Poker Killer Instinct

I have no killer instinct.  I have no killer instinct button.  I can't turn it on.  And if I DO happen to turn it in, I feel bad afterwards.

It's just not in me, not a part of me.

On Saturday I figured this out by feeling bad about a poker move I did.  A move that was very smart on my part, and one that I should have done.

Let me try and explain what happened:

I had pocket Queens and raised before the flop and two people called.  The flop comes 3, 6, 10.  Two of the cards were hearts.  Neither of the Queens in my hand were hearts.

I bet because I figure no one has anything better than my two Queens at this point.  One person calls me.  The other gets out. 

The next card comes and it's a Queen!  I can't believe my luck.  :)

I bet and the one guy left in the hand with me, calls. 

The next card that comes out on The River is the Queen of Hearts! 

I had quads! 

I am first to act and after I see the Queen, I indicate that I ain't gonna bet now, acting like I am beat because I now see three hearts out there, thinking the guy was looking for a flush.  So, I Check.

He grabs some chips and bets about half his stack (about $40 I think).  I immediately say, "all in."

He pauses for only a few seconds, trying to figure out what is going on.  Turns out he had pocket 3s, so he has a Boat (three 3s and 2 Queens to make a Full House).  However, he goes all in with me and I show my quads and of course the whole table goes crazy. 

The guy gets up and leaves, and doesn't come back to play.  I took all his money.

Afterwards, I told the guy next to me I felt bad for checking and then raising.  He looked at me funny and said, "You played that so perfectly, and that's what you were suppose to do.  You were suppose to Check-Raise, don't feel bad about it."

I continued to feel guilty and therefore mentioned it later to my boyfriend.  He also told me, "Don't feel bad about it - that was smart play."  And then he added, "He was trying to take your money, and he wouldn't have felt bad if he won that pot."

Reminds me of other advice I received once about pool:  "Someones got to win, might as well be me."

I wish I had more of a killer instinct.  But, I will keep learning and trying to win! 

It's not personal!