Koffee Barn and Starving Crazed Weasels

Played lots of free poker Friday and Saturday. A few things stood out,.

First, I had a pretty good read on people both nights...and sometimes, that does not matter.An example from the Kofee Barn (Teriyaki House soon...ycu) I raised pre-flop and flop with the best hand a couple times, then they turned and/or rivered better hands, raised, and I did not mae the crying call.

The problem is, when you only start with 3K chips, losing just one or two hands puts a serious crimp in your style. So I got down to about 1300 or so with blinds at 50/100. My M was under 10, so I was definitely looking to make a move.

About that time Paul came to our table with 2 other players. Paul was big blind, I was the button and he and I were continuing some of our long-running good natured smack. We have played together quite a bit over the years and I respect his game and think he respects mine.

So in the process of our smack talk, he says, "You better not be raising my blinds like you always do" to which I replied, "well, I am the button, so you know I am raising."

The first two guys then limp into the pot. I casually glance at my cards and announce, "Raise".

With 350 in the pot already, 1300 left, any raise will pot commit me, so I then follow up, "I am all-in."

This brings the table to a halt as they all stare at me. "Told you I was going to raise your blinds, Paul." I said.

He disgustedly tossed his cards away. The under the gun limper hesitated a long time. "I have not played with you much" he said. I could tell he was fishing for information.

So I sent mixed signals, both that I wanted and did not want a call. He folded, I raked the pot.

Later I told them, " I cannot tell a lie. I had pocket kings." (which was true...that was what I raised with, figuring they might call). Then I took it back, saying, "Oh, I did not mean that hand...I meant a couple nights ago." It brought the desired laugh.

well, I soon had a great read on the table, and after Roman busted out, I just started rolling, building a nice stack without ever having to show down a hand. I just knew what they had and folded when behind, bet when ahead, and bet when they were ahead but felt weak.

By the time we reached the final table, there was only one player I thought was even close to my skill level. She used checks, raises, re-raises, and calls to define hands and was doing great until she ran into an over-pair, queens versus kings that she mis-read.

When she busted out, I looked around and, for the first time I can remember, sat at a table where I believed I was not just a good player, but the best player at the table and not by a little.

That is one thing about the Starving Crazed Weasels league...sure, bluffing is a horrible idea usually, but other than that, it is actually a pretty solid league. There are at least 6 players I think are equal or better to my skill level, and I seldom feel like the best player.

There are people there who give me more trouble than even random strangers playing online.


Got to the final table with a modest stack. Soon built it up to about 30K when a hand came up that I still question. With blinds at /48K and three players, the button raised to 8K. The sb called, and I had a choice.

The button was a solid player who bet when he thought he had the best hand but over-valued pockets and top pairs. The small blind was a girl going back and forth between wanting to go home and wanting to win, so her play was pretty erratic. I had J/10 suited...not really worthy of a call, but then again...4K to win 20K...5-1 is hard to pass up. I called.

The flop came J/9/blank, giving me top pair and a flush draw. Before we could act, the original raiser was grabbing chips. We checked to him, he raised 17K. She folded, and I had a decision.

If I called, I was going all-in. Problem is, I just knew he had A/J, and the Ace was probably the club Ace. That meant I was drawing to 12 outs twice, 4-1...and getting 3-1 on my chips.

Of course, I would have the re-raise strength, but this guy, if he has top pair or an over-pair, is not capable of laying it down. (Twice I watched him pay off flushes he did not even see because he had straights).

So I was pretty much putting my tournament on the line on a draw. Or I could fold, rely on my believed better skill, and keep my chips. I elected to do that.

He never said what he had, but the very fact i was thinking through this out loud...not the part about him not being able to lay it down, but definitely the "I think you have A/J and backdoor flush draw, I need to call 17 to win 41 so 3-1" part completely demoralized them both.

And not long after, he was gone, we got down to heads up.

It was so easy. She checked, I bet because she had nothing. She bet, I called if I had anything and folded if not. In this manner I twice doubled up when she bet into my made flushes. I could have beaten her, but I was bored and wanted to go home, so I went into maniac mode, betting and raising with nothing and it took me about 4 hands to go from chip lead to out.


The next night, I wanted to play well. I seldom win the SCW tournaments because they are actually among the toughest I play. You not only have to get the cards, you have to play them correctly.

Early on I was catching cards. Took nice pots with Pocket Aces, with a couple straights and flushes, a bunch more with a full house. And it is full houses I want to talk about.

On the first, I checked my full house on the river because I mis-read one of the two guys in the hand and thought he had Quads. As it turned out, he had K/Q and thought his hand was good, while the other guy had a lower full house, and my tens full of Aces were good.

Not raising a full house on the river tells you how poor my read was. That is an obvious raise.

Meanwhile, another hand came later. A couple limpers, I completed from the small blind with 7/9, and my brother checked in the big blind. The flop was 5/5/5. Ugly. Check, check, check.
Turn was a 7. I had the full house. I bet about 3/4 the pot. My brother announced, "I have two high cards, so I have to call", most folded and Fox called.

The river was a ten and my brother gave off his tell. I have something on him that lets me know when he has a big hand. It is pretty reliable. So reliable that I checked my full house.

He bet. Fox called. I looked at my full house....and folded.

Correctly, I might add. Fox had a flush, and my brother had the full boat, 5s full of 10s.

I am pretty proud of that. That makes I believe three times I have laid down a full house in live action and I have been correct every...single...time.

Does not mean it is easy...full houses are rare and hard to come by. At the same time, knowing to lay it down made my night.

From there I went on a rampage and ended up winning, a rarity I am not disappointed in as there were 15 people...and at the start of the night, I thought it was about as tough a table I have ever been at there, with Kenneth, Kevin, Phillip, Pete, Robin, Rick and Tracy at the table. that includes three of the toughest reads I have, the person who reads me maybe even better than Emily, two tight players who are pretty determined, and a guy capable of making moves with any two cards. No easy pots there.

To not only survive that table but be building a stack was something I was pretty proud of. But laying down the full house...that was memorable.