On Drawing Dead

In poker sometimes you're in a situation where you are drawing dead (or very close to it). Obviously it is very important to avoid these situations, as any money you put into the pot is going directly to someone else's stack. Sometimes you can't avoid it, however, as the pot odds dictate that even if you're drawing dead a large percentage of the time you still have odds to call. Even more important, however, is not to ever "get there" when you're drawing dead. I am a champion at getting there drawing dead; it is like my own special super power.

Full and insane 8/16 game, with the kill on to 12/24. Mr. Wong posts the kill UTG+1, and UTG limps. It folds around to me and I raise QT because that's just how I roll. The blinds clear out and Mr. Wong starts fumbling for his chips as it's his turn to act (the killer acts after the big blind). However, before he can, UTG 3-bets. In the confusion somehow Mr. Wong gets 3 bets total into the pot, but it's unclear if he was going to 3-bet himself or was planning just to call the raise and then said "eh fuck it" and called all 3 bets. I don't know, but either way, I don't like it and just call hoping to flop some sort of draw. The flop brings

J8 8

This is not exactly the draw I was hoping for, but it'll do for now. The back-raiser bets and Mr. Wong calls. I call closing the action at 12:1.

J8 8 - 9

As turn cards go I would rate this one as "above average." The back raiser now checks (which is very strange now that I think about it...at the time I didn't think about it very much because I had turned the virtual nuts). Mr. Wong now bets and I of course raise. The back-raiser now 3-bets and Mr. Wong caps. I am appalled. After a little bit of hollywooding (to which I felt I was entitled) I convince myself that there is simply no chance I am currently winning. At least one of them has a full house, and I therefore have 2 outs in a 15 bet pot. I muck my hand, and the back-raiser calls. The river bricks off, and we get to see both hands at showdown:

Back-Raiser - 99
Mr. Wong - JJ

This hand is probably the worst asshole card I have ever seen. Unless I picked up a spade draw or hit a pair, I was going to fold the turn without much thought. The back-raiser might have called Mr. Wong down, but honestly I doubt it. Instead, Mr. Wong gets one of 2 turn cards that force myself and the back-raiser to put in an absurd number of bets (7 when it's all said and down, and that's only because I had the where-with-all to fold an open ended straight flush draw with a made straight). So remember, it's OK to draw dead once in a while, but just try not to get there when you do.