This week's highlighted hands all have one thing in common - the victor received a small dose of luck to win the pot. Now this doesn't necessarily mean that they outrdew anyone or delivered the mother of all suck-outs, in fact one of them wasn't a bad beat at all, but, in my opinion, was fortunate in terms that the opposing player had a monster hand too.
I guess there are different ways of looking at luck. Some would say that I'm lucky to have ever won anything... Bah!
Hand 1
First to the crease is this confrontaion between Xuyen 'Bad Girl' Pham and popular Irishman and blondeite, Jim Reid.
Just moments into the £750 Main Event, Bad Girl flops the nut flush with Ac-Tc on a 2c-3c-7c board after calling a pre-flop raise from Reid. Reid then bets 600 on the 7 high flop and Bad Girl simply smooth calls.
With the Turn bringing a harmless looking 3h, the action really starts to pick up. Bad Girl checks, Jim bets 700, Bad Girl makes it 1,700 before calling the subsequent 2,500 re-reraise.
The River comes the Ten of Diamonds and Jim moves all-in, leaving Bad Girl with a rather tricky decision for virtually all her chips.
But, after commenting "I think it might be bad play/call, but I gamble..." she makes the call and reveals her flush. Reid mucks his cards leaving Bad Girl to take the pot and an early double through that would aid her passage into Day 2.
But what did Jim have? Surely Pocket Kings, A-T or Kc-Qc. I guess unless he reveals this info himself, we'll just never know, but my inclination would be with the latter. Either way, it's somewhat of a cooler.
Hand 2
As you all know, no 'Hands of the Week' entry would ever be the same without an appearance of somesort from Mr Mallu, and this next hand is right up there on the Top 10 Mallus.
As Jen herself put it during Sunday's Day 2 Live Update...
"Ali Mallu busts S. Patel with 8-4 off. And Patel had Pocket Queens, spiking a set and seeing a straight come as if from nowhere to send him to the rail. Mallued."
Ouch, a Mallu special, that's gotta hurt!
Hand 3
We're deep into Day 2, the final table has commenced and the field has been whittled down to just five. Shorstacked and in need of a hand (or opportunity), James Mcbride (left) manages to find an A-6 and so, understandably, opts to move all-in pre-flop.
Realising that he could be moving in with any two cards, Anthony Kirkbride makes the call, only to reveal the same hand, A-6!
However, with four diamonds hitting the board and the Ace of Diamonds in Kirkbride's hand, James receives a firm kick in the testicles and is sent to the rail contemplating what could have been.
It's a harsh and sometimes cruel game.