Spite wins a $20 hand

My home game was a fun one. Present and accounted for: Oklahoma Jeff, Jerry "The Hitman", Woody, Brandon, 40 Ounce Dave, Francesca, Esther, and Albert.

Overall, the quality of my cards were subpar. A few highlights:

I got tired of folding junk early on, so I raised in late position with 87 suited with a few limpers in the pot already. Three callers (eep!) and a flop of T, 8, 5. It was checked to me, I bet the pot, and The Hitman was the only one that thought about calling. He thought a long time, making me think that he might have a JT or something like that. He folded, and I was pleased. Respect. Hands like this make me think I should make plays more often.

Not much to play in the middle of the evening. Any hand I played, I lost. My stack whittled down. Francesca busted out for $15, halting her streak of kicking butt at my poker night.

At the end of the evening, Oklahoma Jeff taunted me into busting Forty Ounce Dave. I was getting a beer, or something, and it was my turn to act. We were 4-handed, and I was the BB. Dave had raised 3x BB while UTG. Jeff chastised me as I returned to the table, saying "Aw, he'll never call. He's gonna fold."

I looked down to see 84-hearts, a hand that I don't think twice about folding to any raise. Just for kicks, just to spite Jeff, I decided to play that hand. The flop came T32, with two hearts. Cool. I checked to Dave, who bet $1, almost a pot-sized bet. I called, and the turn was a 9 of hearts. Bingo. I checked, and Dave pushed all-in, for the rest of his $12+ stack, a huge overbet. I paused to think that he might actually have a bigger flush, or perhaps a big heart. But I had to call, and Dave showed me K7-diamonds, a stone cold bluff. I thanked Jeff for taunting me into playing that hand.

On the very next hand, I spy the Hilton Sisters, and raise it up. Oklahoma Jeff calls, and we see a JT4 rainbow flop. Jeff checks, I bet roughly the pot, and he goes all-in. He could have JT, but he's shown this evening especially that he is not bashful about raising "to see where he's at". I call, and where he's at is looking at middle pair with a T8. The turn is another jack, so he is drawing to only a ten on the river, which doesn't come. Bang, bang, and two drop. Albert and I decide to call it a night, and for the first time in ages, I'm the big winner in my own cash game. $10 in, $35 out.