I have played poker for a long time. Like everyone, you think you are better than you really are. I saw holdem tournaments on TV and became interested in hold em. A friend of mine, who I play golf with, told me how he was winning money playing poker on the Internet. I signed up with Party Poker. They have a \"play money\" site that I played on for several months. Another friend of mine works trade shows on the convention circuit. He told me about a convention that he worked at in Tunica, Mississippi. I had never heard of Tunica before. He told me it was just like Las Vegas only a whole lot closer and with better golf courses. Now golf is something I love. I play in a regular group and have for years at the Country Club where I belong. One day, several months ago, this poker playing friend of mine asked me if I would be interested in being part of a group of 8. The plan was to fly out of Central Illinois to Biloxi, Mississippi to play golf. He thought there would be an opportunity to gamble too so I jump at the idea and rearrange appointments at my office and cleared it with my wife. His trip turned out not to be a poker playing opportunity, because no one in that group played poker. About a month later after I was asked to go on this trip, the friend who asked me to be part of this group of eight, tells me that three of this group were dropping out. He said that the group size was now down to five and that they had taken a vote and \"I was out.\" Some friends I thought, I could arrange my own golf trip. What if I could golf and gamble too? I could do him one better. I started searching the internet for my own golfing vacation and remembered what my friend had said about Tunica. I asked three other intdividuals if they would like to go for a four day six golf round trip to Tunica. Tunica was only a five hour drive in my Van. The price at the Grand Victoria was very good, the courses were great, and my three friends (all non-poker players) readily agreed. I got to play in the $4/8 game for about an hour the first night there. It took about half an hour to get to the table. It was pretty uneventful and I think I was close to even. The next two days we played 36 holes and all of us were pretty tired and went to bed. The last day was Monday, the night of the final four. Only one round of golf was scheduled for that day. The University of Illinois team was already knocked out of the tournament, so I was not that interested in watching the finals and decided to play hold-em. I got to the poker room after dinner about 8:00. Thought I would play for a couple of hours. When I got to the Casino and went to the card room where I was informed that there was a waiting list for the $4/8 table. \"How long is the wait,\" I asked? \"There are four people ahead of you, so I would imagine about 45 minutes to an hour\", he replied. \"But if you want\", he said, \"there is an opening at the $15/$30 table and we will call you when a seat opens up.\" I thought about this proposition for a moment and concluded that I was there to gamble, I was short on time, wanted to play and to play now. I could not imagine me going back home and telling my poker playing friend who went to Biloxi, that I didn\'t get to play any poker in Tunica. This was justice, retribution and pay back. I needed to play. \"How many chips do I need.\" I asked and was told that $300 would probably be the minimum. I pulled out three $100 bills and was escorted to the table. I went through those chips like shit through a goose, or so the saying goes. I had just purchased my second $300 worth of chips when a tap comes on my shoulder. \"Sir, there is an opening at the lower limit table, would you like to take the seat\"? I resisted the urge to say, \"sister, you can bet your sweet ass I do\". \"Mam, I replied, \"I am a little out of my league here.\" I mucked my hand and followed her, head down and tail between my legs, to the lower limit table. I sat down and had played two hands at the lower limit table when I feel another tap on my shoulder. \"Sir, we are checking the video of your play at the last table, we think you were involved in a \"bad beat.\" I know I just started playing hold-em, but what could I have possibly done to deserve such special scrutiny? I felt lucky I was a lawyer and hoped that the local judiciary would show me some professional courtesy. \"What do you mean\", I asked the lady. She repeats. \"We think you were in a bad beat\". Now all kinds of things ran through my mind. If I was cheating, I was certainly doing a poor job of it having just made a $300 donation to the Tunica Holdem Betterment Society. In due time they explained what a bad beat was. Indeed, the bad beat had taken place during the hand that I had mucked when I left the table. After completing the tax form, they paid me off with $868 in cash. It just goes to show that it is better to be lucky than good. I now play, for the most part, for real money at the $25 pot limit table at Party Poker. They have a \"bad beat\" site too, but I do not play there. Why you ask? It also has to do with golf. On July 16th, 1959, I was fourteen years old and playing golf with my mother and two of her friends. Made a hole in one. Have not made one since. Contribute regularly to the \"hole in one club\" and have not collected a cent in 30 years. So now you know why I don\'t play in the bad beat room at Party Poker. It is about the same odds as my hole in one. It will never happen again. Or will it?