"Philly."

I'd been looking for a weekly free bar poker game to get into in Staunton. I found one just a couple blocks from my apartment at Downtown at the Clocktower. Last week was the first time I ventured down to play. I walked in and it was real obvious that I was the new kid from out of town. I hadn't played in a bar game in a while, which made it a short stay (I was back home in just over an hour), so going into the game 2 nights ago I was hoping to have a more respectable showing.

One of the main differences in games down here is that people pick where they sit. I chose the friendliest-looking table (the only one with people smiling) to both help my comfort level in a new place and because I figured it'd be slightly easier to play there. My old friend Jonny Rashid would often say that you're there to win and that being nice is an inhibition in poker.

They also deal until they get an Ace to determine the dealer instead of high-carding. This often leads to almost 4 laps around the table.

So the first hand is dealt and I get K-Q offsuit. I see the flop and it comes out K-8-K. Trip-Kings is not too shabby for an opening hand. People like to check down here, so I check to try to get a feel for the situation. The turn comes out a 10. I bet. people fold around until the woman before me goes all-in. I start mulling over the possibilities. I assume she has a King. She would need a 10 or an Ace to beat me. I call. We flip cards and she has K-J. Not bad for a first hand.

Play goes on and before I know it we're down to 2 of 4 tables left and I'm in the middle of the pack. I get a hand of like 10-J and I consider playing it until a guy at the end of the table makes a fairly large bet. Myself and the other remaining player fold. Big-bet-guy shows us his 2-3 offsuit. After seeing the respect he'd gotten throughout the night from regular players and a play like that, I knew I was gonna have a rough time with him.

I match up against him again at the final table. I had a middle pair (like a Jack or something in the hand) and he makes another significant bet. I told him he did it before, I gotta make sure he doesn't get me again. He does, but he had the better hand this time. Him: 2 Me: 0.

I knock out two people in one hand and it sets me up against him heads up for the game. We're pretty evenly chipped (I believe he had a slight edge). I proceed to outplay him pretty fiercely - I had some help from some pocket 6s, 8s, and Aces along the way - and win the game. The new kid (they started calling me "Philly" earlier). While gathering my gift certificate to the restaurant, t-shirt, and keychain, the guy running the tournament, Chris, kind of pulls me aside and goes "you know he's the king, right? You just beat the best." I told him I knew the guy wasn't messing around. I wouldn't say I'm a better player than him, being the new guy plays to your advantage because no one knows how you play. But it certainly wasn't from pure luck, I needed a decent idea of what I was doing to win. It was a great night. I hit trip-7s a couple times (with pockets), and had quad-8s at the first table too. I played well and made few bad decisions.

I won't lie. It was and is a great feeling. I went into a totally new place all alone. I stared the king in the face after he handled me on two occasions and took him down. It was a good moment. I met Lindsey for a celebratory late Coffee on the Corner dinner and couldn't hide my smile.

We'll see how it goes next week when a bunch of folks are waiting for me.

Peace.