Getting Priced In

Let's face it. Sometimes you can play a hand perfectly and still wind up on the losing end. Sometimes you have to get your money in bad due to the size of the pot. The bottom line is that it is nearly impossible to win every hand you play. All you try to do in poker is make decisions that will be profitable in the long run. I was playing in my regular $1/$2 game and was dealt Qd-Jd in the big blind. After a few limpers, I knocked the table wanting to take a cheap flop. The flop came Q-8-7 with the 8-7 of diamonds. I made a pot sized bet and after getting called once, the button made a big reraise. While I knew I was beat at that time, I figured that the button was making a typical squeeze play. I figured even if I was beat by Q-8 or Q-7, I still had outs to the flush and a better two pair. At this point, with the anticipated dead money in the pot from the player in the squeeze, I was getting proper odds to gamble for my whole stack. I pushed all in and was surprised when both players behind me also did so. I feared that my diamond draw would be dead, but I was actually up against Q-8 and 7-7. Needless to say, I missed my diamond and lost a big pot. However, I would still play that hand the same way every time.