FOQin' insane

I think I may have an affliction. It is shameful to even admit this but it did happen for a couple seconds on Monday during a PLO8 game. I may have FOQ. Fear of Quads.

The game is 6 handed .25/.50 PLO8. I call from mid position with A 4 4 J, with the A and J being spades. The SB calls and the BB goes for the min-raise. I call along but the SB drops. Usually preflop raises in this game are a big signal. If he raised pot it would scream AA or KK. But the min raise tells me he has small wheel type cards. I would raise with that as well.

The flop is 3 3 4.

Bingo, bango, bongo! He checks and I decide what to do. I want to bet. I am not slow playing this. Last time I flopped a boat and slow played someone rivered a higher boat on me. With just 4s full it could happen again. But I also consider his min-raise and what I thought it meant. Wheel type cards. He will call anything I bet. I can build a pot or take down a small one. I bet pot.

I expected a call. But instead he raised. Huh? He raised? Not only did raise but he raised pot. Usually they raise this early with the mortal nuts. That is when it happened. I stopped and said aloud "Great! He flopped quads on me. Damn it!"

A second or two after saying that, I felt pretty damn foolish. Am I going to play this game fearing everyone is flopping quads on me? Hell, that is a stupid thing to think. If I am going to fold every time the board pairs and I have a boat then I might as well take my money out, delete the software, and never play cards again.

A calmer presence took over. I thought for a second and raised pot. If he has it, he has it, but now I don't think he has it. He wouldn't have raised if he had it. He may let one more card fall to guarantee the trap. I think he is drawing and I hope he will commit the rest of his stack to draw at half the pot.

All the money goes in and he shows a great low draw. He has a ton of outs for the low pot and would need runner runner to take the high. The 9 on the turn guarantees me the high and the face card on the river shoves a big pot in my direction doubling me up.

I was happy but also very disappointed. How could I be insane enough to think the guy flopped quads on me? A couple bad beats has me living in fear of more bad beats. Not a way to play the game. Good news is I think I have shrugged it off.

Anyone watching the Beavis and Butthead poker show otherwise known at 2 months, 2 million? A bunch of geeky poker players go to Vegas with the goal of making $2 million in 2 months. Take 4 dorks, put them in a house, allow them to use every poker cliche in the world, and act immature because they think they are someone because they have money and call it a TV show. They probably are damn good poker players, much better than I. But social skills and a better vision of life are more valuable than any of the bank rolls these clowns may have.