Early on I am playing almost no hands, just watching. I am reading pretty well. I have something on the guy on my left. At one point I pick up pocket 7s. Usually in this league I can limp with them. Bob, just to my right, raises. Uh-oh. That is unusual. He is steaming a bit from losing the prior hand...and I see a couple people making it obvious they will call. I do something I almost never do in this situation...I fold. Good fold as the flop is Aces and Kings and lots of chips change hands.
Pick up A/Ko from late, raise, couple callers, 4/5/6 flop, raise and re-raise in front of me, I fold. Very next hand pick up A/K suited, call a raise all-in to 850. Like 4 other callers. Fold to a big flop bet that missed me completely. A pair of 9s wins the hand (and would have even if I stayed).
Check in with K/J in big blind, down to 6 handed. Flop comes Q/J/Q. I raise, the guy to my left calls. Hmm. I have a pretty good read on him. I have not seen him slow-play yet. When he has something he generally re-raises, when he has a vulnerable hand or nothing he goes all-in. I figure he is on a draw. Turn is a blank. I double my raise. He calls. Something not right here. He checks the river, I check behind...he was slow-playing the Queen/6. Nicely played, something I had not seen from him before. Now I am down to about 1100.
I almost went all-in with a trash hand just to call it a night. Then it occurred to me...that would be a continuation of my tilt. I am good enough to come back, the blinds are only 50/100 so I still have an M of 7+. Sure enough, I check in the big blind with a 7/8, flop 2 pairs, take down a decent pot, pick up a couple more hands and build back to a shade over 2K.
In the big blind we have a family pot, I check with pocket 3s. I thought about raising but at this table, all 5 other people (we had already lost 3 and brought one over from the other table) will call and I don't mind seeing a cheap flop trying to catch a set. And the flop is GORGEOUS, K/8/3 rainbow. If anybody at this table other than Barb had pocket Kings they would have raised for sure and probably would have raised 8s. Everyone had already shown that by raising with as little as threes. But someone is sure to have either a King or 8. Now I want to get action. How best to maximize?
All night I have raised any time I had a hand and gotten multiple callers. I briefly considered slow-playing since this was not a dangerous flop. Then I came to my senses. They might check around as they had often done...they love to check call. I want to get some chips in the center. I raised 500 into a pot of 600. One caller, 2...and the girl I have never played with before goes all in. Interesting.
I have yet to see her raise without SOMETHING. And usually something strong. I briefly consider pocket Kings but just as quickly dismiss it. She raised with K/J, pocket 5s...she would have raised the Kings and probably the 8s. But I could see her playing something like a K/8 and she would be drawing to 4 outs. I did not see myself getting away from the hand so I went all-in...though I only had her covered by like 50 chips. Everyone folded and she flipped up...8/4. She was drawing real thin to running 8s or an 8 and pairing the board. No help to her and I had about 6-7K.
Took down a couple more hands, was feeling frisky, just Barbara and I in a hand. I checked with 10/5...notice a pattern? Since the early A/Ks and 7s, I was getting horrific hands. I was pretty much only playing when I could check my blind and the rest of the time...I was not even completing the small blind. So I was playing well, I was back to being patient, I was playing smart. I decided I had accomplished my goal and could loosen up, have a bit of fun and go home. Well, anyway, flop came A/K/rag. I raised. She hesitantly called. We checked the turn. A King came on the river, I bet it, she thought about it, and finally called, saying, "You have the third King, don't you?" Nope. But good to know you will call when you think you are beat...and then I made a huge mistake. I should have advertised the bluff, because that is what it is...but I mucked face down to her A/8.
Picked up pocket 10s, again in the big blind. With blinds of 1/200 and everyone with stacks about 30-50BB planned a standard raise, 3x blind + 1BB/limper. But first Brad raised to 500, actually a shade less than I was going to raise. I briefly considered re-raising but something about his raise felt different. I had seen him raise with A/Q, K/J...but here I had him on pockets and suspected higher than my 10s. Still, for 300 chips and with 2 callers already, I was calling 300 to potentially hit almost 2K already in the pot. Another player called behind me. Flop was nice, all rags, but 2 clubs. I briefly considered checking. Then I decided to bet 400. I know it sounds weird, a horrendous underbet...but I had noticed a pattern. On big bets people called with anything...any draw, any pair, etc. But with smaller bets...they had been taking down the pot.
Unfortunately, I made a horrendous error. I meant to grab 4 red chips...and instead grabbed 4 green. Instead of 400 I bet 2K. And once the chips were in, the bet was made. Even before I completed I saw Brad grabbing all his chips which confirmed my pre-flop read. Folded to him, he went all-in, and it was only 600 more than my bet. Even if I knew he had Aces with over 6K in the pot I would be getting 10-1 so I was calling just in case I was wrong. I was pretty sure he did not have Aces. "Jacks or Queens?" I said as I flipped up my 10s. Queens. I got no help and was down to about 5K.
By now the blinds were 3/600. I did not get another playable hand for a while. It was so bad that I considered playing 7/9o from early position just because it looked comparatively good. I wisely folded and watched the flop come 7/k/7 and turn the 9. Would have raked a HUGE pot. Oh, well.
But then I started blinding into the danger zone. Caught Randy in a bluff when it was folded to him, he went all in for a couple thousand, I had a J/10. I called...only to find the guy calling behind me. Had I seen him I would have folded...and when my J/10 beat Randy's 8/6 but lost to the other guys' K/J I was hurting. Now I was looking for a hand to go all in on.
Got down to about 1100 with the blinds now 4/800. I had 2 hands before I would be in the big blind again. Under the gun Randy went all in, he had me covered, and I looked down at 7/8suited. Not a great hand but good equity against Randy's range...which was literally any 2 cards. I called. Got 2 more callers...uh-oh. Randy had an 8/6 so I was ahead of him but an A/7 won with Ace high and I was out in 7th.
So a quick post-mortem;
The good: I played patiently, waited for good cards that seldom came, and when I had a hand that was essentially the nuts I extracted the maximum. I read the hands well and did not call with trash just because it was good compared to what I had been seeing. On three or four hands I had called exactly who had what before they rolled their hands. And I did not let their slow-rolling get me off center.
The bad: I made the mis-read on the trip queens, the mis-bet when I had him on a better over pair, and the call against Randy when I thought it was just the 2 of us.
The ugly: I did not set out to win, I set out to get off tilt. I was fine with going out early, did not care. Wrong mind set. I should have played my best game instead of just going with the flow. I made just one move all night...the idiotic bluff against the unbluffable see every river bet Barbara...when I know at least two of them lay down their hand to re-raises on the flop over 80% of the time. I never entered a pot simply to steal which I should have.
But overall I am pleased. Now I feel refreshed and ready to go Saturday. I may not win but I will play well.
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