Unlike the tournament, the cash game was very profitable for me. After the I busted out, we had enough players for the cash game. We played a mixture of Stud, Omaha Hi/Lo, Holdem, Razz, and Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo (PLO8). After a while, everybody seemed to settle in on PLO8, and that's what we played for the last few hours of the night. In hindsight, I think that was a huge mistake for everybody...except for me.
I bought in for $200, and quickly found myself up to $400. One one hand, I flopped the nut straight, and bet the pot all the way through the flop and turn. At the river, a third club came out, and my opponent went all-in for his remaining $40-50. This bet made the pot nearly $200. I hemmed and hawed, complained, and asked him if he really had called a $50-60 turn bet with nothing but a flush draw. I even turned up my cards and showed him my nut straight (and two pair) to try to get a read on him. At this point, I was about to fold, when he gave me the information I was looking for. After seeing my cards, he abruptly said -- "so you call?" -- as if he wanted a call. But remember what Mike Caro always says: "weak is strong, and strong is weak..." so after he said that, I immediately called and he mucked his cards. I collected nearly $200 in that pot.
I also collected the biggest pot of the night -- approximately $750. It's hard to believe a $1/2 PLO8 game can generate a $750pot, but it did, and here's how it happened. We were playing 6-handed, and it's usual for everybody to call the $2 blinds, and see a flop. I had AKT3 suited -- in Diamonds, and was sitting on the button. After I limped, the SB raises to $4, everybody who limped also called, and we saw a flop with 5 players in. So now, there's $20 in the pot at the time we see the flop.
FLOP: TT3 -- I flop a full house -- and there are two hearts on the board.
The action checks to me on the button, and I act like I'm trying to steal it by betting the pot: $20. Much to my surprise, I get 4 callers of my $20 bet! The 4 calls actually worries me because I believed at least one person must also have a 10 -- which means somebody can make a higher full house on me pretty easily. But if one other person has a 10, what do the others have? At least one of them must have had hearts, and wanted to chase the flush draw (which was already drawing dead). There is now $100 in the pot.
TURN: Ace -- I turn a higher full house -- and now there is the beginnings of a runner-runner low draw.
The ace makes me feel very good because now there's only one hand that can beat me (pocket aces). Based on the action on the flop, I seriously doubt anybody has it -- especially with an ace in my hand. Once again, the action checks to me, and I bet the pot again -- another $100. Again to my surprise, I get two callers; and the other two players fold. The pot now has a whopping $400 in it, and I still have $300 in my stack to bet.
RIVER: Q-HEARTS. No low possible.
I'm still not scared of this card, even though it now makes it possible for three hands to beat me: 1) Pocket Aces (nut full house); 2) Pocket Queens (2nd nut full house); 3) K-J Hearts (Royal Flush). Again, the action checks to me, and I announce all-in. My opponent still has approximately $170 in his stack. After he didn't immediately call, I knew he didn't have one of the three hands that beat he. However, after thinking about it for a moment, he did call -- hoping the flush he just hit was good. His call made the pot approximately $750 (in a $1/2 PLO8 game). I turned over my full house, and scooped the entire pot.
Even after winning this huge hand, I won another $200 before the end of the night. Shortly before we quit, I managed to give about $100 of it back when I got quartered with a high hand, and my low draw missed. By the end of the night, I cashed out for $862, which was +$662 on my initial $200 buy-in. Not a bad ending for the night.