Doc

Doc is a Rheumatoid specialist in Cranston. He's a conservative poker player, only playing good starting hands, but ultimately lacking in any imagination or creativity. He's unable to play by feel, and when he likes his hand, it's really easy to tell what he has. He learned to play mostly by reading books. This makes him the ideal opponent for a pro. For Doc, poker is a little like prescribing medicine - when a patient has certain symptoms, he prescribes the same medicine every time. When he has a certain hand in poker, he makes the same play every time. To him it's a science, not an art. This makes him a huge target. In order for me to get him to do what I want, I just have to act a little. If I want him to think I have a big hand, I just do what he thinks someone with a big hand does. And then he folds. When I want him to think I'm weak, I act weak - and he stays in.

My problem is that cards keep getting in the way of me busting him. I've had him right where I've wanted him 6 or 7 times. He's right about to dump his whole chip stack to me and then BAM! One card destroys a beautiful plan.

On Friday I had him directly me to my right. I raised with A9 of spades, and when the action came to me he called. The flop was K99, giving me three 9s. He checked and I bet the size of the pot. He called, obviously with a King, thinking that I would not have made a big bet with three 9's. He paid another $150 on the next round of betting, and had about $300 left, which he was fully prepared to give me. The last card was a King, the only card in the deck that beat me. I knew this gave him a bigger full house than I had. He bet his whole stack, and I had to fold. He smiled at me, like he had caught me in a bluff. I resisted the urge to tell him how lucky he got. I stopped myself from telling him that if he kept coming to the game every week that he would lose thousands of dollars to me, and that I would take Amber to Disneyworld on his dime. No, no that's not the right thing thing to do. Instead, I tapped my hand on the table and said, "great hand, Doc. You caught me again."