Last month I didn't have anything to show for all my hard work at the WSOP series in New Orleans. I've been thinking about it lately and there were times when I stuck with my strategy and times when I didn't. In the $1600 event in particular there was one hand that I'm still disturbed about.
I had AQs in the blind. A super loose and somewhat stupid player raises in late position as my table is breaking and people are starting to walk off. I put in the 3 bet. He goes over the top all in. The only hand I'm really worried about here is AK. I know he can have an array of hands that beat me, but I don't think he has those hands. I've already seen him put all his chips in with KJ. I've seen him raising with some really weak hands. I finally decide that I will feel terrible if I call for my tournament life and see him turn over AK so I fold my hand. I still regret folding that hand. I had committed enough chips to the pot that I was left with about 15 or 20 big blinds to take to my new table. The strategy that I didn't stick to was my chip collecting strategy. I think there are times in a tournament, even when you might be behind when you need to go for it. It was a close decision for me. And being suited was enough of an edge that should have pushed me into making that call. I don't know. I was probably correct in folding there. He probably had a bigger hand. I know he played like a donkey but I read him as strong and that means that he had my hand at worst which would make my call bad. It's just that I couldn't do any good after that. I got moved to a new table. I kept getting called down by donkeys and bleeding chips. I would shove with hands like AJ and get called by hands like A4 and chop. It was just ridiculous and I felt I could have played that new table better if I had more chips like I had at the previous table. Eventually, I ended up getting sucked out on by someone who called one of my all in s with a weak hand and making something. Next time I am faced with that decision I need to think about the future of my life in the tournament whether I win, lose, or fold. I think that in the past I've only been thinking about the outcome right then and there. If I win THIS hand.... If I lose THIS hand... but never thinking about how my tournament strategy and style might be affected if I FOLD THIS hand after putting myself in this position.
Future strategy: Keep up the 3 bets. It works great for me. I manage to collect lots of chips this way and squeeze out mediocre hands like middle pairs. Keep up the aggression. Think about the consequences of folding before I fold.
I'm ready for another tournament. I don't have the bankroll to find a good one right now, but I'm ready!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #7 - Another Learning Experience
I dreamt about this event last night, and it was intertwined with my nightmares. Then I spent all day mulling over what happened yesterday. Again I was off to a good start. It's a great structure that enables the player to sit back and wait for the right opportunities. There were 647 entrants and at the dinner break I had 36k in chips and an average stack was 21k. Back from dinner I was in the big blind with 99 and the level was 100 antes and 500/1000 blinds. There was a limper in middle position and the button limped. I raised 4k more.
The middle position player threw in 3k and the dealer corrected him to let him know it was 4k not 3k to call. I noticed this and the look on his face and wondered why 1k seemed to make a difference to him. I mean really, if you're willing to call 3k why would 4k be such a big surprise. The button called. The flop came out 422. I bet 9k. The middle position player called and the button folded. What? Why did he call? What the heck can he have? He limped in and then called a big pre-flop raise. Now he's going to stick with the hand? He doesn't make any sense. The turn comes off a 3. Well, I'm thinking, I can't check to him. If I let him bet I'll be stuck with a tough decision. I really can't imagine what kind of hand he could have. Maybe he had or has a straight draw. If he has an Ace I don't really want him in the hand any longer. I shove all in. He insta-calls and shows.... are you ready for this? .... 5h 2h. WTF? An ace comes off on the river improving his hand to a straight and I lose 30k on the hand. I was a bit of jerk after that hand, but I'm not really sorry for it. He was an idiot and that's what I said out loud at the table. He said something like, "Well you were betting into me." And I said, "Well of course. I didn't expect you to be stupid and call 4k preflop with 52. I didn't know you were an idiot." And then he went on to say something about pot committed or some other such nonsense. The fact is he can't justify his hand there. He just called with crap and got lucky. And I was very vocal about how much of an idiot he was. In retrospect I start to see where that 4k versus 3k was a sticking point for him preflop. He's an idiot. He thought his hand was worth 3k more, but would have folded if he'd realized it was 4k more, but since he had already thrown in the 3k he pretty much had to put in the other 1k to see the flop and THAT's what he meant when he said "pot-committed". It's still absolutely ridiculous and he made himself sound like that much more of a dummy by trying to justify his bad play.
So here's my mistake. I forgot my #1 rule of poker. I don't think I've blogged about this, but this is something that I've lived by for years after playing and winning several $2 tourneys on Poker Stars. You ready? Assume every opponent is an idiot! Yep, that's right. Don't give them credit for being a smart player. Assume they will put their money in bad. Assume they will play bad. Assume they are stupid. This assumption can save me lots of money and it's the one revelation that I let slip away yesterday in that hand. In fact, it took me all day to remember this - my very own rule!
So, yes, I recovered from that loss. I used my steaming appearance to acquire chips. I picked up AK and shoved. The big blind called with 66 and I hit my hand to double up to over 12k. He threw his cards in all pissy and all I could think was when you lose 30k to 52 you can get huffy, but losing 6k to AK doesn't warrant your attitude. I didn't say anything though. I just stacked my chips and moved on. A little while later I the idiot was in the big blind. Another player limped in. I had A4 and shoved. The level 100, 600/1200 so with 10 big blinds I was still in short stack mode. The Idiot called the roughly 13k bet and the other player folded. Are you ready for this? The Idiot had K8! LOL hahahaha... proving he's still an idiot he doubled me up to over 25k. Then I pick up AA and make a fairly large preflop raise. Get one caller and the flop comes ... 522! AHHHHH! I shove all in. And the player says, "What? You don't think I play 52?" LOL So I said, "No sir, you look like you're way to smart to play 52." ... me taking another shot at the idiot who was still at the table! LOL He folds and some how I find myself sitting on 50k which is roughly 20k more than an average stack at this point in the tournament.
I pick up 55 and raise to 4k. We're still at the 100, 600/1200 level. The guy on my left raises to 10k. Now, he's been coming over the top of me rather consistently, but he and I have been talking about it and I know it's not that he's picking on ME. But coincidentally he's been picking up hands whenever I do. This time, I decide I'm done with my raise/fold play. I decide to put HIM to the test and I shove all in. He goes into the tank. He looks at the clock and sees that we are comming up on a break. There's about 180 people left. He finally decides to call. He has AK and he hits his hand to double through me and leaving me with 13k in chips. It was a chance and I decided to take it. In retrospect the only other way I would have been content to play the hand would be to call his 6k raise and then I would have had to fold on the flop when the A or the K or both hit. That would have saved me a bunch of money, and ultimately this hand did cost me the tournament. BUT, I did say in my last blog that I wanted to be more aggresive. SOooooo, maybe a good balance between aggressive and not would be appropriate. He's right, it was a decent time to race. And if I'd won the hand I would have been sitting on nearly 100k in chips and sitting pretty for a run at the money. All in all I'm happy with the way I played (minus the 52 idiot hand) and I'm glad I took my game up a notch from where it was when I played on Monday.
Tomorrow is a $200 satellite event to win a seat into the $1600 main event. I plan on winning my seat! I did it back at the IP when there was a WSOP stop there last Oct or Sept or whatever. I can do it again. My plan for tomorrow? Well, I don't have to race for all of my chips. I don't have to take big chances. I can wait for good hands and make them profitable. I don't have to win the whole tournament. I just have to get into the money to get the seat. So, I'll be aggressive, but I'm looking to use well timed aggression to get my opponents chips. I'm good at building my chip stack and this is a great skill to have in a satellite tournament. I EXPECT a win tomorrow.
The middle position player threw in 3k and the dealer corrected him to let him know it was 4k not 3k to call. I noticed this and the look on his face and wondered why 1k seemed to make a difference to him. I mean really, if you're willing to call 3k why would 4k be such a big surprise. The button called. The flop came out 422. I bet 9k. The middle position player called and the button folded. What? Why did he call? What the heck can he have? He limped in and then called a big pre-flop raise. Now he's going to stick with the hand? He doesn't make any sense. The turn comes off a 3. Well, I'm thinking, I can't check to him. If I let him bet I'll be stuck with a tough decision. I really can't imagine what kind of hand he could have. Maybe he had or has a straight draw. If he has an Ace I don't really want him in the hand any longer. I shove all in. He insta-calls and shows.... are you ready for this? .... 5h 2h. WTF? An ace comes off on the river improving his hand to a straight and I lose 30k on the hand. I was a bit of jerk after that hand, but I'm not really sorry for it. He was an idiot and that's what I said out loud at the table. He said something like, "Well you were betting into me." And I said, "Well of course. I didn't expect you to be stupid and call 4k preflop with 52. I didn't know you were an idiot." And then he went on to say something about pot committed or some other such nonsense. The fact is he can't justify his hand there. He just called with crap and got lucky. And I was very vocal about how much of an idiot he was. In retrospect I start to see where that 4k versus 3k was a sticking point for him preflop. He's an idiot. He thought his hand was worth 3k more, but would have folded if he'd realized it was 4k more, but since he had already thrown in the 3k he pretty much had to put in the other 1k to see the flop and THAT's what he meant when he said "pot-committed". It's still absolutely ridiculous and he made himself sound like that much more of a dummy by trying to justify his bad play.
So here's my mistake. I forgot my #1 rule of poker. I don't think I've blogged about this, but this is something that I've lived by for years after playing and winning several $2 tourneys on Poker Stars. You ready? Assume every opponent is an idiot! Yep, that's right. Don't give them credit for being a smart player. Assume they will put their money in bad. Assume they will play bad. Assume they are stupid. This assumption can save me lots of money and it's the one revelation that I let slip away yesterday in that hand. In fact, it took me all day to remember this - my very own rule!
So, yes, I recovered from that loss. I used my steaming appearance to acquire chips. I picked up AK and shoved. The big blind called with 66 and I hit my hand to double up to over 12k. He threw his cards in all pissy and all I could think was when you lose 30k to 52 you can get huffy, but losing 6k to AK doesn't warrant your attitude. I didn't say anything though. I just stacked my chips and moved on. A little while later I the idiot was in the big blind. Another player limped in. I had A4 and shoved. The level 100, 600/1200 so with 10 big blinds I was still in short stack mode. The Idiot called the roughly 13k bet and the other player folded. Are you ready for this? The Idiot had K8! LOL hahahaha... proving he's still an idiot he doubled me up to over 25k. Then I pick up AA and make a fairly large preflop raise. Get one caller and the flop comes ... 522! AHHHHH! I shove all in. And the player says, "What? You don't think I play 52?" LOL So I said, "No sir, you look like you're way to smart to play 52." ... me taking another shot at the idiot who was still at the table! LOL He folds and some how I find myself sitting on 50k which is roughly 20k more than an average stack at this point in the tournament.
I pick up 55 and raise to 4k. We're still at the 100, 600/1200 level. The guy on my left raises to 10k. Now, he's been coming over the top of me rather consistently, but he and I have been talking about it and I know it's not that he's picking on ME. But coincidentally he's been picking up hands whenever I do. This time, I decide I'm done with my raise/fold play. I decide to put HIM to the test and I shove all in. He goes into the tank. He looks at the clock and sees that we are comming up on a break. There's about 180 people left. He finally decides to call. He has AK and he hits his hand to double through me and leaving me with 13k in chips. It was a chance and I decided to take it. In retrospect the only other way I would have been content to play the hand would be to call his 6k raise and then I would have had to fold on the flop when the A or the K or both hit. That would have saved me a bunch of money, and ultimately this hand did cost me the tournament. BUT, I did say in my last blog that I wanted to be more aggresive. SOooooo, maybe a good balance between aggressive and not would be appropriate. He's right, it was a decent time to race. And if I'd won the hand I would have been sitting on nearly 100k in chips and sitting pretty for a run at the money. All in all I'm happy with the way I played (minus the 52 idiot hand) and I'm glad I took my game up a notch from where it was when I played on Monday.
Tomorrow is a $200 satellite event to win a seat into the $1600 main event. I plan on winning my seat! I did it back at the IP when there was a WSOP stop there last Oct or Sept or whatever. I can do it again. My plan for tomorrow? Well, I don't have to race for all of my chips. I don't have to take big chances. I can wait for good hands and make them profitable. I don't have to win the whole tournament. I just have to get into the money to get the seat. So, I'll be aggressive, but I'm looking to use well timed aggression to get my opponents chips. I'm good at building my chip stack and this is a great skill to have in a satellite tournament. I EXPECT a win tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Poker - It's a Mental Game
Lately, I've been playing quite well. I've been playing lots of little tournaments at the Hybrid Poker Club and getting lots of practice. Playing with the same people all the time has it's plusses and it's cons. I'm learning them, and they think they are learning me. I played a little $60 T on Sunday to get one last practice run in before the WSOP Circuit event in New Orle plaans. I played properly - didn't win, but was content with my play. I did a good job of collecting chips. My opponents kept thinking that I was sucking out on the turn, but in reality, I was calling on the flop with inferior hands that had possibilities and using scare cards on the turn to bluff at the pot and I was taking the pots down. In the end, I got all in with 88 and was called with 66 and a 6 hit the turn. No big deal - that's just poker. Sometimes people hit a 2-outer against you. Still I was very content with my play. Mentally, I felt like I was the best player at the table and that I was in control of the game.
Then I went to New Orleans and played in event #1 of the WSOP Circuit event. Again, I started off strong. I was steadily collecting chips. I was raising pots at the right time, and re-raising pre-flop at the right time and by the right amounts to win chips. We started with 10k in chips and by the first break I had improved to 16k on a rather tight table. No one had been felted at our table yet so it was a real chore to collect chips. Then after the break things started to change. One guy who was very short on chips opened for a 3x raise. I held 88 and reraised to half his remaining stack with every intention of isolating the pot against him and calling his all in. That part of the plan worked beautifully. Everyone else folded, he moved all in. I called and he showed AA. Oh well. I could afford it at the time anyway. Moving on.
At the 100/200 blind level, I open for a raise to 600 under the gun with AK. I'm in seat 5 at a 9 handed table and the player in seat 7 reraises to 2100. He's been playing small ball lately and this is the biggest raise I've seen him make. This has me concerned that he has a big hand. Then all the shit breaks loose. The big blind sits in torture over what to do. He'd directly to my right and somehow he flashes his cards. I miss it, but the whole table see them, including seat 7 who is still in the hand. This is troublesome. I don't know what those cards are. He folded and it's up to me. Well, I feel like I'm in a bad spot here. If seat 7 has AA or KK and an A or a K flops what the heck am I going to do? Maybe he's got a smaller pair, but he's been playing this small pot poker so now maybe he's picked up a bigger than normal hand. Well, I fold and decide to live to play another day.
My stack is steadily dwindling down and, in retrospect I can say that it affected my play. I started to play soft. Later, I open for a raise to 500 with QhJh. Seat 7 goes over the top to 2100. Crap. What the heck. This guy is started to beat me up. I decide to call this time. My hand has some possibilities. The flop come J rag rag rainbow. In this situation, I like to check call to give my aggressive opponent a chance to hang himself. So I check. He bets 1000. I call. The turn is another rag card. Here have some more rope... check. He bets a smallish bet like 2500. I call. The river is another rag and I think to myself, perhaps I should lead out with a bet here to control the size of the river bet and get into a showdown situation. Then I get all girly and scared. "What if he comes over the top? Then what'll I do?" oh crap. I don't really know that my hand is good enough to win with but I do have showdown value. I check. What? I was supposed to bet or move in but I checked? crap. He goes all in. Well, our stacks are fairly even so one of us will either be out or severly crippled. Here's where I really go wrong. Talk about playing like a girl. I fold! What the heck? Why did I put all those chips in the pot? To fold? No. That's not my normal play here. Mentally, I went totally off my game and screwed up. No, I don't know what he had, but let's analyize the hand. He could have preflop raised with AK or AQ both of which I could beat or AA, KK, QQ, JJ, all of which I'd lose to, or a smaller pair which I probably beat unless he made a set somewhere along the way. His smallish bets on the flop and turn could have represented a monster hand and he was sucking me in to get me to contribute to the pot. Or they could have been bluffs. From the way he played and my read on the situation, I had put him on a bluff the whole time. If that's the case I should have stuck with that read on the river. Of course if he was bluffing his only move to win the pot was to go all in. Dummy! That was my cue to make a hero call. Why am I analyzing this hand of all the hands to death? Because I think this was the hand that made or broke the tournament for me. He bled chips from me in this hand and after this, I was just stuck and never could get the bleading under control. Yes, he could have had a monster. In fact, after I folded I decided that he had JJ there and I was crushed all the way. Oh that made me feel better about the fold. But here in the aftermath, I really wish I'd played that hand differently.
I've decided that you can't play scared in a tournament. Every hand is a chance to collect chips. Either collect the chips and go on to win the tournament or lose all your chips and get the heck out. But don't let yourself get crippled mentally and in terms of chips and then try to just hang on by your fingernails through the rest of the tournament. I've got to buck up if I'm going to win in the next tournaments I play. I can't let people push me around. In fact, I think my best play on that hand would have been to check/shove the turn! If he did set up on the river, I would have eliminated that possibility. If I don't check/shove the turn, then I should have shoved the river. And if I didn't shove the river I should have check/called his shove on the river. Right or wrong it was a lost opportunity.
So, knowing what I did wrong in that tournament, I decided to play event #2. It was half PLO and half PL Hold-em. PLO isn't really my game, but I've had some practice lately and it's not too hard if you use your brain. Again I did well through the first 4 levels. Then I came to that fateful decision point. I was in the small blind in a limped pot with As8s. I raise the pot and get 1 or 2 callers. The flop is 567 rainbow. This is a good flop for me so I pot it. BB folds and the under the gun player repots it. Well, I aint going anywhere now. The bet is 2850 and I call. The turn is an A. This is a great card for me and after getting raised I lead out again with a bet of 3000. Ok, that's my mistake right there. I really should have potted it rather than making a bet that was less than half the pot. He glares at me, like how dare you bet into me when I just raised you. But he doesn't raise, he calls. I feel good about the hand until the river card comes off - an 8. CRAP. That puts 5678 on the board. So if he has a 9 or more likely a 4 he wins the hand and It's even worse for me because I have top 2 pair. I check (regretting that I didn't pot it on the turn) and he goes all in. He does take a little time before he shoves and that's a good move on his part. He could have two pair. He could have the straight. He could be bluffing at the river. In fact, it's very likely that he has a hand like 56 or 67 and flopped 2 pair. Well, Mom and grandma were done playing at this point and I decided to go big or go home at a decent hour. I called. There was enough value in catching a bluff or a weaker two pair here and if he had the straight then oh well that's just a crappy river card. Of course, he had 45 (another of his likely holdings) and he won the pot. The good news is, I could live with my decision on the river here and I got to bed at a decent hour. Oh, and surprisingly, the PLO portion of the game played better for me than the Hold-em portion of the game... go figure!
Well, next weekend I plan on playing a satellite to win my way into the $1600 main event. And I plan on keeping my head together so that I can win it. In the meantime, maybe I'll play the wild and crazy rebuy tournament on Wed night at the Hybrid for more practice. Two weeks ago I won $700 in that tournament by getting to a 3 way chop. And the more practice the better!
Come on loosey goosey players, I'm not scared and don't expect me to play like a girl. I'm going to play like a poker player! So you better have the goods or you're going to get busted by a girl!
Then I went to New Orleans and played in event #1 of the WSOP Circuit event. Again, I started off strong. I was steadily collecting chips. I was raising pots at the right time, and re-raising pre-flop at the right time and by the right amounts to win chips. We started with 10k in chips and by the first break I had improved to 16k on a rather tight table. No one had been felted at our table yet so it was a real chore to collect chips. Then after the break things started to change. One guy who was very short on chips opened for a 3x raise. I held 88 and reraised to half his remaining stack with every intention of isolating the pot against him and calling his all in. That part of the plan worked beautifully. Everyone else folded, he moved all in. I called and he showed AA. Oh well. I could afford it at the time anyway. Moving on.
At the 100/200 blind level, I open for a raise to 600 under the gun with AK. I'm in seat 5 at a 9 handed table and the player in seat 7 reraises to 2100. He's been playing small ball lately and this is the biggest raise I've seen him make. This has me concerned that he has a big hand. Then all the shit breaks loose. The big blind sits in torture over what to do. He'd directly to my right and somehow he flashes his cards. I miss it, but the whole table see them, including seat 7 who is still in the hand. This is troublesome. I don't know what those cards are. He folded and it's up to me. Well, I feel like I'm in a bad spot here. If seat 7 has AA or KK and an A or a K flops what the heck am I going to do? Maybe he's got a smaller pair, but he's been playing this small pot poker so now maybe he's picked up a bigger than normal hand. Well, I fold and decide to live to play another day.
My stack is steadily dwindling down and, in retrospect I can say that it affected my play. I started to play soft. Later, I open for a raise to 500 with QhJh. Seat 7 goes over the top to 2100. Crap. What the heck. This guy is started to beat me up. I decide to call this time. My hand has some possibilities. The flop come J rag rag rainbow. In this situation, I like to check call to give my aggressive opponent a chance to hang himself. So I check. He bets 1000. I call. The turn is another rag card. Here have some more rope... check. He bets a smallish bet like 2500. I call. The river is another rag and I think to myself, perhaps I should lead out with a bet here to control the size of the river bet and get into a showdown situation. Then I get all girly and scared. "What if he comes over the top? Then what'll I do?" oh crap. I don't really know that my hand is good enough to win with but I do have showdown value. I check. What? I was supposed to bet or move in but I checked? crap. He goes all in. Well, our stacks are fairly even so one of us will either be out or severly crippled. Here's where I really go wrong. Talk about playing like a girl. I fold! What the heck? Why did I put all those chips in the pot? To fold? No. That's not my normal play here. Mentally, I went totally off my game and screwed up. No, I don't know what he had, but let's analyize the hand. He could have preflop raised with AK or AQ both of which I could beat or AA, KK, QQ, JJ, all of which I'd lose to, or a smaller pair which I probably beat unless he made a set somewhere along the way. His smallish bets on the flop and turn could have represented a monster hand and he was sucking me in to get me to contribute to the pot. Or they could have been bluffs. From the way he played and my read on the situation, I had put him on a bluff the whole time. If that's the case I should have stuck with that read on the river. Of course if he was bluffing his only move to win the pot was to go all in. Dummy! That was my cue to make a hero call. Why am I analyzing this hand of all the hands to death? Because I think this was the hand that made or broke the tournament for me. He bled chips from me in this hand and after this, I was just stuck and never could get the bleading under control. Yes, he could have had a monster. In fact, after I folded I decided that he had JJ there and I was crushed all the way. Oh that made me feel better about the fold. But here in the aftermath, I really wish I'd played that hand differently.
I've decided that you can't play scared in a tournament. Every hand is a chance to collect chips. Either collect the chips and go on to win the tournament or lose all your chips and get the heck out. But don't let yourself get crippled mentally and in terms of chips and then try to just hang on by your fingernails through the rest of the tournament. I've got to buck up if I'm going to win in the next tournaments I play. I can't let people push me around. In fact, I think my best play on that hand would have been to check/shove the turn! If he did set up on the river, I would have eliminated that possibility. If I don't check/shove the turn, then I should have shoved the river. And if I didn't shove the river I should have check/called his shove on the river. Right or wrong it was a lost opportunity.
So, knowing what I did wrong in that tournament, I decided to play event #2. It was half PLO and half PL Hold-em. PLO isn't really my game, but I've had some practice lately and it's not too hard if you use your brain. Again I did well through the first 4 levels. Then I came to that fateful decision point. I was in the small blind in a limped pot with As8s. I raise the pot and get 1 or 2 callers. The flop is 567 rainbow. This is a good flop for me so I pot it. BB folds and the under the gun player repots it. Well, I aint going anywhere now. The bet is 2850 and I call. The turn is an A. This is a great card for me and after getting raised I lead out again with a bet of 3000. Ok, that's my mistake right there. I really should have potted it rather than making a bet that was less than half the pot. He glares at me, like how dare you bet into me when I just raised you. But he doesn't raise, he calls. I feel good about the hand until the river card comes off - an 8. CRAP. That puts 5678 on the board. So if he has a 9 or more likely a 4 he wins the hand and It's even worse for me because I have top 2 pair. I check (regretting that I didn't pot it on the turn) and he goes all in. He does take a little time before he shoves and that's a good move on his part. He could have two pair. He could have the straight. He could be bluffing at the river. In fact, it's very likely that he has a hand like 56 or 67 and flopped 2 pair. Well, Mom and grandma were done playing at this point and I decided to go big or go home at a decent hour. I called. There was enough value in catching a bluff or a weaker two pair here and if he had the straight then oh well that's just a crappy river card. Of course, he had 45 (another of his likely holdings) and he won the pot. The good news is, I could live with my decision on the river here and I got to bed at a decent hour. Oh, and surprisingly, the PLO portion of the game played better for me than the Hold-em portion of the game... go figure!
Well, next weekend I plan on playing a satellite to win my way into the $1600 main event. And I plan on keeping my head together so that I can win it. In the meantime, maybe I'll play the wild and crazy rebuy tournament on Wed night at the Hybrid for more practice. Two weeks ago I won $700 in that tournament by getting to a 3 way chop. And the more practice the better!
Come on loosey goosey players, I'm not scared and don't expect me to play like a girl. I'm going to play like a poker player! So you better have the goods or you're going to get busted by a girl!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
A Quick Hand Analysis
All I can say is, math works for and against everybody equally. Some people call it luck. But, really , it's just that sometimes, some crazy stuff happens.
So, I'm playing online in a 9 player sit-n-go for $100. One player (an actor from ER) has already been elimated. You start with 1500 in these tourneys so it's helpful to catch a double up somewhere along the way if you hope to make it to the final 3 and make some cash. I have 10,10 in the small blind. Blinds are 30/60, and I have 1275 to start the hand. The guy who knocked out the actor raises from the cutoff to 180 (a standard 3x the BB raise). I rarely give too much credit to button and cutoff raises in these quick tournaments so I think my 10's are the best hand. Of course, I don't really want to see an Ace, King, or Queen on the flop.
The button folds. I reraise to 360, leaving me with 945. Ok, one more point to note, when I have less than 1000 in these sit-n-go's I get nervous. You don't have much after-the-flop folding equity if you have less than 1000 and make a preflop raise. The big blind folds and I'm head's up with the other raiser who calls my reraise. The flop comes 2d, 9s, Jc. That's a good flop for my hand. I think it's possible but unlikely that he flopped a pair with the Jack. It's a rainbow flop and I doubt he'll want to play a big pot with a straight draw. So, I go for the check raise. I check.
Of his now 2630 stack he bets 240. That looks like a standard continuation bet and the pot is now 1020. I have 945 left and would really like to just take the pot down here. I raise all-in. So this is the point at which you might want to try to guess at what you think my opponent has.
Ideas?
Ok, I'll go on. He calls my all in bet, and I see that he has 99 for a set. Ugh. I now have to hit one of 2 tens left in the deck... and I do! Right there on the turn comes the 10 of clubs. A meaningless Ace hits the river and I double up.
Math? Well, mathematically, I'm a HUGE favorite preflop with the over pair. But there IS a POSSIBILITY that my opponent might spike one of the 2 remaining 9's in the deck to beat me and he does. Then, after the flop I'm a HUGE DOG. But the ten comes and I feel like everything is right with the world. The best pre-flop hand won regardless of the crazy cards.
Of course, my opponent then calls me an idiot in the chat screen and starts saying something (probably calling me bad names) in another language. So, whatever... I don't care what anybody calls me as long as I am the one who drags the chips into my stack.
So, I'm playing online in a 9 player sit-n-go for $100. One player (an actor from ER) has already been elimated. You start with 1500 in these tourneys so it's helpful to catch a double up somewhere along the way if you hope to make it to the final 3 and make some cash. I have 10,10 in the small blind. Blinds are 30/60, and I have 1275 to start the hand. The guy who knocked out the actor raises from the cutoff to 180 (a standard 3x the BB raise). I rarely give too much credit to button and cutoff raises in these quick tournaments so I think my 10's are the best hand. Of course, I don't really want to see an Ace, King, or Queen on the flop.
The button folds. I reraise to 360, leaving me with 945. Ok, one more point to note, when I have less than 1000 in these sit-n-go's I get nervous. You don't have much after-the-flop folding equity if you have less than 1000 and make a preflop raise. The big blind folds and I'm head's up with the other raiser who calls my reraise. The flop comes 2d, 9s, Jc. That's a good flop for my hand. I think it's possible but unlikely that he flopped a pair with the Jack. It's a rainbow flop and I doubt he'll want to play a big pot with a straight draw. So, I go for the check raise. I check.
Of his now 2630 stack he bets 240. That looks like a standard continuation bet and the pot is now 1020. I have 945 left and would really like to just take the pot down here. I raise all-in. So this is the point at which you might want to try to guess at what you think my opponent has.
Ideas?
Ok, I'll go on. He calls my all in bet, and I see that he has 99 for a set. Ugh. I now have to hit one of 2 tens left in the deck... and I do! Right there on the turn comes the 10 of clubs. A meaningless Ace hits the river and I double up.
Math? Well, mathematically, I'm a HUGE favorite preflop with the over pair. But there IS a POSSIBILITY that my opponent might spike one of the 2 remaining 9's in the deck to beat me and he does. Then, after the flop I'm a HUGE DOG. But the ten comes and I feel like everything is right with the world. The best pre-flop hand won regardless of the crazy cards.
Of course, my opponent then calls me an idiot in the chat screen and starts saying something (probably calling me bad names) in another language. So, whatever... I don't care what anybody calls me as long as I am the one who drags the chips into my stack.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Crappy Play
So, I've been winning. In fact, it seems I can do no wrong. So I have to keep telling myself, "Respect the money." And I'm also have to some self talk now about what's the right play and why I'm making the play. The other night, was not my best play. In fact, I think that while I made some decent plays, I really could have (should have) done better.
Example 1: I raise with AJ off suit. This guy in the ten seat calls. The flop comes out ten high and I bet. He calls. On the turn we both check. On the river I check and he bets $120. Now, as I'm thinking about this, I think that he's bluffing. I think he probably had a straight draw or a flush draw and he missed. And the only way he thinks he can win is by betting to take the pot down. Trouble is, I only have Ace high. That could be a winner if he was on a straight draw. Well, I call. He says, "Good call. I only have one pair." Yes, he was bluffing. Yes he did miss the straight. BUT he also had a small pair of 5's to go along with his nothing, so he was betting with the best hand! Ugh. So what did I do wrong? Well, I played the hand like we were playing $4-$8 limit. I checked the turn and called the river. No, folks, this is nolimit. In no limit, I should have bet the turn or RAISED on the river. OR I could have folded. But a flat call was not the correct play. The trouble is that it's tough for me to raise a $120 bet when I have Ace high. Well, I need to get over that. If I think that my opponent is bluffing, I need to suck it up and take the pot away from them. Good read. Bad play.
Example 2: I have 56 off suit and a player that I really don't like raises to $30 preflop. Of course I call. It's always fun to beat someone that you don't like. Here's the other reason I call. I know that she plays about 90% of the hands she's dealt. Some she raises with and others she limps with, but I have her pegged as a fairly dumb, weak player who likes to see lots of flops. Oh, let me clarify why I say "dumb". She plays poker almost every day, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why she, seemingly, can never figure out what her opponent holds. She's almost always wrong. So, I think she's dumb. Oh, and she's not likeable either. She's usually a bitch to people when they beat her. So, it's fun to beat her. Ok, so I call the $30 raise and so does another player (also a weak player, but this person is nice and likeable, she's also wealthy and a loose player). The flop comes 8,7, and some other meaningless card that I can't remember. There are 2 spades and 1 club on the flop. The player I don't like bets $65. Of course I'm calling here with my openended straight draw. The other weak player also calls. I'm worried about a flush. The turn is a club that doesn't make anybody's hand. The player I don't like bets out $110. I think about this. I have at least the four red cards that make my hand, and maybe the four black ones too. If the other lady calls then she's certainly drawing for a flush and I'm dead. But if the other lady folds, then I'm not worried about the flush. Oh, but it's so much fun to beat someone that you don't like... I call. Ok, folks, calling to beat someone you don't like is not a good reason to call. You should only call when you have a positive expectation that this is a money making hand. Against most other players I would have folded because I'm likely in a negative EV situation. (EV=Expected Value). But this is technically a good call against a person who I feel could have any two cards and may only have AK or QQ because she raised preflop and continued on the flop. In fact, it's probably not AK, because I don't think she'd make the second continuation bet on the turn. So it's probably JJ, QQ, or KK. No, probably not KK. I think JJ or QQ. Anyway, I called and the 9 of spades peels off on the river. That's great! I made my hand. The other weak player had folded on the turn so it's just me and the player I suspect has a big overpair. She checks. And I CHECK! What? What did I just do? I checked! Oh crap... I should have bet. Wrong play, wrong play, wrong play.... bet bet bet! I checked. Of course I won the hand. But I could have gotten another $60-$100 from her by betting the river. But no. Because I was scared she might have been playing the flush the whole way looking for a check-raise on the river, I checked. Gosh. That was stupid. Now who was the dumb player in that hand? Me. Because I didn't get all of the money that I should have gotten from that hand.
All in all I did leave the game $1000 ahead for the night. But there were a few plays that were less than optimal. So, I'm writing this to remind myself that I'm there to make money. I'm not there to prove who the best player is. I'm not there to beat down bitches that I don't like. I'm not there to try to suck out when I have a negative EV hand. I am there to make the best, most sound decisions I can with the information that I have with the end goal of winning all the money on the table.
If I forget that, you have my permission to slap me in the head.
Oh, one more note. There are times when it is a sound decision to make a call for a suck out with a negative EV hand. Those are the times when I'm looking to put a volatile player on tilt so as to win more money from him/her in the future. That is a play I'll make!
Example 1: I raise with AJ off suit. This guy in the ten seat calls. The flop comes out ten high and I bet. He calls. On the turn we both check. On the river I check and he bets $120. Now, as I'm thinking about this, I think that he's bluffing. I think he probably had a straight draw or a flush draw and he missed. And the only way he thinks he can win is by betting to take the pot down. Trouble is, I only have Ace high. That could be a winner if he was on a straight draw. Well, I call. He says, "Good call. I only have one pair." Yes, he was bluffing. Yes he did miss the straight. BUT he also had a small pair of 5's to go along with his nothing, so he was betting with the best hand! Ugh. So what did I do wrong? Well, I played the hand like we were playing $4-$8 limit. I checked the turn and called the river. No, folks, this is nolimit. In no limit, I should have bet the turn or RAISED on the river. OR I could have folded. But a flat call was not the correct play. The trouble is that it's tough for me to raise a $120 bet when I have Ace high. Well, I need to get over that. If I think that my opponent is bluffing, I need to suck it up and take the pot away from them. Good read. Bad play.
Example 2: I have 56 off suit and a player that I really don't like raises to $30 preflop. Of course I call. It's always fun to beat someone that you don't like. Here's the other reason I call. I know that she plays about 90% of the hands she's dealt. Some she raises with and others she limps with, but I have her pegged as a fairly dumb, weak player who likes to see lots of flops. Oh, let me clarify why I say "dumb". She plays poker almost every day, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why she, seemingly, can never figure out what her opponent holds. She's almost always wrong. So, I think she's dumb. Oh, and she's not likeable either. She's usually a bitch to people when they beat her. So, it's fun to beat her. Ok, so I call the $30 raise and so does another player (also a weak player, but this person is nice and likeable, she's also wealthy and a loose player). The flop comes 8,7, and some other meaningless card that I can't remember. There are 2 spades and 1 club on the flop. The player I don't like bets $65. Of course I'm calling here with my openended straight draw. The other weak player also calls. I'm worried about a flush. The turn is a club that doesn't make anybody's hand. The player I don't like bets out $110. I think about this. I have at least the four red cards that make my hand, and maybe the four black ones too. If the other lady calls then she's certainly drawing for a flush and I'm dead. But if the other lady folds, then I'm not worried about the flush. Oh, but it's so much fun to beat someone that you don't like... I call. Ok, folks, calling to beat someone you don't like is not a good reason to call. You should only call when you have a positive expectation that this is a money making hand. Against most other players I would have folded because I'm likely in a negative EV situation. (EV=Expected Value). But this is technically a good call against a person who I feel could have any two cards and may only have AK or QQ because she raised preflop and continued on the flop. In fact, it's probably not AK, because I don't think she'd make the second continuation bet on the turn. So it's probably JJ, QQ, or KK. No, probably not KK. I think JJ or QQ. Anyway, I called and the 9 of spades peels off on the river. That's great! I made my hand. The other weak player had folded on the turn so it's just me and the player I suspect has a big overpair. She checks. And I CHECK! What? What did I just do? I checked! Oh crap... I should have bet. Wrong play, wrong play, wrong play.... bet bet bet! I checked. Of course I won the hand. But I could have gotten another $60-$100 from her by betting the river. But no. Because I was scared she might have been playing the flush the whole way looking for a check-raise on the river, I checked. Gosh. That was stupid. Now who was the dumb player in that hand? Me. Because I didn't get all of the money that I should have gotten from that hand.
All in all I did leave the game $1000 ahead for the night. But there were a few plays that were less than optimal. So, I'm writing this to remind myself that I'm there to make money. I'm not there to prove who the best player is. I'm not there to beat down bitches that I don't like. I'm not there to try to suck out when I have a negative EV hand. I am there to make the best, most sound decisions I can with the information that I have with the end goal of winning all the money on the table.
If I forget that, you have my permission to slap me in the head.
Oh, one more note. There are times when it is a sound decision to make a call for a suck out with a negative EV hand. Those are the times when I'm looking to put a volatile player on tilt so as to win more money from him/her in the future. That is a play I'll make!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Money Money Money - You Gotta Respect It!
So, I've been running up against a cold deck for about 2 years now. However, ealier this year I started to come out if it. Thank Goodness. But there's something that I learned that I think may have been the key to coming out of the black cloud.
You know when you play no limit texas holdem you can be dealing with lots of money. Even at the low limits! One day I played $1-$2 blinds and left with over $1500. That's a lot of money. And usually playing at $2-$5 blinds it's common to have $1000 sitting right there on the table in front of you at any given moment. So here's what I learned. You become complacent... complacent to money. When you have a thousand, two thousand dollars right there in front of you and there's probably ten thousand dollars on the table in play at any given moment, it's pretty easy to get a little "lost".
I learned a few years ago that you have to play without fear. You can't "need" the money or you'll play scared. But now I'm learning that you can't disrespect the money either. There's a fine line to tow here... an almost invisible line between being fearless and respecting that money. What I have learned this year is to respect the money. And since I've learned that lesson, I've been winning. I don't think that's a coincidence.
Example: A few months ago, I won a tournament in Kinder. I told you about it. My goal was to cash $2000 in that tournament. People were wanting to chop earlier, but I held out and met my goal before I agreed to a chop. What I didn't tell you is the "self-talk" I did during the tournament. In fact, this is probably when I had this little "revelation". I told myself, "You have to respect the money." What that meant is that I can't go around without regard or respect for money because it will all slip through my fingers if I do. "Respect the money." That's what I told myself. And it kept me in line. And I met my goal in that tournament.
Example 2: Since I've been winning it's been easy, right? Wrong. Last night I bought into the $2-$5 game for $400. Within an hour I had $1200 in front of me. And then it started to slip away. My stack dwindled down to about $500 and I said to myself, "Respect the money." That paradigm shift enabled me to leave the game last night with $1200. You see what I realized there is that when you can win or lose A THOUSAND DOLLARS in an hour, you start to get complacent... again. (Of course it also helped that I picked up pocket 5's again and flopped a set again, for the third time in the past two weeks!)
So I have to check myself. Am I becoming complacent? Am I the donkey at the table? Am I making good decisions? What is driving me to make the decisions that I make? That last question requires more insight than I think most players make about themselves.
"A thousand dollars," I said to myself last night, "is more money than some people make in a whole week, and certainly more money that most people make in a day and here I've obtained it in an hour." One hour! One Thousand Dollars! You know how I know when I'm starting to disrespect the money? When I say it's only a hundred dollars or it's only a thousand dollars... as if that's a drop in the bucket!
Well, I'm no millionaire and a thousand dollars is still a very real and very large amount of money to be passing through my hands in an hour's time. So for me, I have to remember to "respect the money" or it won't respect me.
You know when you play no limit texas holdem you can be dealing with lots of money. Even at the low limits! One day I played $1-$2 blinds and left with over $1500. That's a lot of money. And usually playing at $2-$5 blinds it's common to have $1000 sitting right there on the table in front of you at any given moment. So here's what I learned. You become complacent... complacent to money. When you have a thousand, two thousand dollars right there in front of you and there's probably ten thousand dollars on the table in play at any given moment, it's pretty easy to get a little "lost".
I learned a few years ago that you have to play without fear. You can't "need" the money or you'll play scared. But now I'm learning that you can't disrespect the money either. There's a fine line to tow here... an almost invisible line between being fearless and respecting that money. What I have learned this year is to respect the money. And since I've learned that lesson, I've been winning. I don't think that's a coincidence.
Example: A few months ago, I won a tournament in Kinder. I told you about it. My goal was to cash $2000 in that tournament. People were wanting to chop earlier, but I held out and met my goal before I agreed to a chop. What I didn't tell you is the "self-talk" I did during the tournament. In fact, this is probably when I had this little "revelation". I told myself, "You have to respect the money." What that meant is that I can't go around without regard or respect for money because it will all slip through my fingers if I do. "Respect the money." That's what I told myself. And it kept me in line. And I met my goal in that tournament.
Example 2: Since I've been winning it's been easy, right? Wrong. Last night I bought into the $2-$5 game for $400. Within an hour I had $1200 in front of me. And then it started to slip away. My stack dwindled down to about $500 and I said to myself, "Respect the money." That paradigm shift enabled me to leave the game last night with $1200. You see what I realized there is that when you can win or lose A THOUSAND DOLLARS in an hour, you start to get complacent... again. (Of course it also helped that I picked up pocket 5's again and flopped a set again, for the third time in the past two weeks!)
So I have to check myself. Am I becoming complacent? Am I the donkey at the table? Am I making good decisions? What is driving me to make the decisions that I make? That last question requires more insight than I think most players make about themselves.
"A thousand dollars," I said to myself last night, "is more money than some people make in a whole week, and certainly more money that most people make in a day and here I've obtained it in an hour." One hour! One Thousand Dollars! You know how I know when I'm starting to disrespect the money? When I say it's only a hundred dollars or it's only a thousand dollars... as if that's a drop in the bucket!
Well, I'm no millionaire and a thousand dollars is still a very real and very large amount of money to be passing through my hands in an hour's time. So for me, I have to remember to "respect the money" or it won't respect me.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Hand Analysis and Reading Opponents
It's been a while since I posted anything so I'll get you caught up on my action before we go into 2 hands I want to discuss. First, while Mom and Grandma were in Vegas, I signed up for a Heads'Up Tournament in Lake Charles at the Isle of Capris. I defeated a few opponents to cash in this tournament. It was quite fun and my first live heads'up T. I'm going to look to play in a few more of those in the future. (Oh, one other bonus. I was the only girl and a few of my rather cocky male opponents were crushed by my poker prowess after underestimating me!)
Then I played a small T at Coushatta in Kinder and cashed for $2000. Everybody kept wanting to chop, but my goal was to walk away with $2k so I kept blocking the chop talk until we knocked out enough players to meet my goal. Mission accomplished!
Then we went down to the Beau Rivage in Biloxi and I played a $350 tournament there. The tournament went really well for me. I got lucky and I played great too. After 14 hours of play we chopped the prize pool 17 ways. I walked away with $6500.
Exhausted from all that play and then waiting another 2 hours to get paid, I lost about $1500 over the next two days. But I still managed to come back to Baton Rouge with a bankroll sufficient for me to move up from the $4-$8 limit and into the $2-$5 no limit game.
We played in New Orleans a week or so ago and I lost about $900 in the $1-$2 game, but I played pretty well all in all. So I wasn't too upset about the loss. I felt like I did all that I could. A few times my opponents sucked out to win the big pots. Here's one hand in particular. This one has to do with reading opponents. I had something like A8. On the flop there was an 8 and a K and some other rag card. I checked. The big blind checked and the next guy bet $20. I read him a weak so I called. The BB, who had raised pre-flop figured that his pocket J's were beat with that guy betting and me calling so he folded the best hand here. Now that it was just the two of us and I figured he did have anything, I bet $40 thinking he would fold on the turn. He did not fold, but called instead. That confused me a bit. Another K hit the river and I checked. The guy bet about $65. This really had me wondering if I'd been wrong all along. While I'm thinking about it I'm "shuffling" my hole cards. I notice that he catches this move from the corner of his eye and his eyes move from my eyes to my cards. I'm wondering here, did he think I was folding? I think he wants me to fold. Usually when someone has a big hand they'll look at your "chips" to imagine them in their own stack. But he looked at my cards! He was also leaning over the table and staring me down (something he had not done before when he did have big hands). I decided to stick with my originial analysis that he didn't have anything all along and the K on the river couldn't have helped so I called. He had total air and I won the pot. That's the first time I'd noticed a player looking at my cards...
That takes me to this week. I was playing at the Belle in Baton Rouge in the $2-$5 no limit game. We'd been playing for a while so all the players were familiar with each other. I raised to $20 with 55 in middle position. I got 4 callers. (A nit player, a donkey caller, and two guys that like to see flops). The flop came down Kh Qh 5d. Wooo hooo! I just flopped a set. Now, let's make some money. I don't like the flush/straight draws so I don't want to mess around too much. The first 2 check. I bet $65. The nit calls. One of the "likes to see a flop" guys calls. And the donkey caller, calls. The turn is a 6c. Thank goodness that didn't make anyone's straight or flush. The first two check to me. I decide that I want to bet enough to take the pot down right here. No need to allow those pesky draws to see the river. I bet $300. The nit calls! What the heck? The other two fold. So the easy to beat players are out and the guy who usually has the nuts is in the hand. What's going on here? He was supposed to fold. The river is a Jd. That card doesn't make a flush but it could make a straight. I decide that along with that card being a scare card for me, the pot is big enough (and what can he be calling with?) so I check. He shoves in an intimidating stack of green chips - $500! Now I go into the tank.
I think I spent the next 5 minutes going over the hand. I really thought I had the best hand. What just happened? He's looking at me to see what I'm going to do. I look at him and ask, "Ace-ten?" He looks away. What's that mean? Is he looking away because I called his hand? Is he looking away because his hand is much weaker than a straight? "Ace ten of hearts? really?," I say. No reaction from him. I'm shuffling my cards and he looks at them. What? Did he just look at my cards? Is he looking for me to fold? Ok, did he slow play pocket K's or Q's? No, I don't think so. I think he would have reraised with one of those two hands either pre-flop or on the flop. Did he turn a set of 6's? No, I don't think he called $65 on the flop with a medium pair to hunt out a set on the turn. Ace ten of hearts? really? No. I don't think he called THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS on the turn with a draw - no matter how big. It would have been foolish to call a pot sized bet on the turn with a gut shot/flush/royal draw. But some people can't away from royal draws. By this time, I'm really contemplating folding here. If I call and lose I'll have about $120 left to take home and go home a $780 loser on the night. I'm holding my cards up and the players to my left and right can see them at this point. But I'm still working my way through this hand. This guy hasn't been able to look at me ever since I asked him it he had Ace ten. Ace ten of hearts is the only hand that makes sense here. Wait a minute. KQ also makes sense. In fact, KQ makes more sense. I just don't think he would have called the $300 on the turn. I say to Mom, "I think we're going home after this hand, win or lose." By now, I am comfortable with my decision no matter what he has. My voice is almost a whisper, "I call". He turns to look at me. The dealer says, "What? You call?" I say, "Yes, I call". He turns up KsQs. YES! I turn up my pocket 5's and take down the $2000 pot.
It turns out that it was a huge decision for me. But the thing that had me calling the most, was something I saw in his face. Something I can't describe. There was just something there when I first asked him if he had Ace-Ten. Maybe a micro-expression. Maybe it was something that my subconscious understood better than my conscious mind, but something told me to call and to be ok with it either way. So really, even though my brain said, "fold he's got to have the nuts." Another part of me said, "call." Since I was having an inner struggle I took the time to go through the hand in my mind and to make a conscious decision that Ace ten didn't actually make that much sense... not with HIM. Another donkey caller - yes, but not HIM.
In the end, I was ok with it. If he turned up AhTh, then that would be that. But I was about 90% certain I had the winner after taking the time to work through the hand before calling.
That's it for now. Time to get ready to go win some more money!
Then I played a small T at Coushatta in Kinder and cashed for $2000. Everybody kept wanting to chop, but my goal was to walk away with $2k so I kept blocking the chop talk until we knocked out enough players to meet my goal. Mission accomplished!
Then we went down to the Beau Rivage in Biloxi and I played a $350 tournament there. The tournament went really well for me. I got lucky and I played great too. After 14 hours of play we chopped the prize pool 17 ways. I walked away with $6500.
Exhausted from all that play and then waiting another 2 hours to get paid, I lost about $1500 over the next two days. But I still managed to come back to Baton Rouge with a bankroll sufficient for me to move up from the $4-$8 limit and into the $2-$5 no limit game.
We played in New Orleans a week or so ago and I lost about $900 in the $1-$2 game, but I played pretty well all in all. So I wasn't too upset about the loss. I felt like I did all that I could. A few times my opponents sucked out to win the big pots. Here's one hand in particular. This one has to do with reading opponents. I had something like A8. On the flop there was an 8 and a K and some other rag card. I checked. The big blind checked and the next guy bet $20. I read him a weak so I called. The BB, who had raised pre-flop figured that his pocket J's were beat with that guy betting and me calling so he folded the best hand here. Now that it was just the two of us and I figured he did have anything, I bet $40 thinking he would fold on the turn. He did not fold, but called instead. That confused me a bit. Another K hit the river and I checked. The guy bet about $65. This really had me wondering if I'd been wrong all along. While I'm thinking about it I'm "shuffling" my hole cards. I notice that he catches this move from the corner of his eye and his eyes move from my eyes to my cards. I'm wondering here, did he think I was folding? I think he wants me to fold. Usually when someone has a big hand they'll look at your "chips" to imagine them in their own stack. But he looked at my cards! He was also leaning over the table and staring me down (something he had not done before when he did have big hands). I decided to stick with my originial analysis that he didn't have anything all along and the K on the river couldn't have helped so I called. He had total air and I won the pot. That's the first time I'd noticed a player looking at my cards...
That takes me to this week. I was playing at the Belle in Baton Rouge in the $2-$5 no limit game. We'd been playing for a while so all the players were familiar with each other. I raised to $20 with 55 in middle position. I got 4 callers. (A nit player, a donkey caller, and two guys that like to see flops). The flop came down Kh Qh 5d. Wooo hooo! I just flopped a set. Now, let's make some money. I don't like the flush/straight draws so I don't want to mess around too much. The first 2 check. I bet $65. The nit calls. One of the "likes to see a flop" guys calls. And the donkey caller, calls. The turn is a 6c. Thank goodness that didn't make anyone's straight or flush. The first two check to me. I decide that I want to bet enough to take the pot down right here. No need to allow those pesky draws to see the river. I bet $300. The nit calls! What the heck? The other two fold. So the easy to beat players are out and the guy who usually has the nuts is in the hand. What's going on here? He was supposed to fold. The river is a Jd. That card doesn't make a flush but it could make a straight. I decide that along with that card being a scare card for me, the pot is big enough (and what can he be calling with?) so I check. He shoves in an intimidating stack of green chips - $500! Now I go into the tank.
I think I spent the next 5 minutes going over the hand. I really thought I had the best hand. What just happened? He's looking at me to see what I'm going to do. I look at him and ask, "Ace-ten?" He looks away. What's that mean? Is he looking away because I called his hand? Is he looking away because his hand is much weaker than a straight? "Ace ten of hearts? really?," I say. No reaction from him. I'm shuffling my cards and he looks at them. What? Did he just look at my cards? Is he looking for me to fold? Ok, did he slow play pocket K's or Q's? No, I don't think so. I think he would have reraised with one of those two hands either pre-flop or on the flop. Did he turn a set of 6's? No, I don't think he called $65 on the flop with a medium pair to hunt out a set on the turn. Ace ten of hearts? really? No. I don't think he called THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS on the turn with a draw - no matter how big. It would have been foolish to call a pot sized bet on the turn with a gut shot/flush/royal draw. But some people can't away from royal draws. By this time, I'm really contemplating folding here. If I call and lose I'll have about $120 left to take home and go home a $780 loser on the night. I'm holding my cards up and the players to my left and right can see them at this point. But I'm still working my way through this hand. This guy hasn't been able to look at me ever since I asked him it he had Ace ten. Ace ten of hearts is the only hand that makes sense here. Wait a minute. KQ also makes sense. In fact, KQ makes more sense. I just don't think he would have called the $300 on the turn. I say to Mom, "I think we're going home after this hand, win or lose." By now, I am comfortable with my decision no matter what he has. My voice is almost a whisper, "I call". He turns to look at me. The dealer says, "What? You call?" I say, "Yes, I call". He turns up KsQs. YES! I turn up my pocket 5's and take down the $2000 pot.
It turns out that it was a huge decision for me. But the thing that had me calling the most, was something I saw in his face. Something I can't describe. There was just something there when I first asked him if he had Ace-Ten. Maybe a micro-expression. Maybe it was something that my subconscious understood better than my conscious mind, but something told me to call and to be ok with it either way. So really, even though my brain said, "fold he's got to have the nuts." Another part of me said, "call." Since I was having an inner struggle I took the time to go through the hand in my mind and to make a conscious decision that Ace ten didn't actually make that much sense... not with HIM. Another donkey caller - yes, but not HIM.
In the end, I was ok with it. If he turned up AhTh, then that would be that. But I was about 90% certain I had the winner after taking the time to work through the hand before calling.
That's it for now. Time to get ready to go win some more money!
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