Story: THE COUPLE THAT BETS TOGETHER, REGRETS TOGETHER

This bad beat story is by far the most frustrating thing that’s ever happened to me. A few months ago my wife, Ashley, and I were playing Texas Hold’em at a $4-$8 table at our local casino. I was in the small blind position and was dealt A-10. Ashley was dealt pocket fives, as I’d soon learn. I bet out and everyone but Ashley and another player folded. The flop came A-5-10. I bet out again with my two pair. The other player folded, but Ashley bumped it. I thought the situation over and, knowing my wife and how she plays, I put her on trip fives. Despite feeling that she was ahead, I decided to call her raise.

My decision paid off immediately as the turn card was an ace, giving me an aces-over-tens full house. I bet out, hoping that Ashley would realize what I was holding and fold. Obviously, I didn’t want to take any more of her money (a definite pitfall when playing poker with one’s spouse). Well, as you can probably guess, she raised me instead. I gave her a quizzical look, but she wasn’t paying any attention. I called her raise, somewhat angrily, and tried to signal my displeasure.

Then, suddenly, the whole complexion of the hand changed. The river card turned out to be a five. Although I would lose if Ashley did, in fact, have quad fives, there was also a significant bright side: we’d be shoo-ins for the bad beat jackpot! I checked to her, hoping she’d recognize this happy turn of events. She started to bet out, but then stopped. I had a definite sense of relief . . . until she blurted out to the dealer, “If I beat his aces full with four of a kind, does that win the bad beat jackpot?”

The stated rule in our casino is that if a hand is discussed while it’s still being played, then the bad beat is void. The dealer answered in the affirmative, but clearly showed his impatience with my wife; he, of course, was thinking about the nice tip that would now be voided from his pocket. Anyway, Ashley checked and we turned over our cards. Sure enough, my wife had the quad fives. She was quite excited, still thinking that we’d hit a big pay day. I knew what had happened, though, and told her that we wouldn’t be getting paid. She was understandably upset, but she knew it was her own fault.

As for me, not only did I lose the pot to my wife (always a trying proposition), but I also lost out on the $1,000 bad beat jackpot. Talk about losing all the way around!