$100 + $25 No Limit Hold’Em Deep Stack

Blinds 600/1.2K Ante 200

81 remain with 10 minutes left in Level 11.

I recently witnessed a hand that left several people smiling, most notably the older gentleman that won the pot. I got to the table and there were three 1K chips in front of Seat 3, a guy probably in his late 50’s, early 60’s with a head full of grey hair wearing a plaid over shirt and a grey turtleneck. Picture Mister Rogers and you have a general idea of what he looked like. Seat 3 was under the gun to give you an idea of his position.

There had been a caller from a player in Seat 6 and the button in Seat 9; another one of those professional poker player wannabes, wearing a black zip up jacket, backwards black Miami Dolphins baseball cap, and the obligatory noise reduction headphones – had a single 5K chip and three 1K chips in front of him indicating a raise to 8K.

Mister Rogers lifted his eyes ever so slightly to study his new “neighbor”. He carefully picked up the edges of his cards, looking at them for a brief moment. He grabbed three 5K chips out of his stack and deliberately placed them in the middle making it a total of 18K. “Raise,” the dealer announced. The player in Seat 6 couldn’t fold fast enough. Seat 9 wasn’t as quick. He leaned past the dealer to try and get a better view.

“Wow,” he said. “I have a monster.”

The old man sat there, steady as a model posing for a painter.

Seat 9 shook his head. “It’s either all in or fold. I can’t just call,” he said. He picked up his cards, lifting them high enough that anyone within 5 feet could see them. He tossed them face up into the muck… pocket Queens.

Mister Rogers started to slide his hand into the muck but at the last second flipped the cards over. – a few appreciative nods and laughs and one not so happy Seat 9.