her, so that's why I said what I said.

[Elle]

Oh, okay.

[Brownie]

I really didn't mean it. But that's okay. She'll understand. That's okay.

[Elle]

I don't believe you. For me, one I hold up of a second at all, you have.

[Joe Scales]

You have one more job ahead of you, which is to win this thing. Yeah.

[Brownie]

I'm going to give my best shot. And they're gonna live stream, find the.

[Joe Scales]

That's right.

[Elle]

I'm really glad you.

[Brownie]

They've got new equipment coming in. They've got everything. Jack was telling me yesterday we're going to do a big production.

[Elle]

They are. I think they've got a camera above the table and then they have multiple camera.

[Brownie]

They've got them coming in to do all that.

[Joe Scales]

Speaking of Jack, we, we. We have not given enough of a shout out to Shauna and Jack.

[Elle]

Yes.

[Joe Scales]

Both in the marketing team here. Yeah. They. They have taken care of us phenomenally.

[Elle]

They've made us feel like VIPs around here.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, exactly. So shout out to them as well. Thank you, Brownie, for joining us.

[Brownie]

Anytime. And let me know where the stop is. What time you're going to Venetia.

[Elle]

Absolutely.

[Brownie]

I'll book it in and see you guys there.

[Elle]

We would love it.

[Joe Scales]

Sounds great.

[Elle]

As always, gentlemen, it's a pleasure being around the table with you.

[Joe Scales]

Likewise.

[Narrator]

Wisdom cuts like a blade Dropping true bombs with a poker parade Big blinds, big stakes, raise it up.

[Joe Scales]

Let's make no mistake, Elliot Schecter joins us each week to say how he would run situations that come up in your games. And he's with us again this week. Elliot, how's it going?

[Elliot Schecter]

Things are going pretty nicely, thanks. How you doing today?

[Joe Scales]

Good, Good. We are actually Recording this a little bit early because by the time everybody listens to this, we will be soaking up the sun in Arizona.

[Elliot Schecter]

Oh, very nice. That's right. Yeah. The Antioch Poker Tour goes to Gila River. Should be beautiful.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, that's right, that's right. And looking forward to that. I know it's going to be a lot of fun. Like I said, by the time everybody hears this, then cards will already be in the air and we'll be having a blast. So we wanted to get this recorded and make sure that we had plenty of time to, as they say, the show must go on. So we have this call the floor that's sent in by Marcus Lee. And Marcus is in a 13 cash game, eight handed on a Saturday night. He says the game has been going for a few hours and the table is beyond loose. Earlier in the evening, about half the table was out together for drinks. Oh, and now they're back playing cards. Yeah, I can. That's. That's gonna make for some loose poker

[Elliot Schecter]

for sure, I would hope.

[Joe Scales]

He says. Now they're. Now there are a few drinks past good poker play. Stacks are healthy and pots have been getting big action folds to me in the cutoff. I raised to $15. The action folds to the big blind who has about $260 in front of him. He smiles, reaches down, grabs a stack of red five dollar chips. His stacks are a mess and without counting the chips, he starts to slide the stack forward. But when the chips get close to the middle, the stack tips over. Chips spill and roll everywhere, including into the pot, while the rest lay in a pile in front of him. He says it's clearly a raise, there's no question about that. But now the dealer can't sort out the mess of chips and asks the player, somewhat exhausted at the drunkenness that has been going on for a while now, how much the raise is. The big blind says, I don't know, I just grabbed a stack. One of his buddies says, that's like $60. Another laughs and says it's closer to 80. The big blind reiterates, honestly, I didn't count them. Now I speak up to cull the floor because if nobody knows how much the bed is, how am I supposed to act? The floor and the dealer went through the action to that point to recreate the pot and got a number of $80 for me to call. The problem is that there were other chips that had rolled away and ended up in one one of the other player stacks. I don't believe those ever made it to the pot. They were just returned to the player or placed in that player's stack. And he says to be fair to them, they were drunk, not dishonest. So I don't think they were being malicious, just not thinking clearly, he said. Anyway, in order to make up for the difference in chips, I raised one the pot. But how should the floor have sorted this out? Because I don't think this was the best way.

[Elliot Schecter]

Then I'm quite curious to find out what you consider the best way.

[Joe Scales]

Right.

[Elliot Schecter]

The best way starts at the beginning. In no limit games especially it's a tournament rule and it's generally a cash rule. Chips need to be stacked neatly and in stacks of 20 or close to it. Obviously if somebody has less than 20 chips then they can't stack in 20 but everybody else needs to stack them in a reasonable size which is 20 high, what fits in a rack. So if nobody's enforcing that, which again starts with the dealer, then yeah, you're going to end up with situations like this where people are putting unknown amounts of chips into a pot and now you have to figure out exactly how much it was. So we got to start there. We're going to not have a chicken and egg to bait. This is the beginning. Chips must be stacked neatly while playing no limit or pot limit games. Otherwise opponents don't have a clear idea of what their opponents have in front of them and how to properly make bets. So again, yes, this starts there. Well, let's move on to actuality. Their chips weren't stag neatly. They tried to move them forward, they spilled. They weren't from the narrative. The amount moving forward was determined to be 80 bucks. That, that wasn't. It doesn't appear to be the amount that actually moved into the betting area or fell off the stack. Apparently that's what the stack was worth, 80 bucks. At some point you just got to take it as the number and move on. And apparently that's what was done here, which is fine. I've, I've heard of many worse outcomes. This is not a bad outcome. It's a reasonable amount. It obviously wasn't 20 high. It seems like a good even number and a reasonable number. I, I don't see much to protest here other than the fact that the players chips were not really kept neatly enough for playing this particular game.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, I, I'm kind of with you as far as what you said at the beginning, which is I don't know what other outcome you could have come up with. You're not going to Go to the cameras and slow it down that far.

[Elliot Schecter]

Not for 15, 20.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. You are able to, for the most part, figure it out just by saying, okay, well, this person, bet this person raised this person, whatever, and recount the action and say this is how much was in the pot before he moved the stack forward.

[Elliot Schecter]

Right.

[Joe Scales]

So this is what's left.

[Elliot Schecter]

I mean, it doesn't specifically say in the narrative, but it appears to be pre flop action. So chips spilling into the pot, again, not hard to separate. It can't be that difficult to figure out how much was actually in the pot or pot area prior to the chip spilling out. So again, I don't see much of a challenge here. It's not like we're on the turn in a pot limit Omaha game and three people have folded on the flop. Now you got to think back and remember how much was in the pot at what point. Well, this is pre flop in a one, three, no limit game. There can't be a whole lot in this pot to figure out and separate from this guy's chips. So, yeah, I, Yeah, I'm not a big fan of turning molehills into mountains.

[Patrick]

Yeah.

[Elliot Schecter]

This seemed to be a pretty quick, speedy and reasonable decision made on the part of the operator in house here.

[Joe Scales]

Right. It sounds like to me, Marcus's bigger concern was the chips that had rolled away either to one other person's or various other people's stacks. And honestly, that's just. It is what it is. Like, you can't, it couldn't have been that much that rolled off it. $10, $20, whatever. And again, over time adds up. But as you said, you have to take it for what it is at that point.

[Elliot Schecter]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

And if you don't want to, you do exactly what Marcus did, which is raise, and then you can get the rest of the chips if you want.

[Brownie]

Right.

[Joe Scales]

But this makes me, and I don't want to get too far from Marcus's point here, but this is a new thing. Well, it's, it's been new for, for a few months now. And I'm, I'm happy to see that it's, it's slowed down. But I've been playing with people that instead of stacking their chips right, they lay them down in a line and have been playing from them like this. To your point about the rule of, of, of stacking your chips, how is this even a thing? How is that it shouldn't be. How is that it shouldn't be.

[Patrick]

And it.

[Elliot Schecter]

No, especially not in no limit or pot limit games. In limit games, it's somewhat immaterial simply because you can only bet so much. And if you've got chips to play, you're playing. If you don't have chips to play, you're not playing. You're not trying to change the size and vary your bets. So, yeah, even then, it shouldn't be a thing. But in no limited pilot, this is not a thing. And if you're out there, one of these players doing this, please stop. And equally as important, if you're an operator letting this happen, please stop. You're not doing anybody any favors. You're not doing your players any favors. You're not doing your dealers any favors. You're not doing the game in general any favors. All you're doing is indulging people who want to not follow the rules. So, yeah, that's gotta stop.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, it's just when you said that, it popped in my head because it's so annoying when I sit at the table with somebody who hasn't just laid out there. And I, I think it comes from old, old poker tables. The old round ones, they have a tray that, that lays out, and people would put their chips in there instead of on the table. And so I think it comes from that. I don't know that for sure. Just me trying to find some excuse for them doing such an asinine thing, Ryan. But, but yeah, I, I, I hate it. And, and I've seen it numerous times within the last, I say, six months or so. That was a complete sidebar to, to Marcus here, but a very nice D. Yeah, Marcus, it sounds like the floor did the best they could. I mean, you know, I guess the only other point to make here is at what point do you walk that fine line or go on either side of this line of they're too drunk to play, you know, if they're not able to. And there's a difference between not able to and just not doing it. Put their stacks in proper chip counts or, you know, at what point do you, do you, do you as a floor? Do you say, we appreciate you, but we're gonna have to ask you to leave because you just too drunk?

[Elliot Schecter]

Well, yeah, If a game's just not moving, if it's ground to a halt, if people aren't having fun, if they're getting way too boisterous and disturbing other tables again, they can easily cross lines. And when they cross lines, something's got to be done. I mean, you can't just passively take it and expect your players to put up with this. So, again, yeah, players are too drunk for the game and for the room. That's not good. And plus, in a lot of places, casinos can get in pretty serious trouble for allowing obviously drunk players to continue to play. So your players are not the only consideration. Your business and its viability are also yet another consideration.

[Brownie]

So.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, that's a fair point. And for the record, I'm not saying these guys are that drunk. It's fine to have a good time and. Absolutely. And it sounds like that's what was going on at this table. A bunch of people really having a good time. And yes, it's that classic story of the one sober person amongst all the drunk people. And you're like, it's not nearly as fun for me. Yeah, but. But this was not. It certainly sounds like it could have been a profitable night for Marcus, you know, with all that going on. So you don't want to. You don't want to push them. Push them away for that reason either.

[Elliot Schecter]

Right.

[Joe Scales]

So it is a fine line, but it sounds like everybody did the best they could with this situation, so.

[Elliot Schecter]

Indeed.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. Kudos to the floor. And Marcus, thank you for sending that in. If anyone has a call to floor that they would like to know how Elliott would rule, send it to podcasty magazine.com Elliot, we'll see you when we get back from. From Arizona.

[Elliot Schecter]

Absolutely. Have a great time. Hope it turns out really well. Look at Thorn.

[Joe Scales]

Welcome to Hand of the Week, where Patrick, our resident fish, and I dive into listener submitted hands each week. We tackle everything from questionable bluffs to hero calls and the hands that make you scratch your head. Whether you're looking for strategy tips or you just want to see if you would have played it any better, we've got you covered. Patrick, how's it going?

[Patrick]

You know, I'm pretty good. Just living the wild ride that has been the last 24 hours.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. So I guess kind of a peek behind the curtain. We are recording this early because currently, when everybody is listening to this, we will already be in Arizona. Cards will be in the air. But I recorded. I recorded yesterday, or call the floor with. With Elliot. And it was 83 degrees shorts.

[Patrick]

Springtime's in the air. Dogwood trees are starting to blossom. Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

And today it was kind of a precursor.

[Patrick]

Ready.

[Joe Scales]

Getting us ready for, you know, the warm weather in Arizona and today. Then here we are today recording Hand of the Week a little early. And there's snow on the ground.

[Patrick]

Snow and sleet. Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

Yes.

[Patrick]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Patrick]

Wild ride. To say the least. I. I Sit there last night looking at the weather and, you know, playing out my, my little guy's outfits ahead of time, and I tell him he's got to wear pants. Well, he's gotten away from the pants because it's 80 degrees and he wants to wear shorts like every, you know, little boy does. That was a hissy fit. I tell him it's going to snow. Well, then his mind. Shit. Mindset shifts to. So isn't it going to be enough to play it? I'm like, no, let's not go down some crazy rabbit hole.

[Elliot Schecter]

Yeah.

[Patrick]

I mean, this is wild. I mean, absolutely wild. You, you need to get yourself out to Arizona. It's going to be warm and, yeah, dry.

[Joe Scales]

So, yeah, yeah. So currently, when I'm recording this, it's cold as hell. When I'm, when everybody is listening to it, I'll be enjoying warm weather. So how's that for confusion? Like there's some kind of Twilight Zone thing right there. If you really think about that. Could put your mind in a pretzel.

[Patrick]

Let's take everyone's mind out of a pretzel and play some cards.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. We've got a hand of the week sent in by Brian Leonard. And Brian says, hey, guys, I was playing 1 3, no limit, at my local casino. It's a pretty typical game. Mix of regulars and a few players who clearly came to gamble for the night. Effective stacks in this hand are about $500. Okay, I'm on the button. And look down at the ace of diamonds, Queen of diamonds. Two players limp. A middle position player raises to 15. And we have our first decision on the button.

[Patrick]

I say this a lot, but you're not going to like this. I'm going big.

[Joe Scales]

How big?

[Patrick]

Hopefully not big enough. Hopefully not too big. All right, so what do we say? You said two limpers, then middle position, raise it to 15, right?

[Joe Scales]

Yep.

[Patrick]

So 40.

[Joe Scales]

Is that big?

[Patrick]

No, I changed my mind. I had 60 in my head. Look, for anyone that's watching this, Joe's face. There was a massive eye roll when I said I was going big.

[Joe Scales]

No, I, I, I had, I'm like thinking $80. I think I had 60. I had 60. All right, so my thought my, my number was 50 between 50 and 60, so I was probably leaning more toward 50. Okay, but, but I can, I can see 60. Okay, 40 is not enough.

[Patrick]

Just trust for everyone listening, trust your gut. Don't let Joe talk you out of it. Even though he didn't say anything, he didn't say a word. Okay, 60 it is.

[Joe Scales]

Brian decides to three bet as well. He makes it $50. Come both limpers fold. But the original razor calls.

[Elliot Schecter]

So we got it.

[Joe Scales]

The heads up success.

[Patrick]

That was exactly what we wanted to do.

[Joe Scales]

Yep. We're heads up to the flop and there's what, $110 in the pot. The flop comes queen of spades, 10 of clubs, eight of diamonds. I feel like we've played this hand a lot on hand of the week. Just very similar situations, you know. Ton of straight draws out there. I think Jack 9 already got there. That's definitely in their range.

[Patrick]

It is, it is.

[Joe Scales]

But we have top pair, top kicker

[Patrick]

and you know, it probably is. You know, we get a lot of these for a reason because it does come up a lot, you know, and it's one that we, you know, you got to work through. And I would, you know, I'd venture to say every situation is different because you know, like Harvey Spector from suits, you got to play the man a little bit, but you also got to play the percentages. So you know, everything, everything is different.

[Joe Scales]

I, the pre flop Razor did check to us. I don't know if I said that out loud, but.

[Patrick]

You did not. But I, I felt, I felt the force with you, Obi Wan, so I knew that you did that.

[Joe Scales]

What do you think?

[Patrick]

I don't think anything good. No, look, top pair, top kicker, you know, could go run a runner diamonds, which is great, but you know, we're not hoping on that. Yeah, I mean, Jack 9's in their realm. Jack, king, jack is in their realm. You know, there's a lot of things out there that you know, are, are pressing. I, I'm not stopping though. I, you know, if, if, if they haven't gotten there and they're chasing, I'm going to make them pay to chase.

[Joe Scales]

Right, right.

[Patrick]

I'm going.

[Joe Scales]

Exactly. Same thought. What do you think?

[Patrick]

I'm going, I'm going 55.

[Joe Scales]

Okay. We're in the same, we're in the same area. I was thinking 60, so definitely putting the seabed out there though. I wanted to go a little bit over half pot. Brian says this feels like a great flop for, for this hand. Top pair with a strong kicker. So he bets the same $50 that he bet on the flop. Middle position, player check raises to 150. Brian says this is where things started to feel uncomfortable. The opponent is a player. He's seen bluff before, but also someone who doesn't usually go crazy without a hand.

[Patrick]

I mean, if he's not there Already I feel like that's a big bet on a draw and only one draw, because, I mean, it can't be a. A flush and a straight draw. So, I mean, is he sitting on ace, king of spades? So I. I'm calling.

[Joe Scales]

You're gonna think I'm. You're gonna think I've lost my mind. I think back over top. No, no, I just fold. I'm just gonna. Top pair, top kicker. It's just one pair. We can't raise because stacks aren't big enough.

[Patrick]

Nope.

[Joe Scales]

So we would just be committing all our chips if we do that. So if we call, what do we feel comfortable with coming on the turn? An ace or a queen. Is that it?

[Patrick]

Diamond.

[Joe Scales]

Okay. Then we open up a draw, but we're still in bad shape. A king would give us some Broadway outs, but still not there either. Yet. There's a lot of cards that I feel like can improve them.

[Patrick]

I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but the only thing that's beating us right now is if they had jack, nine, tens, or eights. I don't think eights are in the realm. Tension, probably. Jack. N. Definitely. That's in the realm.

[Joe Scales]

Okay. But you're going to face another big bet on the turn, guaranteed. So if we don't see an ace, a queen, or a diamond, then we just wasted chips. Yeah, fair.

[Brownie]

You're.

[Joe Scales]

You're not even.

[Patrick]

I'm not saying I like it, but you're not wrong.

[Joe Scales]

And if the diamond comes, I still don't feel great about it, like. So just fold, save the chips, and. And fight them later. But Brian's in your camp. He wants to call. That means the pot's $410, and the turn is the two of clubs. So the board is queen of spades, 10 of clubs, eight of diamonds, two of clubs, middle position, doesn't hesitate. He moves all in for about 290more.

[Patrick]

That is exactly.

[Joe Scales]

Brian says.

[Patrick]

That's exactly what I wanted him to do. Tell me what Brian said first.

[Joe Scales]

Brian says at the table, I thought maybe he could be doing this with Queen, Jack, King, Queen, a combo draw, or even something like Jack 9. But the straight with Jack 10 also seemed very possible. If I call and I'm wrong, I'm basically rebuying. So that's the question for you guys. Are you calling or folding here?

[Patrick]

Well, Joe's already out of hand, so he. If he happened to get to here, he's definitely folding.

[Joe Scales]

Well, Here's. No. I just want to make a caveat there. You're you're right. But also as a caveat, if we made it to here, if we were able to make the call on the flop.

[Patrick]

Let's hear it. Keep it going.

[Joe Scales]

Why can't we call on the turn? Because. What changed?

[Patrick]

Absolutely. Absolutely nothing. He's still chasing a straight draw, and he's overcompensating. And I have top pair, top kicker. I'm calling.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. The two of clubs changes nothing. So if I were to make it to the turn, I'm calling here. I didn't, though.

[Patrick]

No, you did not.

[Joe Scales]

For the record, you.

[Patrick]

You were.

[Brownie]

You were done.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. Also, the fact that it was a quick bet means that their mind was made up before that card hit the felt. No matter what that card was. I feel like he was betting. That's usually a sign of a draw.

[Patrick]

Correct. So because they're either going to continue to chase or they made it one way or the other, they're throwing their chips in.

[Joe Scales]

Right. So they. They knew what they were doing before that card hit. Brian says he went back and forth for quite a while trying to figure out what hands his opponent could realistically have. The check raise on the flop, followed by the quick shove on the turn felt extremely strong. But he also knew this opponent was capable of getting aggressive with draws. So after a long tank, Brian folded.

[Patrick]

Ouch. Brian.

[Joe Scales]

As he pushed his cards into the muck, the opponent shrugged and said, you probably had the best hand. And he turns over. King of clubs, jack of clubs. So when the turn came, though, the two of clubs gave him the flush

[Patrick]

draw and a straight drop. Yep.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. And so that's where he decided. Decided to fire all in. But Brian, I mean, actually was ahead when the chips went in. But man, he had so many outs too, though.

[Patrick]

A lot of outs. The four of diamonds was coming, though. I just. I felt it in my bones. Um, no, a lot of outs. There's. There's a very good chance, percentage wise, that Brian loses that hand if he. If he makes that call. So.

[Joe Scales]

So I'm just going to throw this out there too, because I know that you're one of the people that would love to do this. Whatever you do, if you decide to fold that right there, don't rabbit hunt. Don't ask for that last card to come out because it's only gonna make you cry. There is no scenario where you feel good, you know? Yeah. So. So if you folded, just make. Make sure you made your decision and be good with it no matter what. And don't ask for that last card to be Shown,

[Patrick]

you know, I, there is a card out there that I would have felt better if I fold there and the ace of clubs comes out and he's got the nuts, I'm, I'm okay folding it makes me feel better. Everything else, not so much though, because when the four of diamonds rolls out, I'm going be pissed.

[Joe Scales]

It's good advice.

[Patrick]

It's good advice, Joe.

[Joe Scales]

Just, just that saves the rest of your session for sure. Brian says that this hand stuck with him not because he necessarily made a bad fold, which I don't, I don't know that I would call it a bad fold, but because he wondered did I allow the pot to get too big with just one pair? Was there anything I could have done earlier in the hand to avoid being put into this kind of brutal spot? Did the three bet pre flop create this situation?

[Patrick]

Well, it didn't not create it because that's led into it. The flop didn't help. I mean, both him and I are calling that. I mean the main difference is folding after the flop when you got check raised. Right.

[Joe Scales]

I mean that was the difference between you and I for sure.

[Patrick]

Yeah, I don't mind this. I don't mind the three bet pre flop.

[Joe Scales]

No, the three bets, I feel like that is, I won't say mandatory, but that is, that is a spot you should be three betting for sure. So that, that's correct. And I don't think the bet sizing was terrible on the flop, but we were a little bit higher. What did he, I said 60. I think you said 55 and he said 50. So we were all right in that same realm. In hindsight, we probably could have gone bigger, even bigger than I did. Maybe that $80 was a good spot. If nothing else, we get the information we need. If we bet $80 and get raised, we're probably beat.

[Patrick]

You know, I agree, I don't, yeah, I agree

[Joe Scales]

more, more than anything, calling that raise on the flop is, is a tough one because it's such a draw heavy board, even if they're semi bluffing, which they were.

[Patrick]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

There's still so many cards that kill us on the next two streets. And you know, like I said before, you know that bigger bet's coming if you miss on the turn. So yeah, I, I, I wouldn't say you played this terribly. I don't know that there's a lot of stuff that you could have done differently. Maybe like I said that bigger bet but not, not poorly played really. I also enjoy that this, this so many of the hand is a week that we get are big decisions on the river, and I like that. This was a big decision before that. Absolutely. We didn't even make it to the river on this one. So I'm glad to see, you know, mixing that up. So that's, that's fun.

[Patrick]

And, and most likely, whether he likes to believe it or not, but at least the percentages show it. I mean, with that extra club, he probably made a good fold because percentages wise, he probably gets beat there.

[Joe Scales]

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Brian, thank you so much for sending that in. If anyone has a hand of the week that they would like to know how Patrick and I would play it, send it to podcastingagazine Dot. Patrick, we'll see you when we return from sunny Arizona.

[Patrick]

Sounds good, my friend. Safe travels. Enjoy. For anyone else who's out there, you guys have a blast. And we'll. We'll catch you next time.

[Narrator]

From the flop to the turn, we play it bold, chasing hearts and diamonds. Never fold in the boots we're dealing with. Poker legends rise on the 18.

[Joe Scales]

Sometimes we spend so much time waiting in poker, waiting for good cards, waiting for the right spot, waiting for the perfect moment to make our move. Not this hand, not this situation. I'll wait until I'm more comfortable. Sometimes that can absolutely be the right decision. But sometimes, if we're being honest, it's just fear dressed up as patience. And good players have a way of exposing that. They'll test your strategy. They'll test your willingness to act, to trust yourself, to take a chance to step into a moment when there are no guarantees. Every player has been there. Stacks getting shorter, blinds getting bigger, that voice in your head getting louder. Just survive. Don't make a mistake. Wait for something better. But the longer you wait, the fewer options you have. And eventually, poker stops asking politely. It forces you to decide. And that's when the game becomes real. Not when you're dealt aces. Not when everything is going your way, but when you're uncomfortable, when the pressure is on, when you don't have all the answers and you still have to act.

[Brownie]

We've.

[Joe Scales]

We've actually watched this unfold numerous times here this week at the Antiat Poker Tour stop in Lone View. And it happens in every big tournament. Those are the moments, the ones you've been building toward. Whether you realized it or not, every player who sits down brings something different. Some bring confidence, some bring experience. Some bring a little bit of both and a whole lot of nerves. But you know what everybody. Everybody brings hope. Hope that this is the run, that this is where it all comes together. But hope doesn't win tournaments. Decisions do. The main event doesn't care about your past results, doesn't care about your bad beats or your heaters or the story you're hoping to write. It only cares about what you do write. Now every hand is a question. Are you going to play scared? Or are you going to play like you belong there? Because you do belong there. You've put in the time. You've learned the lessons. You've taken the hits and kept coming back that seat. It's not an accident. And somewhere in the tournament, there's going to be a moment. One decision, one hand, one spot where everything feels like it's on the line. And those moments are uncomfortable. And it doesn't always go your way, but every once in a while, they do. And when they do, they change everything. Not just your stack, not just your tournament. They change how you see yourself as a player. And when that moment comes, when it would be easier to fold, easier to wait, easier to tell yourself there will be a better spot, remember, there's no promise of a better spot. There's only this one. Trust yourself. Trust your preparation. Trust the player you've become. And when that moment comes, take your shot. Because whether you're the first one out or the one holding the trophy at the end, the goal isn't just to play poker. It's to play without regret. Go take your seat. Enjoy the moment. Embrace the pressure. And when your moment comes, be ready to take it. That's today's one outer and that's today's show. I'll see you next week. A team. And until then, I'll see you at the tables.

[Brownie]

The Any up podcast is a production of anyupmagazine.com contact the show at podcastsyupmagazine.com or call the show at 540-339-7741. If you'd like to advertise, send an email to editoryupmagazine.com.