When good cards happen to bad players

Roman & I broke out of the mold and played at Jax. Totally different set-up. 10 people per table instead of 8, better players on average, and different stacks...10,000 with blinds of 100/200, 20 minute blinds. I started on the button and picked up some good cards, raised, and got a couple callers. I hit my card, bet, they folded, I was ahead. Woo-hoo!

A couple of guys were mixing it up so I was getting a bit of a handle on their play. One was the "look like a poker player" type with the i-pod, low-pulled hat, etc. And that read was important. Picked up K/Q from middle position, jacked it 3 times the blinds, he called from late position. Flop came A/Q/3, all hearts. Check, check. Turn was a blank, he bet it. Something about it was not right. I figured he was betting position and my timidness, not his cards, and I called. River was another rag, he doubled his bet. I considered re-raising, but when you get right down to it...I had second pair on a flush board. I did, however, call. He had paired I think his 5 and my Queens took down the pot.

It also got me a lot of credit for making the call on a dangerous board. I was pretty happy with it because my read was right. And it let me do some stuff. For example, several times from late position with either nobody in the pot or else jsut a limper or two, I raised with literally any two cards. Twice I flat out stole the blinds and the limpers chips. Once I got called from Roman and one of the limpers, the same guy from the previous paragraph. As it turned out, I had a reasonable 8/10 off. And when the flop came rags, I knew I should bet. But I hesitated, checked, and when he bet the turn I had to fold. Still, I was ahead from two steals to just 1 call so it was a positive outcome.

Later I misread the same guy when he limped from late, I checked on the big blind, flop had a couple 3s and a high card, check, check, turn paired I think a 4 or something, he bet small, I called, river was a blank, he bet double again, I was not sure if he was making a move or had something. I kind of thought he had something since I had called him the prior time but called anyway with my 2 pair, King kicker thinking I might be good or might not...and he flipped up pocket 3s. He had quads.

But I was not ready to be passive or timid. I called a raise to double my blind from the big blind with A/4 suited and one caller. I flopped a flush draw, bet it, and they both folded.

A few hands later, pocket 9s, raised it...guy to my left, a tight player who had won a couple hands and only shown down good cards called. Flop was ugly....K/Q/rag, 2 hearts. I raised the pot (5K) and he came over the top all in. If I called and won I was the chip leader, if I called and lost I would be down to about 5K. My thought on the raise was with a flop like that, he could not call unless he had the King...MAYBE the Queen...and if he had one he would do exactly what he did, move all in. So I put him on either the Queen or King...then set about trying to convince myself he had nothing so I could call. Finally I figured he had been playing tight, a solid game, and gave him credit for a hand and folded. He claimed he had Big Slick, making it a good lay down.

I was happy, I was playing well, I still had about 30K (I had won a few hands here and there that were not particularly memorable). Coming back from break, he raised to 4 times the blinds from under the gun. I instantly put him on Aces, then backed off that a bit and figured maybe just Queens or Kings. However, it was his first raise of the night. He had limped and called but not raised so I was pretty certain of my read, especially in light of his limp-call with Big Slick. I looked down at the ducks. I figured I would call/fold unless it looked like an ugly flop for him. It was. Flop was something like J/6/2. I checked. He raised. I came over the top all in. He called. He showed his Aces, I showed my Deuces and when my set held up I had cracked Aces with Deuces. Brutal. But he still had a lot of chips.

Picked up Queens, raised, everyone folded, I showed them. Wait a hand, picked up Queens, raised them, got a couple callers, took down a nice pot. Hey, this game is easy when you are getting cards.

Picked up 7/8 diamonds, raised it, a guy from late position came over the top for less than my raise all-in, everyone else folded, I figured I was behind but the odds were right. Sure enough, he had K/Q suited and I had 2 live cards. He improved, I didn't, and away we went.

A little while later I picked up 8s again. Guy to my left called, Roman came over the top all-in. It was a significant one because A) he had hit some nice hands early and had a decent stack, B) he plays pretty tight, so I was probably behind, and C) the guy to my left was already looking like he was making a "no-brainer" type call. I put roman on high pockets, the guy to my left on either paint or medium pockets...hmm...well, the price was right.

When someone is all-in...even a friend...I check it down unless someone raises. If someone raises, I will go all-in on them. Well, the flop was gorgeous for me...5, 6,...wait for it...8. I flopped a set. Check. The guy to my left looked greedily at my chips. I said, "What, you want me to send them in? Okay, I will call." so we did, we put the rest of our chips in. He had Big Slick again, and had hit nothing. Roman flipped up the Rockets. My set held up and for the second time I had cracked Aces. With horrendous hands...pocket 2s and pocket 8s.

Well, when you are getting hit in the face with the deck, keep playing. I was big stack and picked up pocket 7s from early position. I raised. Someone went over the top all-in. Someone called all-in. Another guy went over the top all-in. What? But it was less than my original raise to call so the price was right. "No way I am ahead of 3 guys" I said, "but the price is right." I sent in the chips. One guy flipped up pocket 6s. Good, good...one guy flipped up two random cards, J/8 maybe? And the guy immediately to my right flipped up pocket Queens. Do'h! My hockey sticks don't look so good now! And when the 6's filled up, the same guy I doubled up earlier doubled through again.

Next hand I picked up A/Q suited. Raise. Called all-in by 2 short stacks. Both flipped up weak hands...and hit. I doubled one up, the other was out.

Folded a hand, the guy I had doubled up twice lost some chips. I picked up pocket 9s on his raise to 4K (blinds were I think 1/2K by now). He only had 10K, I raised him all-in...and he flipped up Aces. I doubled him up a third time.

On the bright side...I was getting good cards. On the dark side, how many people can you double up before you run out of chips?

And I was still chip leader. I folded several consecutive hands. Then I won a small pot. Then, without a hand being played I became 2nd place in chips as a new guy sat down to my left with more chips than I had.

He and I both folded, then with a couple limpers, I picked up A/J suited. By now we were 5 or 6 handed, so that is pretty strong. I raised 4 times the blinds, he came over the top all-in, and one limper called.

At first I put him on a move. It felt like a move. But then I started trying to talk myself out of a call. He had me covered, if I was wrong I was out. And he had been playing tight...I had not yet seen him play a hand. But I DID have a premium hand...finally I called. He had K/Q diamonds, the other guy had a dry ace. I tripped up my Jacks and took one guy out and doubled up, leaving him about 6K chips. I would come to regret not having him covered.

Not too long after that we combined to a final table and I got moved to seat 7. A couple people went out. The blinds climbed. I had over 100K in chips. But every time I thought about playing a hand...say, K/J off from middle position...someone would raise all-in and a couple people would call. No way was I ahead or calling 30 - 40K on a hand like that. I started getting blinded down. People kept doubling up. The blinds went to 10-20K. Still had not played a hand. I wanted to make a move but it is hard with 3/8, 4/5, K/2, especially when several people are priced in to calling you just because they might have 28K and have paid a 20K blind. Also because someone was making a move EVERY hand. And they had to.

Finally the guy I had left 6K doubled through about a 4th time and took out a couple people. By simply getting no cards I had gotten down to about 56K and was still looking for a chance to steal the blinds. More people went out. 5 handed. 4 handed. Finally, 3 handed...but by now between people moving all-in and having no fighting cards, I was down to 28K. K/2? Nah...good thing as they both had hands and the guy I had left 5600 was the chip monster. Stewart folded from the button, he completed, and I checked my 2/8. Flop came 2, 4,5, I laughed and said, "Let's see if my massive raise scares you off", raising 800. Of course he called. Would my deuces be good? No, not really...he flipped up pocket rockets.

And I rivered an Ace. For the third time tonight I cracked the rockets. It was sick, sick, sick. I felt horrible. Here just a day or two before I was talking about seldom putting bad beats on people and then I thrice crack Aces.

Well, the blinds raised that hand. So on the bright side, I had I think 46K. On the dark side, the blinds were 20/40 so I would be all in on one of the next to hands. From the button I picked up Q/9. I guess three handed that is a decent enough hand...I went all in. Stewart raised all-in to isolate, other guy folded, and he flipped up...A/J. I was going to have to put a bad beat on him to triple up (with the other guy's blind I would be 12K short of tripling up) and become a legit threat. And I flopped a gut shot straight and backdoor flush draw. Of course, that meant he had a pair of Jacks, so I was drawing to 3 queens and 3 tens. Turn gave me a diamond, adding a Queen High flush draw, but the river was a blank.


On the night I played very, very well I thought. Out of 36 people I finished third and had a legit shot at winning. I just went card-dead at the wrong time and never had even a chance to make a move. I got lucky a few times and beat better hands...seriously I cracked pocket rockets with Ducks, Snowmen, and 2/8? What is that? I took a couple bad hits, but made really, really solid reads all night long. I am not displeased at all.

One reason I enjoy playing with new GROUPS is I seem to read people better when I am first watching them. I often pick up on the types of things they will do...like the one guy I called with queens and a weak kicker on a dangerous board or the time I called all my chips with A/J on the first hand the guy played. Both of those were, I think, very, very strong calls. And I had a pretty strong fold to the long-time chip leader I eventually took out. I also had him read correctly both on his rockets and his re-raise. It has been a while since I have had that many reads, so it was refreshing and invigorating.

It is also inspiring to, after the tilt-job I was on over Randy's miraculous suck out, to come back and finish second and third so I think I am playing pretty good poker right now.

Of course, when you get about 25 pocket pairs and a half dozen or so of them give you a set, it is pretty easy to play...and seriously, on the one hand, it is hard to say I played well when I got in with worse hands repeatedly and got lucky...but on the other hand, when I did hit the cards, I made the most of them. I rightly read the one guy on the all-in when I checked my set to induce his raise, got the rest of his chips when he imprudently raised the set I would have checked down with Roman all-in, and so forth...and maybe maximizing value from fortuitous flops, semi-bluffing my way to a couple pots, and showing well-timed aggression overcomes the luck factor. Who knows? We will see if I can continue to play well.