The Big Game

I dreamed this hand last night. I'm weird.

For some reason I was sitting in the "Big Game," playing $4,000 - $8,000 with Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan, and several other top pros. I remember thinking that I had no business sitting there, and that they all were thinking the same thing. It wasn't clear to me how I had the money to be playing, but there I was looking at pocket deuces in the small blind, and had to make a decision.

Doyle folded under the gun, and Reese folded behind him. Another person who may or may not have been TJ Cloutier folded as well. Daniel called the $4,000 big blind and everyone folded to Chan, who raised on the button. I was about to fold, but then I thought that something seemed off about the action so far. Daniel open-limps in middle position? What is that about? This is the BIG GAME. Who open-limps? Negreanu has been known to play some weird hands in some weird ways, and so its very possible he has a pretty weak hand. Chan the Master knows this of course, so now I think that his raise on the button could come with some pretty weak hands as well.

So I decide to put $10,000 on top of my $2,000 small blind for a preflop 3-bet. I did this to put pressure on Daniel, but they can't imagine I went through the thought process of thinking that Chan's raise might not mean very much, so they will have to put me on a big hand. Both of them call my raise, and we see a flop with $40,000 in the pot:

5 2 7 rainbow (suits unimportant).

I bet out, hoping to represent AK, but knowing that I almost certainly have the best hand. Daniel raises, and Chan folds. I consider calling the raise and check-raising the turn, but i think its too likely Daniel could have a hand like 68, so I don't want to risk him taking a free card. I 3bet and he calls. $56,000 in the pot and the turn brings a 6. I bet, he calls. River is a 5. I bet, he calls. $88,000 pot.

I turn over my full house and Negreanu goes ballistic. He shows pocket 8s, and starts tearing into me, assuring me that if I keep playing that way I'll lose all my money. Pretty funny on so many levels.

• In reality, he seems to be a genuinely nice guy who probably rarely loses his temper, certainly not over a hand like that.
  
• I flopped a set. What does he want from me?
  
• If he had raised preflop, I wouldn't have played my hand.
  
• Why would I dream this. I'm insane.
  

I calmly ask him, "do you not want me at this table?" Implying that such poor behavior was likely to drive my fishy ass away from the table.

At that point everyone else started being really nice to me and apologizing for Daniel's rude behavior. They wanted me at the table. I went on to win an absurd amount of money, but then I lost some of it when I repeatedly knocked over my ginormous chip stacks, and I probably lost the rest of it in an explosion when I accidentally flipped over my rental conversion van trying to pull into a downhill angled parking spot too quickly. End of dream.