Chapter 4 Ep. 13 Rolling with the Unexpected

Summary

Ante Up Poker Podcast – Chapter 4 Ep. 13: "Rolling with the Unexpected"

Date: April 10, 2026
Host: Joe Scales
Guests/Co-Hosts: Elle, Elliot Schecter, Patrick

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Episode Overview

This episode, titled "Rolling with the Unexpected," is all about how poker – and life – are full of curveballs, and how adapting to things not going according to plan is a skill you develop out of necessity. Joe Scales and his co-host Elle bring their trademark humor and warmth, mixing community updates, travel tales, tournament talk, and meaningful reflections, while regular segments like “Call the Floor,” “Hand of the Week,” and “Joe’s One Outer” deliver strategy and stories for the everyday player. This week, the team discusses community, charity, and the mentality required for the swings of poker and life.

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Episode Structure & Key Segments

1. Opening Banter & Community Updates

Timestamps: 00:18–09:37

• Technical Apologies:

  • Joe opens by apologizing for last week’s missing YouTube episode due to technical issues, but promises the fix is in place.
  • Elle is back after personal commitments, touching on family health struggles (“Breaking your femur is no joke…major osteoporosis, it’s even more of a no joke.” – Elle, 04:14) and expressing gratitude for support.
  • Joe gives heartfelt thanks to healthcare workers, especially travel nurses:

    “If you're a travel nurse, I’m going to hug you every time I see you.” – Elle (04:42)

• Patreon & Discord:

  • Regular monthly Patreon games locked in for the 16th (Hold ‘em) and 23rd (mixed, Badoogie).
  • Discord community is thriving—listeners are encouraged to join.

• Running Good:

  • Shout out to Steven Jones for wearing the Ante Up hat on a heater in recent events, including deep runs in Arizona and Prague.
  • “He’s got the momentum headed into summer, so we’re super excited to see what you’re going to be up to, Stephen.” – Elle (06:31)

• Trip & Tournament Deals:

  • Circa Las Vegas promotion: “Two night stay, $100 dining credit, $100 beverage credit, and a daybed at Stadium Swim for $400” – Elle (07:19)
  • Schenectady series and charity events highlighted, with references to mini-mains and unique events like the “black chip bounty.”
  • Free alcohol for cash game players all month (“Oh my gosh, all this month!” – Elle, 09:23)

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2. Bet on Better – Charity Poker Events

Timestamps: 09:37–13:54

• Upcoming Charity Events in Chicagoland:

  • Camp One Step: April 16th at Galleria Marchetti, major prizes including $10k WSOP Main Event Seat. Bob Popper is a bounty guest (“You knock him out, you get a huge prize. These prizes are…huge baskets of beautiful donated prizes…” – Elle, 10:05).
  • Gaming for Green: June 11th, same venue, with early bird pricing until May 3rd.
  • Both events raise funds to send children with cancer and their families to camp:

    “The true main event of the evening is sending kids with cancer, their siblings, and family to camp. ... To bring a bright spot into a child with cancer and their family is huge. And that's the whole point of the evening.” – Elle (10:52)

• Call for Listener Charity Events:

  • Listeners are asked to share charity poker events from all regions so the show can amplify their reach.

• Reflections on Poker Community Generosity:

  • “Poker players are giving people 100%.” – Elle (13:24)
  • Local charity events (e.g., clubs raising funds for a dog park) celebrated.

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3. Call the Floor with Elliot Schecter

Timestamps: 15:02–27:22

• Home Game Ruling Debate:

  • Listener Cody describes a situation: receives 3 cards in a self-dealt home game, speaks up after one fold, dealer says his hand is dead (not a misdeal), and the host is unsure of ruling.
  • Elliot’s Ruling:
    • In casinos, this scenario is almost always a misdeal (“One person folding does not constitute action…” – Elliot, 18:05).
    • In home games, stricter rules may apply, and house rules prevail.
    • Personal responsibility emphasized—players should check their hands for the correct number of cards immediately.
    • “If three people would have acted, you would have had no recourse…At some point, you do have to protect your hand. It’s one of the primary rules of the game.” – Elliot (20:41)

• Fairness & Consistency:

  • Key concern is setting fair rules and applying them equally:
    • “As long as they’re consistent, then it’s fine…the host is making the decision they think is best in the moment, and honestly, we’re not always going to agree with it.” – Joe (25:53)

• Advice:

  • Cody is encouraged not to swear off the game for one ruling—home games are about fun and flexibility.

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4. Hand of the Week with Patrick

Timestamps: 27:25–47:08

• Listener Hand Breakdown:

  • Submitted hand by Micah from a $1/$3 home game, 6-handed, holding Q♠J♠ in the cutoff.
  • Joe and Patrick discuss optimal preflop raise sizing (agree on $10-12), and post-flop strategy after flopping top pair and flush draw (J♦ 9♠ 4♠).
  • Turn Decision – Big Debate:
    • Board pairs with 9♦, villain checks; discussion centers on whether to bet for value/protection or check for pot control.
    • “Sometimes I think people get scared and act out of fear and not having a plan. So…kudos for having a plan here.” – Joe (40:26)
    • Micah checks back, leading to a tough river spot after a $60 probe bet; he calls but villain shows J♥9♥ for a full house.

• Key Takeaway:

  • Checking back turn makes river call tougher, betting turn gathers more information and can save chips in the long run.
  • “Should you be betting the turn most of the time? I think so. But once you check back, I don’t think it makes it an easier fold — I think it makes it a harder fold.” – Joe (44:49)

• Listener Engagement:

  • Encouragement to submit interesting hands for breakdown in future episodes.

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5. Joe’s One Outer – Life Lessons from Poker

Timestamps: 47:20–50:48

• Mindset for Poker and Life:

  • Emphasizes how variance and setbacks are foundational to poker, and the mentality required carries over to life.

    “Poker actually gives us a framework…The goal isn’t to win every hand, it’s to make the best decision you can with the information you have, then live with the result. And that’s a powerful mindset if you can carry it away from the table too.” – Joe (47:20)

• Key Quotes:

  • “Just like in poker, where one hand doesn’t define your game, one moment doesn’t define your life.” – Joe (48:05)
  • “If things aren’t going your way…ask yourself, did I play this hand the best I could? …That’s a win. Even if it doesn’t feel like it right now.” – Joe (49:17)
  • “The people who succeed, at the table and away from it, aren’t the ones who avoid bad beats. They’re the ones who keep showing up, keep making good decisions, and don’t let short term results shake long-term confidence.” – Joe (48:32)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On travel nurses:
  “If you're a travel nurse, I’m going to hug you every time I see you.” – Elle (04:42)

• On community support and charity:
  “The true main event of the evening is sending kids with cancer, their siblings, and their family to camp.” – Elle (10:52)

• On home game rules:
  “In casinos, this generally would have been a misdeal…One person folding is not going to constitute action.” – Elliot Schecter (18:05)
  “At some point, you have to protect your hand. It’s one of the primary rules of the game.” – Elliot Schecter (20:41)

• On poker mindset:
  “Poker actually gives us a framework…make the best decision you can with the information you have, then live with the result.” – Joe (47:20)
  “Just like in poker, where one hand doesn’t define your game, one moment doesn’t define your life.” – Joe (48:05)

• On hand analysis (turn check):
  “Should you be betting that turn most of the time? I think so…but once you check back, I don’t think it makes it an easier fold, I think it makes it a harder fold.” – Joe (44:49)

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Important Timestamps

• [03:32] Family and health update, gratitude for nurses
• [06:31] Steven Jones shoutout, discussion of running good
• [07:17] Circa Las Vegas promo details
• [09:37] Chicagoland charity and Camp One Step event
• [15:02] Start of “Call the Floor” segment
• [18:05] Elliot’s ruling on the misdeal debate
• [27:34] Start of “Hand of the Week” segment
• [32:30] Listener hand introduction
• [40:19] Analysis of checking back the turn
• [47:20] Joe’s “One Outer” life reflection segment

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Summary & Takeaways

This episode highlights the importance of rolling with the unexpected, both in poker and life. Community-driven, with constant encouragement to listeners to get involved—whether that’s through Patreon games, Discord, live charity tournaments, or simply sending in stories and hands. The show balances strategy, humor, and heart. Joe’s reflective closer is not just a pep talk for poker, but for anyone feeling the swings of variance in life—make smart decisions, don’t let bad beats shake your confidence, and keep showing up.

Whether you’re in it for strategy, community news, or life philosophy, this episode is full of both practical takeaways and poker wisdom that resonates far from the felt.

Transcript

[A]

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.

[B]

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 before we get rolling, I do owe all of you a quick apology. We didn't get last week's episode up on YouTube. I ran into some technical difficulties on the video side and I just wasn't able to get them corrected. The audio version still made it out, so hopefully you were able to catch it there. But fingers crossed, I think we've got everything ironed out and now the video version should be back up and running this week. Also, good news. L will be back around the table with me for table talk. So we're going to be back at full strength, which is always going to make things a little more fun. Also, quick heads up for the 18 our Patreon games, they are going to be locked in this month for the 16th and the 23rd hold em will be the 16th. The 23rd will be our mixed game. I'll be spinning the wheel for those good karma seats this weekend. So if you've been thinking about jumping into the Patreon community, now's a great time to do it. I'll be spinning that wheel on Saturday and this month's mix game will be Badoogie. So it's always a fun one. Also, don't forget about Discord. That's where a lot of the fun happens outside of the tables. So it's always great to see and hear from everyone, especially during the games, but you can find the link in the show description on the website or on our link tree. And if for some reason you can't get it in any of those, just shoot me an [e-mail] and I'll get you hooked up. I'd love to hang out with you guys in there. That's all I've got for now, so let's get on with the show. Welcome to the show.

[A]

His mic's on fire. Elle's got the laugh. She's taking it higher.

[B]

Elle and I are back around the poker table.

[C]

Yes, we are.

[B]

Welcome back.

[C]

Thank you. Sorry, I'm still having another cup of coffee today. Yeah, it's been a lot.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Hated. Hated missing last week. Dustin, you know I always want to be able to have conversation and see you. And so I'm really sorry to you, Dustin, that I missed you in person. And then, April, I'm really looking forward to meeting you as well. So. So. And I think we had some stupid snafu stuff where we've put hours and hours and hours and trying to troubleshoot the YouTube and it's just not going to work out. So we'll have you back again soon. And yeah, I think that it's been two weeks of making small steps in trending in the right direction with my stepmom.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Years. It's a lot. I don't know. I can't share, but so much other than it's been a difficult but good learning opportunity, I guess you could say.

[B]

Right. And just, I mean, she is trending in the right direction. She is doing much better. So that's good.

[C]

Yeah. And I think, you know, routine is helping. And we're there every evening. I think that's her bright spot in the day is we make dinner or pick up dinner and have dinner as an entire family in her room. And so that's been actually some really nice quality time. But breaking your femur is no joke.

[B]

Right.

[C]

And when you have major osteoporosis, it's even more of a no joke. So lots of amazing physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, all the things.

[B]

Yeah. Tons of people working on this and getting her moving in the right direction. So incredibly thankful to all the nurses and the doctors. Doctors. And let me tell you, these, these traveling nurses. Yeah, traveling nurses.

[C]

If you're a travel nurse, I'm going to hug you every time I see you. Nursing in itself. I was raised by a nurse. My mother was in nursing for over 45 years.

[B]

Yeah. But these, these travel nurses, like, you know, they have homes that they have to go back to as well.

[C]

And like in Oklahoma, and they're working in Virginia or West Virginia, and they're working in Virginia and they work four 12 hour shifts or three 12 hour shifts in a row. And then they drive. What?

[B]

And I know they don't necessarily always have to go back, but sometimes you've got family still, you have other responsibilities that you have to go back to from time to time. So. Yeah. Just all the kudos in the world to them and all that they do, but also some kudos to give out to Steven Jones as well.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

That Annie up. Run good. Is running good. I think he. He was spotted wearing the hat that he won from the final table in Lone Butte. And so we're hoping that it Helped you some.

[B]

Yeah, he's on that Annie up heater for sure. Those that don't know Stephen Jones, we, we, we got to kind of get to know him a little bit more in when we were in Gila river in, in Arizona, but he was runner up of the main event against Daniel Wyman and then he was also on the Netflix show Squid Games. So you know, he had a lot of things out there to keep his name out there but, but then he had, after the ante up main event in Arizona, he had a circuit event that he ran deep in and then he ran off to Prague.

[C]

Yeah, there's so many people in Prague this week. It's been really fun to, to watch socials and, and keep up with all of that. But I would say he's got the momentum headed into summer so we're super excited to see what you're going to be up to. Stephen. Really curious how many events, how many bullets he fires and yeah, I'm, I'm,

[B]

I'm sure that we will hear his name numerous times though. I mean there's what, 99 events.

[C]

He's a force to be reckoned with, that's for sure. Yeah, I will, I will honestly say and if you're thinking of heading to Vegas, Circa just sent us a deal which we want to give us, let people know about. This is not a paid advertisement. This is not anything they've asked us to share. We just think it's too good not to share. Just think about this. $400.

[B]

Okay?

[C]

Two night stay, $100 dining credit, $100 beverage credit and a daybed at Stadium Swimming.

[B]

Yeah, and those rooms are no joke. Those rooms are nice. They're not.

[C]

Did you just hear what I said though? A hundred dollar dining credit, a hundred dollar beverage credit. That's half of what you're paying already. And a daybed at Stadium Swim, which I don't even know how much those cost, but I know that's not cheap and you get two night stay for $400. So if you are interested in staying at Circle Go, Go, Go, you're gonna be downtown. Doesn't matter. Who cares? Get an Uber in all the money you're saving in your stay. Get an Uber uptown and go to

[B]

the Strip and it goes from now all the way through September 10th. So maybe.

[C]

No, we're not doing a birthday trip

[B]

before we head out to Schenectady.

[C]

No, absolutely not. No way, Jose. There's already so much going on. We're already, we're already traveling so much as it is. And we'll probably be there. We might be out there in May or June. If you want to go in May or June, fine. But I'm not. I'm not going to run myself ragged before Schenectady. That's one of my favorite stocks.

[B]

It is, it is. And just speaking of Schenectady, they've got, you know, you mentioned Dustin and April band on last week, but they've got their main event that kicks off. Mini main event that kicks off this Saturday or Sunday. Sunday, yeah.

[C]

Mini main start Sunday. Day ones run through Thursday. They're taking a breather, which I think is kind of cool. Friday, Saturday, which might be some fun time to play cash and keep yourself momentum going. And day two is going to be Sunday the 19th. And also, what else is on the 19th? This is my fav.

[B]

This one. That black chick bounty event. Yeah. They. They.

[C]

People get into this.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And it's not a green chip bounty, it's a black chip bounty.

[B]

Right. So $100 you mentioned. We didn't get that episode up. But they. On YouTube. But the audio versions out there, they did talk about some of those cash game promotions that they have going on, you know, Friday and Saturday as well.

[C]

Are they still having free alcohol or is that.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. All of this month.

[C]

Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. All right, well, we're hoping to have them back on for a full recap after the 19th, so stay tuned for that. And then I want to talk about. Bet on better.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Because some of our favorite things happening in the Chicagoland area are happening either this month or I think in June.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So April 16th at the Galleria Marchetti is going to be Camp One Step. If you are new to the Antioch podcast, this is something that we like to participate in one way, shape or form or the other. And this year we have. Bob Popper is a bounty.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So you knock him out, you get a huge prize. These prizes are.

[B]

They're no joke.

[C]

Huge baskets of beautiful donated prizes. Not to mention the food's good, the venue is awesome.

[B]

But they have all those side things too, where the. The ring toss for alcohol. And they have bourbon. Bourbon tasting, you know, things like that.

[C]

I don't know that they might not have had a silent auction. That might have been just the bourbon tasting I was thinking about. But regardless, you can expect good food, good times, and a lot of people firing rebuys.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And they will always shout, it's for the kids. And that's the most important part of the whole evening. Yes. You can win a $10,000 WSOP main event seat, Right?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

However, the true main event of the evening is sending kids with cancer, their siblings and their family to camp. It could be any type of camp. It can be an online art camp, it could be a ski camp, it could be a summer camp. It could be any, anything. To bring a bright spot into a child with cancer and their family is huge. And that's the whole point of the evening.

[B]

So it's a great cause, great event. I love this event. And it's always one of our favorites. So, however, if you miss that, if you play camp one step and you don't win that $10,000 main event seat, you're going to have another shot at the main event seat.

[C]

Yeah. Because there's another group. It's sort of like this double dip opportunity gaming for green that's also happening in Chicago land area. So that's happening. You'll have another shot at a seat on June 11. There they have a green charity poker and casino night, same venue. Because it works really well.

[B]

It is set up really well.

[C]

It's not like a copycat thing. It's like. It just works.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So why fight that? Right. I've heard, I believe early bird pricing

[B]

is through May, through through May 3rd. Yeah.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

And so if you're thinking about jumping into that, then get in early, save a little bit of money. Yeah, for sure. But, yeah, love, love that. You know, the Chicagoland area is always big on the charity events. They've got numerous charity organizations there that put on poker for charity.

[C]

And if you know of any more, let us know. Seriously, we would love to highlight it, put it out on our socials, tell people about it. Because the more we can bet on better. That's our goal.

[B]

Right. 100%. And then coming kind of back to Schenectady, too. We talked about this last week and they have the anti up for autism coming up later on this month, too.

[C]

I can't wait to hear more about that.

[B]

Yeah. And so that is a huge, huge event in New York. You've got huge events in Chicago.

[C]

Yeah. So southwest, southeast, out west, what you got going on?

[B]

Right.

[C]

We want to know because there's good things happening everywhere. And unless you tell people they don't know about them and they can't participate in them. And we have learned, I mean, from talking stick from Gila River.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That just examples that they shared with us in November and December. I mean, poker players are giving people 100%. Our local one is always about the dog park that we play in.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Rotary has been putting that on for, like, multiple years. So if you have an event you want to highlight, please tell us. We would like to get the word out. There's lots of people around the United States or in Europe. Hello? Yeah, let us know. I'm serious. Any way that we can get your word out? We would love to participate and do it.

[B]

Bet on better is our favorite phrase, so it's our favorite thing to do. Yeah. Yeah. So let us know how we can help you bet on better this weekend. You know, it's. It's finally a chance to breathe. I've got to get this. This studio back in order. We. We. We came back and hit the ground running, so. So I've got some cleanup to do here, and I haven't even unpacked yet.

[C]

I'll probably be at the hospital most of the weekend. But it's nice that it's very close, and maybe we'll get some porch sitting time.

[B]

That would be very nice. The weather is warming up, so everyone, you know, enjoy your weekend, enjoy your time with family, and as always, it's a pleasure being around the table with you.

[C]

Likewise.

[B]

Elliot Schecter joins us each week to say how he would rule in situations that come up in your games, and he's with us again this week. Elliot, how's it going?

[D]

Things are going pretty well. Fax. How you doing?

[B]

Good. You know, it's baseball season. The season is still early enough that, as a Royals fan, I can still have hope and. And enjoy some of the games. So I'm. I'm happy about that. The weather's good for baseball right now, so that's for sure. I can't complain. Can't complain at all. I didn't make it. I was hoping to catch a spring training game when we were in Arizona, and I never made it there. So hopefully we're able to get back there again next year. And I'll catch a spring training game while we're there, but we'll just. Right now, just gonna have to settle for. For the regular season games on. On a tv.

[D]

That was better than nothing.

[B]

Yeah, it is. It is. Well, hey, we've got to call the floor this week. It's sent in by Cody Walsh, and this one's from a recent home game, which I like these ones that are from a home game because typically you've got, you know, eight or nine people sitting around the table, and all of them have an opinion on how it should go.

[D]

So, yes,

[B]

in this one, Cody Says I had never played in this game and didn't want to ruffle feathers. The game is a self dealt game and he is sitting under the gun plus one. Yeah, you're right. He says, typically I don't look at my cards until it's my turn to act. So under the gun looks at his hand, folds, actions on me. I peel back my cards and realize I've got three cards. So I immediately speak up and say, hey, I've got three cards, it's a missed deal. But the dealer who just dealt the hand says, no, your hand is dead. It's not a misdeel because you waited until after under the gun acted to say something. So now we're going back and forth for a little bit before the dealer says it's the host's decision and he clearly has no idea what to do. Says, let's just play the handout. Your hand will be dead, you're not in a blind, so it's no big deal. And of course he says, I feel like it's a big deal, but like I said, I didn't want to ruffle feathers, so I let it go but haven't gone back to play there. So my question is, how should this be ruled a missed deal or a dead hand?

[D]

Well, this is a good question for a bunch of reasons, because it has to do with when somebody should speak up in order to maintain their right to appeal or grieve an issue.

[B]

Right.

[D]

It also has to do with casino rules and house rules and home game rules. So they're not all the same and they don't necessarily have to be.

[B]

Right.

[D]

It is a big deal, I'll grant you that. And you, you should be able to get the hands you're entitled to play. If everybody was forced to to miss a hand, the price of, of of playing would go up because the blinds are supposed to represent a combined ante per hand and, and your ante per hand would go up because you get less hands to play for. So. Right, yeah, I agree. It's a big deal. In casinos, this generally would have been a misdeel. You're allowed to peel until enough action has taken place. And one person folding does not constitute action, significant or otherwise. It would take several folds or a couple people putting in chips. That obviously did not occur. You were not in a casino, so you were at somebody's place playing cards. They may have a more strict rule where you have until the action starts to speak up. Otherwise you have not correctly protected your hand, if that's their rule. That's their rule. And I would imagine quite a few home games do that. Otherwise the game could take forever. Especially when it's deal your own. It's just not going to be perfectly dealt. You're not having professionals deal the game to you. It's all your fellow players. So the dealing takes longer and therefore enough time has already been spent on that part of the game. So players should be speaking up immediately as opposed to waiting for people to act or not to act. That could really slow things down even more. I see their point. That doesn't mean they're 100% right. Like I said, in casinos, you would generally be allowed a misdeel here. I don't know if this should stop you from playing there. It's not incredibly unreasonable of them to do this. And I've got to put some of this on you. Just because you didn't look at your cards doesn't mean you shouldn't be verifying you have the right amount before you ever act on them or look at them. You would have known you'd had three cards way before under the gun acted, had you actually checked to make sure you had only two cards. I appreciate you wanting to get information from the other players and not wanting to actually look down at your own hand in any way lest you miss anything. I understand that that's part of playing well, but you've got to take a little more responsibility to protect your hand other than waiting for when it's your turn. If three people would have acted, you would have had no recourse, and I'm not sure you would have protested and it would have been fine. At some point, you do have to protect your hand. It's one of the primary rules of the game. Anytime rules are posted, it's almost always the first rule. So, yeah, a little personal responsibility here is not, not going to hurt things. But yeah, your instincts were right. In a casino, this, this would have been a misdeel almost all of the time. One person folding is not going to constitute action.

[B]

And

[D]

you would have been granted a missed deal and given a hand to which you were entitled. Home games don't necessarily have to adopt every casino rule and for good reason. And yeah, protecting your hand is also important. You should have at least checked that you had the right amount of cards

[B]

right, and you hit on. The biggest thing that I was thinking is this is a home game. You can't expect, not just that the rules won't be the same necessarily, but you can't expect everybody to know what this would be in a casino, you know. Yeah, these, this is a bunch of guys getting together and playing a game like this isn't professionals. They're not probably even trying to make money at this. They're, they're, they're coming out to play the game and have fun most of the time. In most home games, not always the case, but in most home games. And so you're going to have situations where they don't know how this would be ruled. You even said, you know, he, he clearly looked like he didn't know how to rule on this and, and just went with what he felt, what his gut said, which is fine because it's a home game. If you had the same situation in a casino, that would be a problem. But host over there not getting paid to, to make these rulings, you know.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

So yeah, I think that not playing there is a little unreasonable. If the, if you're not playing there because of this now, if there was a string of things that you didn't like, fine. But if this is the reason you're not playing, then I would say go back and give it another shot.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

But yeah, it's not reasonable to think that everybody is going to know nor really care what the rules are in the casino all the time.

[D]

Right.

[B]

This is the way we play it. This is the way we rule it.

[D]

If they've established a set of rules that are fair for everybody and consistently enforced, that's what matters. As long as they don't have rules in place that can really change the outcome or make it unfair for certain players or newer players. If these, if these rules are applied to everybody equally and are fair for everybody, that's not a bad rule book and it's not a bad set of rules to follow. And it's okay. I mean, home games got to have order too. And they can't have identical rules to casinos. They're not in casino. They don't have stand up supervisors walking around supervising the tables. They don't have professional dealers. They don't have surveillance. They got to make some allowances for all of that.

[B]

Yeah. If they, to your point, if they had a rule in this situation where they said, oh, your hand's dead, but then a few hands later they let Walter play, then it's. Then, then it's a problem. Yeah. But as long as they're consistent, then it's fine. Yeah. I would say my advice to you, go back, give it another shot. You may find that not only can you have a lot of fun in these kinds of games. You can also. They can be, they can be pretty profitable at times. So absolutely, definitely go. Don't be too much of a stickler for where the. Well, they rule it this way in the casino and just relax, have fun.

[D]

Right?

[B]

That's what the home game is all about.

[D]

So I could imagine there being averse to miss dealing hands. It's player dealt. The hands are going to take a while to get out. Losing one because of a missed deal is not something we're looking forward to.

[B]

And it is, it is going to be relaxed.

[D]

So

[B]

you know, I mentioned at the beginning there's going to be nine people at the table and they may all have a different opinion on how this is going to be ruled. But ultimately it always comes down to the host is going to make a decision that he thinks is best in the moment. And honestly we're not always going to agree with it. It just, just is you go and you have fun and you know that sometimes a hand is not going to go your way or a ruling is not going to go your way and that's okay. Cody, I really hope you give them another shot. I really hope you go back and I hope that it's a fun game. I hope that you know, if you go and you play and it's not fun then there's no point in going. But, but I hope that you find that it is a fun game and who, you know, you always hear about these, these home games that go on for years and years and years, you know, and maybe this one will be yours. So don't, don't dismiss it yet. But, but thanks for sending it in. That's a, it is a great talking point. It is a good discussions. So Cody, thanks for sending that one in. And if anyone has a call the floor that they would like to know how Elliot would rule, send it to Podcast magazine. Com. Elliot, we'll see you next week.

[D]

Looking forward to it.

[B]

Thanks.

[A]

Patrick's a fish, but he's learning fast. He's all in. This hand might be his last.

[B]

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, man?

[E]

I could not be any better. March Madness is great. Hockey playoffs is extraordinary. Football season being back is amazing but for me and the rest of the golfers on the planet. The Masters is the coup de grace. It's the greatest week of the year.

[B]

Yeah, I get it. I get it. I want to go back up a minute to March Madness, though, because you actually had me place an in person bet. It was the first time I've ever done that.

[E]

Pretty fun, isn't it?

[B]

The. The two. Yeah, that was pretty cool. The.

[E]

The.

[B]

The two teams that we were rooting for did not come through.

[E]

But you know, that part that, that's. That's mostly my fault. I mean, Arizona was supposed to be better. They. They had their run. It didn't work out. For any Purdue fans out there. Just close your ears for a second. How on earth. I thought I could. You know, a team with the mascot is the Boilermakers. We're going to win a national championship. I don't know. That's coming from a hokey span. I mean, we haven't won one in a major sport ever. But, yeah, it's. It's a lot of fun, a lot of great odds to start the tournament. You pick a couple of teams and you never know. So.

[B]

Well, here's the thing that surprised me, actually. And like I said, I've never placed an in person bet before, and I'm sure that it used to be different, but I still had to do it through a computer, really. I went up to. Well, it was a little kiosk. Yeah. I went up to the. The little bar area where they. They were, and I was like, where do I place a bet? And they just pointed to a little kiosk. And I was like, oh, okay, technology's taken over.

[E]

I mean, the good old days of walking up to a guy in a. In a vest and going, listen, I want a hundred bucks on Arizona. And he. And he. And he does his little thing and hands you a slip. I guess those are. Well, you also weren't in Vegas, which I forgot about 17 times while talking.

[B]

So I kept saying, it is probably you're right, it wasn't in Vegas. So it may be different there. We shall put that to the, to the test, that theory to the test later. But, yeah, I was a little surprised, for sure.

[E]

Yep.

[B]

But aside from that, like you said, this is a huge. I'm not a big golfer, but you are. I know I enjoy going out and hitting a ball badly. And then the only time I can play golf is if we're in one of those. I don't even know what you call them where, where everybody gets to hit the ball and then we Use the one top golf best. Well, yeah, I can, I can do that because I don't have to, but I'm talking about out on a golf club.

[E]

You're talking about, you're talking about a captain's choice. Yes. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Or scramble. There you go. Those I can do because I don't actually. Every now and then one goes straight and I'm like, look at that. And if we use one of my balls, you know, at some point, then I feel really accomplished and all good.

[E]

See, you and I should definitely play in a scramble together because scramble is captain's choices. Depends on what part of the country you're in, what you call it. But all the same, I mean, you know, everyone tees off, you use the best, best shot. And they're a lot of fun, especially when you play with a good golfer. And because you're not relying on anything, you get to play from wherever they play from. And then like you said, there's. I don't care if you're A, B, C, D player or, you know, E or F. If you're that bad, you're still gonna have, you're still gonna have.

[B]

Going down that scale for me, you're

[E]

still gonna have one shot, one putt that we're gonna happen to use and it's a blast. So, yeah, I get it. We'll get you out there, maybe we'll take a video.

[B]

I don't know if the scale goes to elementop, but that's more like where I'm at. I'm probably not Z, but, But, but yeah, we, we have a hand of the week, actually where we need to get to. Micah Blackwell sent this one in. Micah says, hey, Joe and Patrick love the show. I listen on my commute each week.

[E]

Cool, Nice.

[B]

He said this hand turned into a full on debate at the table afterward and even later with a couple of buddies. So I figured I'd send it in and let you guys settle it. Okay.

[E]

Don't know that we're going to settle anything, but I'll take it on.

[B]

Yeah, they'll be like these guys. This is the people you're taking advice from. This is from a 13 home game, Six Handed. He says, I've got about $450. And the villain in this hand covers with around 700. He's one of the more solid players in the game. He's generally pretty tight, but not afraid to apply pressure when he thinks someone is weak. And he says, I'm in the cutoff with the queen of spades, jack of Spades. And it folds to us.

[E]

Queen of spades. Jack of spades.

[B]

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with that.

[E]

Yep. It's always a good one. Folds to us. Yeah, probably in that.

[B]

You scared me for a second.

[E]

Yeah, no, I'm not a big queen jack suited fan these days. I. I only like the deuces. I probably. I'm probably going right around right at 12.

[B]

Okay. Yeah, I. I don't know what a standard open in this home game is, but I. I was thinking I'd start right at 10, but I feel like 10 to 12 is a good raise, so. Yeah, 12 is fine. Micah says, I open to 12, so there you go.

[E]

There we go.

[B]

Button folds, Small blind calls, and the big blind calls. So we've just got to face off against the blinds here. $36 in the pot. Three of us to the flop of jack of diamonds, nine of spades, four of spades, both of the blinds. Check.

[E]

Okay, top pair. Good kicker. Spade draw. Only two cards beat us on the spade draw. I'm feeling pretty good, Joe.

[B]

Yeah.

[E]

Yeah, I'm feeling like.

[B]

I don't think you can go wrong here. As long as you don't check back.

[E]

Yeah, I think you go pot, potter. A little above. I'm going 20.

[B]

Can you say that whole sentence again? Because I feel like you said, I'm going pot or a little above and then said you were going 20.

[E]

I should have said half pot or above.

[B]

Okay, okay, maybe you did say half pot. I was like, you're like, wait a

[E]

minute, what's he talking about? Yeah, I'm going. My thought is half pot or above. I'm going in that 20 range.

[B]

Okay, all right. I was thinking 15 to 20. So again, you're on the higher range of what I was thinking. I was probably going to go 15, basically. I just don't want to scare off another jack or anything like that, so.

[E]

Right.

[B]

Yeah, I think 15 is good enough to not scare people away and also still get called by a weaker jack

[D]

or

[B]

some kind of backdoor draws or something like that. So. Yeah, you and Micah are right on point here. Micah bets $20.

[E]

I like Micah. Smart, smart guy.

[B]

Which gets the small blind to fold and the big blind calls. He says, at this point, I'm feeling pretty good with top pair with a solid kicker and the flush draw to go with it. There's $76 in the pot, and the turn is the 9 of diamonds. So the board is jack of diamonds, 9 of spades, 4 of spades, 9 of diamonds. And our friend in the big blind checks again.

[E]

All right, what are we making them out with? King, queen.

[B]

That's what I was just trying to think of.

[E]

King, Queen, Queen, Jack, 10 suited. I mean, Anand's in the realm. I mean, nine.

[B]

Nine is definitely. Nine is in the realm.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, if they have Jack 9, which is a definite possibility, then we're drawing dead.

[E]

Yeah. Villain checks to us. Correct.

[B]

Yes.

[E]

So these might be two very stupid schools of thought. But my thought, two thoughts are either check back and pot control, or you press them hard and just squeeze. And then find out.

[B]

Well, yeah, I think if you put a decent sized bed in here, you're gonna find out what, what they've got. Right.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

If we check back. My problem with checking back is then we get to the river with no information, and they may try to blow us off the hand just because.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

They think we're weak. Right. So I definitely want to put money in here.

[E]

Well, if you're putting money in, I'm thinking I'm going, I'm going like 50, 55, maybe more. Maybe 60.

[B]

Okay, so you're going, you're going much higher. The pot was 76.

[E]

Yeah. I, I, I'm going like 50 to 60. With the thought being I'm either gonna get, you know, three bet over the top, and then I, I don't mind folding. I mean, I don't like it, but I may fold or I don't know. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. But that's where my thought is.

[B]

If we, if we take it to your thought process. If we bet bigger, I feel like we're less likely to get a raise if we bet half pot and they have something that I feel like is when they're gonna come in with the raise. So I want to go like 40.

[E]

Okay.

[B]

And see if they raise us. And if they do, then I can. I feel like then I'm, I'm really in that Jack 9 kind of school, and I can let it go, and I didn't risk a whole lot.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

Micah says, here's where the first debate started. I decide to check back. My thinking was that once the board pairs, I don't love getting check raised, and I can realize my equity and maybe get to showdown cheaper,

[E]

which was a solid.

[B]

I mean, here's what I'll say about that. At least you have a plan, right?

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

Sometimes I think people get scared and don't, and they act out of fear and not having a plan. So, I mean, I've got to give Micah Kudos at least for having a plan here. And he says some of the guys at the table said this is a mandatory bet for value and protection, and others liked the check. Okay.

[D]

So

[B]

I think. I don't know that we settled anything on that one, because I think we were pretty split on that one.

[E]

Yeah, I feel like. I think I'm still split on it. I still think I could see. I mean, I. I could rationalize it both ways. I mean, I think I was always leaning towards a bet here, you know, sizing, obviously, you know, to tbd, But, I mean, I. I don't hate the play by him, and I do it quite often. Right.

[B]

I don't think it's a bad play. I still think you get more information by putting money in. So that's. That's where I would say maybe some kind of solution there. But either way, there is still the same $76 in the pot now. And the river is the two of clubs. So the board is diamonds. Exactly. Exactly. Jack of diamonds, nine of spades, four of spades, nine of diamonds, two of clubs. So a board that looked so promising on the flop has just crapped out for us.

[E]

Yep.

[B]

Big blind now leads for $60 into the 76.

[E]

Call. I mean, you got to see it. I mean, if. If he's got the boat, then he's got the boat, but call.

[B]

Yeah, I. I think we're here. We're. We're not raising.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

And $60. I can call that and still look myself in the mirror.

[E]

I feel good, to be honest with you, playing Micah's hand. I feel pretty good about that call. Knowing that we checked on. On the turn. It's, you know, pocket control wise. It's not. Yeah, I. I feel good about that. Call.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, top pair, queen kicker. It's decent showdown value. We're beating a ton of bluffs. Any kind of thin value that they're leading with. Missed flush draws, we're beating weaker jacks, any kind of pocket pair below jacks. Now, then you start getting into some of those, like, trips for a full house. Those kind of things can be scary. But there's still a lot of things out there that we beat, so I'm fine with that. Micah says this is where the second debate kicked in. It felt like kind of a blocker type bet, but at the same time, what hands is he really doing this with? He said, I ended up calling, thinking I was ahead often enough. But he turns over the jack of hearts, nine of hearts for the full house.

[E]

Okay, I can live with That I don't like it. I don't feel great about it, but I can live with it.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. He says afterward we went back and forth on it. Should I be betting that turn most of the time? Once I check back, does that make the river an easier fold or is this just a standard call? And I ran into it.

[E]

So I think it's the, I think it's the latter.

[B]

Yeah, I, I, I think the way it was played, yes, it is a standard call. Should you be betting the turn? Most of the time, I think so. But once you check back, I don't think it makes it an easier fold. I think it makes it a harder fold.

[E]

I think it makes it a harder fall, too. And I think if you, I think if you bet the turn, you save yourself, you know, a few, you know, a few dollars there.

[B]

I think that, that if you bet on the turn, then you have less of a question about whether or not he has something major because he's going to come out. He will have to come out with a bigger sized bet on the river.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

And hell, it might go check, check on the river because he thinks we're going to bet, you know, probably not, but maybe so. I think the only, the only place I would maybe do anything different is betting on the turn. That's where we need to get that information. I think betting is the way to do that. So, yeah, that's, that's the only place that I really see anything debatable here.

[E]

Yeah, absolutely. I, there's not a whole lot to it.

[B]

So, Micah, I don't know if we settled the debate or not, but I think that it was a mandatory call or a standard. I think it was a standard call on the river as played. I think that you should have been betting on the turn most of the time, and I don't think it made it a easier fold on the river. I think it made it harder fold by not betting on the turn. So there you go. He does say. Curious to hear how you guys break it down. Love the show. See you at the tables. I love that. Micah, thank you 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 podcastyupmagazine. Com. Patrick, go enjoy some golf.

[E]

I appreciate that, my friend. You have a wonderful weekend yourself.

[A]

From the flop to the turn, we play it old. Chasing hearts and diamonds never fold. In the booth, we're dealing stories that clean poker legends rise on the 18.

[B]

You know, one of the things that poker teaches us, whether we realize it or not, is how to deal with things not going according to plan. And I'm not talking about just getting your aces cracked. I mean, those moments where you do everything right, you study, you prepare, you make the right read, you put the chips in good and it still doesn't work out, that's poker. But if we're being honest, that's life too, right? Because away from the table, we've all been here too. You make the responsible decision, you show up for your family, you do the work, you try to be the person you're supposed to be, and something still goes sideways. A job doesn't work out, a plan falls apart, a situation you thought you had figured out just doesn't go your way. In poker, we call that variance in life. We just call it frustrating. But poker actually gives us a framework to deal with it. Because if you've played long enough, you know the goal isn't to win every hand. It's to make the best decision you can with the information you have, then live with the result. That's it. And that's a powerful mindset if you can carry it away from the table too. Because in real life, you don't always get immediate feedback. There's no chip stack telling you if you're winning or not today. There's no tournament clock letting you know how much time is left. Sometimes you just have to trust that you're playing your hand the right way. That's hard. It's hard to stay patient when things aren't going your way. It's hard to not second guess yourself after a bad outcome. It's hard to not let one rough run define how you feel about everything. But just like in poker, where one hand doesn't define your game, one moment doesn't define your life. You wouldn't quit a tournament because you lost a flip early, right? Honestly, the. The people who succeed at the table, and away from it for that matter, aren't the ones who avoid the bad beats. They're the ones who keep showing up, keep making good decisions, and don't let short term results shake long term confidence. So maybe if. If things aren't going your way, instead of asking, why is this happening to me? Ask yourself, did I play this hand the best I could? And if the answer is yes, then that's a win. Even if it doesn't feel like it right now. Because over time, those decisions add up and eventually the chips come back your way. 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. The Any Up Podcast is a production

[D]

of anyupmagazine.com contact the show at podcastsnyupmagazine.com

[B]

or call the show at 540-339-7741.

[D]

If you'd like to advertise, send an email to editoryupmagazine.com.