S
skaterick
Legend
Loyaler
i had two huge 'dealer beats' decades ago . the first was at the old binions horseshoe , downtown las vegas , in an action filled $10/20 limit holdem game . five of us took the flop in a single raised pot . the cards came down A92 and i led out with my big blind A9 suited , i had at least 2 calls and the late seat raiser made it 2 bets . as i pondered my next move the distracted dealer burned and turned an ace ! of course the action had to stop , the betting completed etc etc . the actual true river card became the turn . the acecard was then shuffled into the remaining deck for the river . i cant recall the exact run out but i knew the worst was coming .... someone won the giant pot with a wheel . the guy who had raised the pot went ballistic as he tabled his 99. i showed my hand to a player on my left and quietly mucked it . of course , i would have scooped an even bigger pot that likely would have been capped on both the turn and river ! my second dealer beat was in a $10/20 5 -card draw lowball game (with the 'bug' ie joker, and 'kill buttons' ), in a small san diego card room. the hand was killed to 60/120 betting . i peaked at my cards as they were dealt (a234 bug ! a perfect low )...... and the dealer kept going with 2 more cards off the deck in a 6th round . no %@# way !? it was a dead hand! somebody had 6 cards all below a 7 , the killer had a one card draw to a 6-4 , another player had a decent hand as well . there surely would have been 2 or 3 raises pre draw and who knows what after. i had about $350 in front of me , and might well have tripled up, or even more . i cashed out of both games as soon as the blinds came around to me again . as i knew my mind wouldn't have functioned properly if i continued .
Leandro Moecke
Rock Star
Platinum Level
Definitely JJ
john_entony
feed the Fox
Loyaler
I'm being haunted by pocket kings. I usually get eliminated with them in all big online tournaments. And I mostly lose to my opponents' cards like “A9” or “A10.” My rivals very often get an “A” on the board. And I don't know what to do with this. 
A
absentx
Administrator
Administrator
Funny you mention pocket kings - it is the extraordinary loss of my lifetime. At this point it was over 20 years ago and I still remember it like yesterday. I was playing a $4-$8 (Might have been $8-$16, I can't quite remember anymore) hold em game at Foxwoods in Connecticut (Long before no limit took over the world, you could actually find great limit games and man were they fun). Something about this $4-$8 game made for wild action and just a great sweet spot if you didn't have the guts or bankroll for $10-$20.
I had pocket kings and flopped a set...Four people stayed in all the way until the end and there was just a mountain of yellow chips in the middle. Kid sitting across from me completes an inside straight on the river, just a monster amount of money for that time in my life and in the context of a Friday night at Foxwoods. Needless to say I couldn't let of that hand on that night, and I still can't today!
D
dibroff777
Enthusiast
Silver Level
QQ is the most unsuccessful hand. I remember playing very successfully in the tournament and being second in terms of chips. They transferred me to a table with a chipleader. Giveaway of 10, Q,6 different suits. He's All in with A, K. I'm calling. Finally, J comes to River and I've lost everything. After that, I didn't play PS anymore)) I was offended by them))
john_entony
feed the Fox
Loyaler
I read your story as if it were an exciting book.
But I hope the pocket kings brought you success in other important poker competitions. 
Alex Houngan
Rock Star
Platinum Level
I think a tricky hand that could haunt many players is holding A♠K♠ in a three-way pot. You make a strong shove thinking you’re ahead, but then another player unexpectedly calls behind, and suddenly you’re crushed by pocket queens or aces. It’s one of those classic “looked great before the flop” situations that quickly turns sour. Just a good reminder that even premium hands can lose their shine when too many players get involved.
miklcct
Enthusiast
Silver Level
The same as well. I once lost with my AA all-in pre-flop to AT when two Ts appeared on the board. There have also been countless occurrences where I had to fold AA late into the play when the opponents kept betting and some viable combination of hole cards would form a better hand, such as when a pair appeared on the board, or when two cards could complete a straight.
