Thinking back

There is one play I made in the Friday tournament which has really gnawed at me as a mistake...actually, it was a play I DIDN'T make.

Here is the situation: A guy raises from middle position, everyone checks to me in the big blind. With A/6 I call because something about it did not feel right. I kind of thought he was playing position more than his cards and he thought everyone would fold. Generally speaking I am folding A/6, suited or not, if someone shows strength. But this time I decided to play, and going into that decision was his short stack. I had chips to play with at this point as I was the clear chip leader at the table.

The flop came King high and paired my 6. Check, check. Right there I figured I was ahead. I planned to bet the turn. Out came another high card. And I ....checked.

That was a weak play. I had twice read him for weakness. Even though I was weak as well, with 3 overs to my pair on the board, I thought he had something like a couple high cards. I believed I was ahead. And I gave him a free card to catch up. I should have put him all-in. He checked.

River was a blank. I had decided to check it down when before I could act, he hovered his hand over his last 2K. My first thought was he was trying to intimidate me so I should bet. My second thought was if he bet the 2K I would fold. My third thought was when Kenneth does this same tell, he actually HAS the hand.

So I sat back to think. If I went with my first read I should bet the 2K. If I was correct about his weakness he would fold and my own weak hand would win the hand. After all, there were 3 overs to my lowly 6s on the board.

However, 2K would, thought I was chip lead, still be a reasonable chunk of my stack. I would still be chip lead, but there wasn't enough in the pot to really fight over, certainly not enough to risk 2K.

I KNOW that tell, though. When someone who usually waits for their turn suddenly, deliberately, and intentionally, does something to reveal their plan out of turn...THEY ARE ACTING. And when someone acts, figure out what they want you to do and do the opposite. In this case, he obviously wanted me to check. I knew it as surely as I could know anything. I knew he was weak. But I knew I was weak, too. I never really convinced myself he was doing the Kenneth on this one. Different people, same tell, different meanings.

I talked myself out of the raise because I did not want to raise with 4th pair and have him call. I wanted him to check.

So I checked. And he, with a relieved sigh, checked. And showed his pocket 4s.

Sure, I won the hand. But I won it weakly and only because he played it weakly. I should have gone with my read, bet the 2K, and put the pressure on him. No matter what the result of the hand was, I was outplayed on this one. I made a read and refused to go with it.

This is a weakness in my game. If I am going to play an aggressive style...raising pre-flop, making continuation bets, being willing to shove all-in with vulnerable hands if I think I am ahead...then I need to be aggressive all the way. If I read my opponent as being weak, I need to put pressure on them regardless of what I have.

This was a time I played my cards instead of the opponent and it cost me.

Not so much in chips...I am positive he would have folded had I put him all-in as I should...but it cost me in table image as I demonstrated I would A) play a weak hand and B) allow myself to be manipulated.

An aggressive player needs to control the table. When I am playing correctly people will fold if I am acting after them because they know if I enter the pot I am coming in firing. This allows me to develop an image, alter the table mores, and even play more pots since the way I set this image is to raise early, win the hand, and show good cards.

If I am a part-time aggressor, part-time soft player I destroy all the good work I have done and am going to get some calls I don't want. So the mistake was, in retrospect, HUGE. And hopefully it is one I will not make again.