Clinton Beck's Greatest Poker Moments
October 1981 After watching the home game at my grandparents house for 6 years I finally got a job at a Veterinary hospital cleaning kennels. I was finally aloud to join the game since I had a job and my own money. I sat at the table with $100.00. I was making 3.65 an hour so this was a lot of money to me. The game was 7 card stud. I was dealt a full house, Kings over queens on my first hand. I won over $400.00 that night. It started a lifelong passion for the greatest game on earth, poker.
September 3, 2007 Won 10,001.00 The largest Bad Beat Jackpot in Alberta history. The Bad Beat Jackpot was won at Century Casino Edmonton. "Thanks to Nick, my favorite dealer!" Aces over jacks beat by quad jacks. It was a great exciting hand. Their was a small raise of $15.00 pre-flop. I had pocket aces and smooth called. The flop was J 6 2 of hearts. Seat 1 goes all in with a flush. I had the ace of hearts so I called $300.00. My friend Paul went all in with a set of Jacks. The turn was an ace which gave me trip aces. The river was a jack giving Paul quad jacks. My wife and I took Nick the dealer and my favorite waitress Tiffany to dinner at the Fairmont Hotel for a great dinner. I cant wait till my next Bad Beat.
Poker Stories
That's A Great Flop For Pocket Kings!
A few years ago I was in a hand with Clinton. He was sitting in the small blind. I had AJ and raised under the gun to $40.00. Almost everyone including the great Clinton Beck was in the hand. The flop was KKJ and Clinton announced out loud that that is a great flop for pocket kings. The big blind bet out $80.00 and I called as well as two other players and Clinton. The next card was a 10. Clinton checked and the big blind bet out $150.00. I folded my AJ and one other person called. The river was a 9. Clinton checked. The big blind bet another $150.00. One other person called at which time Clinton started laughing out loud and says "I'm all in!". Suddenly someone says, hey didn't he say that was a great flop for pocket kings! Everyone folded and Clinton being the gentleman warrior that he is showed his quad kings.
Nobody Grinds A Knife Like Clinton
As I recall It was a warm November night and the room was full ....everything you come to expect from a seasoned poker room was present....the pretty girls, the butter face girls, the booze, the ever present my God why don't you have a shower this month B.O .....oh and the ever non stop sound of Mr. Clinton Beck. Now my memory is a tad sketchy but it started when this big goof sat down at our usually friendly table. This goof starts wrecking all the fun everyone was having with his stupid bets and his angling. I recall Mr. Beck was in a hand with this gorilla ...and at or near the river his opponent showed his cards to another player or some other card related faux-paux that would render his hand dead...Well the mad hatter who we all know had absolutely nothing jumped all over this and sure enough the house declared the hand dead ...and all the chips went to the afford mentioned red velvet wearing pimp daddy!......well this could have been the end of the story but as we all know NO one NO ONE likes to grind in the knife like Clinton... and poke the gorilla he did until this fellahs big stack was all gone...most of it to the ever present pyramid of death that our hero likes to build. This man will take your last buck at the table and laugh as you run out the door, but fret not all you suckers cause I'm sure he would give you the shirt off his back or a warm meal as long as you needed it a minimum 15 feet from the century front door!
Kevin Auld Golf Professional and Instructor
Thanks For Dinner Paul! Poor Paul.
A good friend of mine Paul, had just bought me dinner, what a terrific guy. We just got back from dinner and sat down at our usual table. A few fun and crazy realtors were playing at the table. We will keep them nameless. They had to go to a meeting so they were threatening to go all in blind. Well I had just gotten the button and lo and behold I had pocket kings. Well that is when everyone went blind one hundred dollars. Paul also threw in $100.00 with J8 off suit. I raised $750.00 and got two callers. Paul thought about it and folded. The flop came and sure enough... two eights. I made $1500.00. What a great night. Poor Paul.
Oh my god, He is the Anti Christ!
I had a real fun month playing poker. Unfortunately I had to wander the poker desert. One night I had AK 12 times and hit a flop only once. I consistently had the second nuts and lost all month. I had a few big nights or this month could have easily been -5000.00. March 2008 is a record loss in my poker career. Fortunately I am still in the record earning start for a year. I am going to start playing tournaments again. I realize that they don't make me a lot of money but I miss playing them.
My hand of the month happened against my very good friend Paul Harris. Paul is the player that I split the bad beat with last year. He is a great player, and probably the worlds best sports bettor. Unfortunately for him I always end up winning no matter how far ahead he is in a hand against me. He had about $400 in chips and I got pocket Kings near the button. The flop was AKJ. My good friend Paul bet about $50 into me. I raised all-in into his Broadway with my pocket in Kings. He instantly called. When he saw my trips, it was like he knew I was going to win. The turn and river were 7, 7 to give me a full house. Like the gentleman he is, he congratulated me on the best hand and quickly ran to the washroom to throw up. He now believes that I am the Antichrist of poker.
April "I focused my energy and awesome poker power this month destroying sets"
April had several memorable moments. I had a great month and had a win every session. I just wish I had more staff so I could play more.
I need to take a shower. Only You...
The first moment happened when this really nice young lady Joleene, who comes to Century with her significant other Eric were at my table. They both have had terrible luck against me. They are great poker players but like so many others they always seem to be at the short end of the poker beating stick against me. This couple are really nice, very friendly and great sports. I was getting a little bored so I thought I would make a move. The insanity started as follows.
I was one off the button and had position on most of the table. I raised the limp bets from $2 to $17 with 5, 2 off suit. I was pretending to have pocket jacks. Six players called. The flop was A, 4, 8. Joleene checked to me. I bet $50.00 into a $100 pot. She called with a set of 4's. Joleene was probably thinking to herself that this time she has me and it's payback time. She probably thought I had AK or AQ because I raised to $17.00. She couldn't possibly think I had 5,2 off suit. The next card was a 3 giving me a straight. I knew that she was now drawing pretty much dead. I pushed all in with the nut hand. Joleene started to think about what was going on. I told her husband Eric who was sitting next to me to signal her to fold. She is really a nice girl and I honestly didn't want to get into a hand like this with her or her husband and have it end like this. She called, and a guy who wasn't even in the hand said he felt so dirty after what he had witnessed in the hand that he needed to take a shower. I took a pot for about $500.00. She leaped up, told Eric to pack up and he did immediately, she was pissed. She walked over to where I was sitting. I gave her a hug, told her I was sorry. She said, "only you will raise 2,5 off suit and turn a gut shot straight." She is probably right.
I am so lucky that I can make a man fold a nut full house before the river when we are both all in!
This has got to be one of the funniest hands I have ever been involved with in my life. I had K, 6 suited. The flop was K, Q, 6. I was in this hand with Lane, a kindly older gentleman who I do play with sometimes and is a regular in Edmonton poker rooms was in the hand with me. He is a real solid player and never bluffs. I bet $50, he raises $300 all in. I insta call him as I am never going to fold two pair on the flop for $300. He had a set of Queens. He immediately announced that I was going to win because I am so lucky and started pushing the money over to me. This is where it gets hilarious. The next card was a six. giving me a full house! I cheered like I had just one the final table at the world series of poker. He started to muck his hand even though he had a bigger full house than mine. The river was a king of course giving me a true winning hand. I let out another huge cheer but this time I had won the hand. Everyone was in total shock and burst out laughing at what they had just witnessed. The only person who wasn't shocked was the dealer and Lane who lost. It was so funny and sick at the same time. Lane was a great sport but did leave after that hand.
It's hard being the luckiest man alive.
This young woman and her husband come to century once in awhile. She usually loses to me. She is very friendly. She like everyone else dreads when I come to the table. In this particular hand I had pocket aces and she had pocket KK. The flop was K 7 2 with two spades. I bet and she raised all in to about $260.00 and I called. She had trip KKK and I had AA. Well the following two cards were spades giving me the nut flush. She looked like she was ready to explode. I honestly have never seen anyone that mad. You could taste her anger in the air. It was palpable. I said to myself, "She is extremely angry". I could taste her anger in the air. She stormed out of the poker room and her husband left shortly after. I am sure she will be back. I hope she forgives me. It's hard being the luckiest man alive.
Edmonton poker legend Clinton Beck makes one of the greatest bluffs of all time!
Clinton Beck arrived at the Century Poker Room around 7pm on this Monday night. It was the end of the Victoria Day Long weekend. He had been golfing all day and was looking a little sun burned. He was in his usual jovial mood and the room was filled with his laughter all evening. At around 10:30 he was on the button. A great Edmonton poker player Mathew who is known for his friendly personality and long curly blonde hair was under the gun. He raised to $20.00 and there were 7 callers making the pot $140.00. Clinton called. The flop was A,2,4 and Mathew bet out $40 and 3 players called including Clinton making the pot $300.00. The turn card was a Q and everyone checked to Clinton. He fired out $100.00 and Mathew called for his remaining $60.00 and another player called the $100.00. The main pot now has about $460 with a side pot of $80.00. The river was a 2. The other gentleman checked to Clinton and he fired another $100.00 at which time the other man folded. This is where things go absolutely crazy. Mathew mucks his hand and says "I missed" and Clinton bursts into laughter and shows 6,3 off suit. Clinton won the main and the side pot with 6, 3 off suit! The whole poker room exploded with laughter and screaming at what they had just witnessed. Clinton did his Rocky boxing warm up dance moves and the dealer pushed a mountain of poker chips over to our hero. Mathew said, "I can't play anymore today" and quietly slinked out of the poker room probably to vomit in the men's room. What kind of a madman is Clinton Beck. Who in their right mind could stomach such a maneuver. It was one of the most incredible bluffs I had ever witnessed.
Update!
I was there that night and I'm not sure if
you heard, but the other guy who called $100 and folded was Hon Tran. You missed
it in the story, but the reason Mathew mucks his
hand is because Hon turns to him (after having already folded) and says: "I have
two pairs". Mathew lets out a sigh and puts his head down thinking Hon was still
in the pot and beat him. That's why is mucks, because of my friend Hon who
screwed him over. That's when you asked: did he muck his cards? and showed the
six high.
Nathan "Thanks Nathan for the update!"
RRRRRingo "is he crazy or a super genius?"
It was Wednesday June 25th and I was playing the 1-2 game and doing quite well. Ringo came in and sat down at the table. He was on my right so he had position on me the whole game. Ringo's first four hands he raised anywhere between $50 and $100 dollars. Most of the table just kept folding including me. Finally I said to myself this is going to be a $50 - $100 game with him here so I better start getting aggressive if I plan on beating him. I decided that if I had K high I would come over the top on him and I quickly made about $600 doing that. That slowed him down a bit. One big hand was when he limped in for $2.00 and I called with 8 3 off suit. The flop was 8, 2, 5 and I checked to Ringo. He bet $300 into a pot of 10.00 and I raised him $1000 and he called with nothing. I must have won 19 out of 25 hands against him that night and cashed out a record $3000.00. The game was sick. Ringo finally moved to a new table and I heard he busted several players and walked out with 4K. I think he just might be a genius. He is definitely not a coward.
Nobody Comes To Century Casino And Talks To Clinton Beck Like That!
It was a quiet Thursday night. Clinton was minding his own business at the 1-2 table. He was having a great game. He had bought into the game for $500.00 and was now sitting at a comfortable $1400.00. All of a sudden Ringo showed up looking for revenge from the beating he took the week before. Ringo walked over to the table, pointed at Clinton and said. 'I play you heads up $1,500.00 5 -10 no limit. Clinton jumped up and shouted "Bring it on!" in a booming voice mixed with his laughter. Kirk the houseman quickly started preparing the table for the epic battle that was about to take place. The two gladiators took their positions at the table. The two players seemed more like professional wrestlers trying to intimidate one another before a cage match.
The room had a tension in the air that was palpable. You could taste the excitement. Everyone was picking who they thought would survive what was sure to be a bloodbath. Unfortunately some younger inexperienced gladiators thought they had big enough balls and bankrolls to get in on this match. Their balls quickly shrunk as they were merely gunned down in the crossfire of raises that were going on between Ringo and Clinton. After only a few hands Clinton's pyramid of death stack of chips had swelled to over $2,500.00. His loud cheers let everyone know who was winning this game.
Many times everyone would limp into the pot only to have Clinton raise and everyone would fold. Clinton saw the most flops out of all the players and then took control of the hand after the action started. James a very good and experienced young player who has experience in large cash games said "I have to leave" and slinked away from the table while being cat called bye the other young inexperienced players. Clinton and Ringo sat quietly staring at each other appearing not even to notice his exit.
Steve a young athletic player got into a few hands. Clinton commented to him as he sat down that if his son sat down in this game he would take him out to the parking lot and kick his ass. The young player smiled politely and sat down. Clinton and Steve tangled a few times. In one had Clinton had pocket 8's and the flop was Q,5,2. Clinton bet out $75.00 only to have the young Steve raise to $150.00. Clinton then came over the top again to $350.00 and Steve quickly folded.
Steve waited patiently and hit gold in a pot with Ringo when he flopped the nut straight. Ringo went all in and Steve quickly called. Steve had a look of confident expectation as he rolled over his cards showing the nut straight. Unfortunately for Steve, Ringo had a set of Jacks and quickly hit a full house on the River. The poor young player looked like his dog had just been hit bye a car as he left the poker room with his head hanging low.
Clinton and Ringo dominated the other players at the table. Clinton won most of the pots that he played. He relentlessly check raised his opponents into submission. Clinton won several all in moments with Ringo. His gigantic stack grew to over $6,500.00 bye midnight. Several times Clinton checked into Ringo, only to have Ringo go all in, and Clinton instantly called and let out his huge cheer and laughter. Ringo was looking weary, confused and beaten. He yelled at Clinton "You hit every pot!" and Clinton replied with a laugh as he was adding to his chip stack, "You are playing the luckiest man on earth!"
Carla, his wife and a Pit Boss at Century finally came to take him home at 1am. As Clinton started stacking his trays of $25.00 chips players from other tables were walking over to congratulate him on his victory. Clinton cashed a whopping $5,875.00. Shawn a dealer who witnessed the mayhem said, "Look its Bonnie and Clyde, where are your masks!" as everyone in an earshot laughed. Kirk the original dealer and houseman that evening said, "Clint you are my hero." Clinton then smiled to everyone, pushed a huge stack of $100 bills into his pocket, smiled and said good luck and exited the room.
Ringo continued playing and with The King Of the Poker Room gone, Ringo quickly started destroying everyone who got in his way. He cashed out a respectable $6,800.00.
The poker room that night was electric. Pit bosses, dealers and security personnel were missing breaks to come and join the crowd that was watching this historic battle. This poker game will surely go down in Century Casino history as one of the greatest and most exciting games ever played.
Had a great time at Cascades Casino Langley.
Well August didn't have any real major events. I had a couple of fun instances happen at Cascades Casino in Langley British Columbia. The players there are really fun and friendly. Similar to the players at Century in Edmonton.
The first instance was with a young east Indian man. We were in a hand together and I had A6 and was on the button. He raised $15 pre flop and I called. The flop was K 10 4. He bet $40.00 and I said "nice and" and called. The next card was a 2 and he bet again $40.00 and I called and smiled. The river came and it was a 8 giving me Ace high. He looked at me and said, "I will check to you because I want you to bet", I said, "you want me to bet, ok, I'm all in." and he got up said "SHIT!" and showed his King and folded. I immediately showed the Ace high and burst out laughing with everyone else at the table including my very sportsmanlike opponent.
A few hours later this nice young woman was sitting next to me and she commented on how lucky I was. I asked her if she would like to know my secret. She said sure, and everyone began listening onto what I said. I told her to imagine big cards when the dealer is dealing and the cards will appear in her hand. The dealer dealt out the cards and I looked down at AA. The young lady was on my right so I had position on her. She raised $60.00. I looked at her and said you must have a really nice hand and I called. The flop was J 8 2. I said we could keep this civilized. She said she needed to bet her hand and bet out $80.00 and I called. The turn was a 4 and she bet out another $80.00 and I called. The river was a 3 and I told her we can keep this friendly. She bet out $80.00 and I said "That's not friendly." She said I have a good hand. I said well here is a friendly raise and I raised her $100 more. "She looked at me and said no way, I call!" She showed pocket QQ and I rolled over my AA. The whole table burst out with laughter. The dealer said, "I can't believe what I just saw, nice hands."
Clint chokes on a Worm...
On September 5th I decided to have a home game. My friends Sean and The Worm were the first to arrive. The Worm challenged me to a 5-5NL match for $500. Sean one of the best dealers in Edmonton dealt the game for us. The worm and I have tangled many times, he is one of the best players in Edmonton. He is an aggressive and very talented player whom is known for being sneaky and having a big mouth. I have noticed that he is maturing as a player and showing better sportsmanship. I have had to bail him out a few times from getting in trouble with his big mouth, but that's another story. The heads up tourney went back and forth and then ended abruptly with a memorable hand. I was on the button and John was the big blind. John picked up two Jacks in the hole. He decided to just limp into the pot. Flop comes 5,6,7 rainbow. The worm bet 20 into a 10 dollar pot, and I called, with a 6, K off suit). The turn gave the worm trip jacks. I bet 15 and John raised me to $45. and I called. The river comes K giving me two pair. I checked and the worm bet out 85 at which time I went all in. John says “Oh, shit.” I burst out laughing and said Ship it!. John was scared that I had a straight but he made a great call. The worm then says his usual trash talk something like, "This is the sweetest money and the easiest money I have ever got." His youthful exuberance was funny and typical for him. His victory was short lived as I felted him at Century a week later. He is still up on me this month, but we will meet again. Next time I will have some tequila and lemon ready.
$1050.00 win with pocket tens and I almost had a heart attack!
Well this hand took awhile to develop. It started with my Dealer friend "One Eye Shawn" dealing me pocket 10's. Everyone limped in and I was on the button and raised to $20.00. The drunk and fun players at the table raised to $50. then to $100. and when it came back to me I went all in $300. Four players called the $300.00. The flop was 7, 4, 2. Two diamonds. The turn was a 9 of diamonds. The river was a 4 of diamonds making 4 diamonds. No one had a diamond. I still can't believe it.
Every Poker Players Nightmare... Huge Pot, Huge Game, Huge Bad Beat...
This hand took place at our Edmonton High Stakes Poker game. "Thomas The Tank" and I were in the hand. I was dealt pocket jacks. The flop was 8,4,2. I checked to Thomas and he bet out $45.00 and I raised to $125.00 and he called. The turn was a Jack giving me trip jacks. I checked and Thomas bet $165.00 and I called. The river as a 4, pairing the board and giving me the nut full house. I bet out $250.00 and Thomas went "All In." I called making the pot $2500.00. Thomas showed pocket 4's making quads. I was up $1,250.00 and so was Thomas. I lost my $500.00 buy in and re-bought in $300.00. I ended the night cashing out $1,000.00 with a profit of $200.00.
Ship It Biches!
Well I have to admit I put my foot in my mouth on this hand. This hand took place in the Edmonton High Stakes Poker game. We were playing the 7-2 game and I ended up on the button with 7-2. I raised to $25.00 and was called buy almost everyone. The flop was 7,2,K. Everyone checked to me and I bet $50.00 I was called buy Dennis a great player who is local to Edmonton. The turn was a 2 giving me the full house. I bet 150.00 and it was called again. The river as a 6 and I bet all in. Dennis thought for a minute and called at which point I jumped up and said "Ship It Bitches" which is standard when you win with 7-2. OOPS Dennis rolls over pocket 7's Looks like I was the Bitch this time.
