The Worst Bonehead Move I’ve Made at a Poker Table

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You’ve probably heard crazy poker stories where players have made what seemed to be bonehead moves, but they got lucky and it worked out. While those stories are fun, they are the exception and not the rule.

Today, I’ll tell you one of the most boneheaded plays I’ve ever made at a poker table. I’ll also break down what led to the mistake so that you don’t make the same error.

Pay Attention to You Hand Pre-Flop

One of the most memorable hands from my very first WSOP event was the result of not paying attention to what was going on around me. I looked down to pocket aces pre-flop and decided to try and play it cool and not let on I had a hand.

As such, I started chatting with the person next to me. It took a couple of minutes for the action to fold around to me, and when it did, I raised. I was called by the button and the big blind.

The flop fell A-J-3 rainbow and I flopped a set of aces. The big blind bet and since the board was relatively uncoordinated, I just smooth called. Afterward, the button decided to three-bet, followed by a four-bet from the big blind.

I was about to jump out of my skin as I figured that I was about to play for a massive pot. To try and slow myself down, I decided to look at my hand. I intended to also shove. However, when I looked at my hand, I got a massive jolt.

My Hand Was What?

Expecting to look down to pocket aces, I looked down to 7-4 offsuit. What?! That wasn’t the hand I was dealt. I quickly scanned around me to see if I had grabbed the wrong cards. Not wanting to let on that something was amiss, begrudgingly mucked my hand.

The button called and ended up showing pocket aces. The big blind had a set of jacks. Set over set to bust the big blind.

After the hand, I was all sorts of confused. I told my neighbor that I thought I had aces. My neighbor then asked if that was before or after the misdeal. Misdeal? Apparently, while I was talking to my neighbor pre-flop, there was a misdeal declared. The dealer had redealt the hand, and I never noticed.

Where I Went Wrong

There were several things I could have done to prevent making this bad play, with the first being that I should have paid better attention to the action around me. Instead of focusing on my conversation, I should have regularly glanced around to see what was going on. I would have seen the misdeal or the dealer scrambling up the cards.

Next, I should have protected my hand better. I was still relatively new to live tournament poker and didn’t really do all the little things we take for granted, such as protecting a hand. Had I put a chip on the cards or some type of card protector, someone could not have whisked the cards away so easily.

This also goes back to paying attention. Apparently I received new cards and didn’t notice. Did the dealer pitch them perfectly to where they were in the same position I put them? Not likely. It is more likely I zoned out.

Lastly, I should have probably looked at my cards again before acting on the flop. It could have prevented my putting in a raise and costing a good chunk of my stack. Luckily, I decided to slow down and look at my hand after the big blind shove. However, if I had looked right after the flop, I could have discovered my error.

Suffice it to say that I pay proper attention when at the tables and I regularly check my cards. We all make bonehead plays in poker, and this was among my worst move yet.