they laugh and laugh...

supremely frustrating night trying to climb out of one buy in hole. I guessed wrong twice and it cost me my stack. I got a stack back. Then I broke even for a hundred hands. Two hundred. Three. I would win a small pot then lose a medium one.

I shoved a straight flush draw with no fold equity (vs. trips) and lo and behold - I hit my straight flush on the river! Sweetness. I caught top pair in a dominating situation but he hit his three outer as I bet for value. Up, down, up, down.

Then I made the play of the night.

Milked from the teat of a feral cow
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em $0.05/$0.10 - 9 players

BB: $4.65
UTG: $3.34
UTG+1: $12.00
MP: $10.00
MP2: $11.48
HJ: $6.00
CO: $9.07
Button: $14.58 (Hero)
SB: $17.82

Preflop: ($0.15) Hero is Button with (9 players)
UTG raises to $0.20, UTG+1 calls $0.20, 4 folds, Hero raises to $1, 3 folds, UTG+1 calls $0.80
Tried the old squeeze on the button. No dice, they were calling 3 bets all night...

Flop: ($2.35) (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $1.25, UTG+1 calls $1.25
Swing and a miss - I've hit nothing. He check-calls my cbet. What's he have? Pocket pair, a king, or a 7. Bone-dry board, nothing to draw to. He could have a set.

Turn: ($4.85) (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks
Now I've got the nut flush draw, but the board is also paired. Why did he check? I would think a set would have bet to build the pot. I should probably double barrel here, I opt instead to try and hit my draw. Let's hope I don't hit it and go broke to pocket twos.

River: ($4.85) (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $2.10, Hero raises to $12.33, and is all in, UTG+1 calls $7.65, and is all in
The draw comes in, and the player comes out swinging. Lovely. I've got the flush on a paired board. Oh course I'm at least calling this bet, but will he call with worse if I raise. Trip sevens, I guess, a worse flush. I decide there is value to be had, and that the best action is a river shove.

UTG+1 mucked
Hero showed , and won ($22.73) with a flush, Ace high
Hero won $22.73
(Rake: $1.62)
Dude slowplayed top pair/top kicker into an implied odds meltdown.

I didn't play this hand great, except maybe for the river shove. That was a somewhat gutsy play into a paired board that paid maximum dividends.

I had finally crawled to even on the night, and was ecstatic. As I started to think about quitting for the night, I got dealt pocket kings in middle position. A shortstack minraised, and I threebet. Someone in the blinds shoved. The shortstack called the shove. I don't fold kings preflop, so I called too. The big blind had pocket aces, and my even night was back to negatvie one buyin in a blinding flash. All that work down the drain.