I get in the $9-18 game and it looks like I'll be there an hour tops before the must-move $20-40 starts. This one hand the guy on the my right [RHO] limps UTG and I raise with A-Q and it comes down to heads up after I bet the 3-3-7 flop and he check-calls. Turn is a nine and he check-calls again. The river is a seven, making two pair on board. He checks and I check behind and he turns over pocket queens. Hmmm. I looked him over. 50-something white guy, I don't think I'd played with him before. Super calm. No reaction whatsoever at the end of the hand, by him or anyone else, like this was just a routine thing for him, playing QQ that way.


Next round he limped UTG with K-2 suited and flopped trip dueces and check-called every street even after no flushes or straights came or anything. The river was three-way and everyone checked and he turned over his trips and it was business as usual. No comments or glances by anyone. I wasn't in that hand.


Then next round this hand came up, the reason I'm posting. He raised from UTG and I had QQ. I knew the best play for me was to call, just as I'd have done with 22, but man, I had QQ. I just wasn't fluid enough to find the call, so I reraised on reflex. At worst I'd at least be double sure where I was at if he capped it. And he did. Everyone folded to my reraise, and he made it four bets.


I figured the money's plenty right to go for a set, so I called his rereraise, absolutely planning to fold if I didn't flop one.


Meanwhile the $20-40 table had players circling and chips being bought so I knew I was done with $9-18 for the day.


The flop came all rags, and his hand was only half way to the top of his stack to grab a bet when I mucked out of turn, face up.


There was a collective gasp, but nothing from RHO. He slid his cards in face down and accepted the pot just like all the other times. He'd make a great Buckingham Palace guard. To the core, unfluffable.


Somewhere in the post-mortem table buzz, someone asked RHO point blank if he had pocket aces. RHO didn't even look at the questioner. I said that I think he must have had three of them. And I swear, as I was getting up to switch games, the corners of his lips went up just a smidge.


Tommy