Mistakes I make

At some point I am down to about 1.16, decide to add in more coin. This is a mistake. If I were willing to risk more, I should start with more. Better to stop playing than to piece-meal add in small amounts.

UTG limps with 5.60, utg+1 click-raises with 7.82, b click-raises to .15 with 2.42 and gets two calls. Already I have seen three people making plays I dislike. The limp screams either weakness or trapping with K/K+. But if trapping, he should re-raise which leads one to believe he is playing a drawing hand of some sort.

The click raises scare nobody away, price in drawing hands, and are just pointless.

The flop is deadly…Jc/Kc/Ac. This hits all sorts of hands these guys might hold. BB leads out for .47. Where did that come from? When I see someone click-raise pre-flop then overbet post flop they typically have either the nuts or close to it…or a busted draw, like small to medium pairs, and are trying to save their previously decent hand by fear-raises.

He draws a fold and a call.

With a flop like that you certainly hope someone has the flush or something like A/K or maybe a set. The pre-flop betting argues against every set with the POSSIBLE exception of Jacks, but wow…flush, straight, straight flush, 2 pair, set. Those are the likely hands.

The turn is the Jh. Now a potential full house with something like A/J or pocket Kings or Aces enters the picture and both guys check. What a weird hand.

The river is the 3c, making a flush even more likely and yet again the bb makes a weird bet, raising .20. He either has a flush, boat…or missed completely and is trying to keep the pot small.
If he wanted a big pot he gets his wish as mp goes all in and he snap-calls.

MP had pocket Aces. Okay, the way he played makes sense AFTER the flop…his pre-flop play I think was poor, but then again…he managed to get it all in with a decent pot.

Post flop he plays a small pot with a set on a dangerous board, he slow-plays the full house on the turn and pounces on the river.

Meanwhile, the big blind, who played super weird beginning to end shows…pocket Jacks. So his weak pre-flop bet sort of makes sense…though a flat call or real raise still would have been better.

He hits his set on the flop and, afraid of the flush tries to over bet. Of course, he will only get WORSE hands to fold and, in fact, is merely called by a better set.

He also slow-plays the turn when he hits the second nuts (he still loses to Qc/10c) and then tries to induce the big re-raise with his betting in reverse.

What bizarre hand, and the poor Aces…what a beat.

Having gotten down to 2.54, I work my way to about 4 with a series of shrewd, aggressive but “standard” plays.

UTG click-raises after his time bank almost expires with 3.26, everyone folds and with 6/8 spades I decide to call. This is a move I fold about 2/3 of the time and call about a third, and I seldom have any real rationale behind which choice I make. This is a real hole in my game.

The flop is the 3s/10c/10h. I check, if he breathes on it I fold and move on, but he checks behind. The turn is the 7c, I now have a draw but nothing to write home about…gut shot straight to the ignorant end. I check, he bets .10…and inexplicably I call.

If a club calls, I plan to raise the river, but it is a poor, poor plan indeed. The river is the 9c…now I hit my straight. I am losing to a flush, 9/J, 10/7, 10/9 or 10/3. The way the hand played out, I am not real nervous about that. I could see it being almost any pocket pair, maybe a suited ace, or even something like A/7, K/7 type hand.

I lead out for .30, he takes his time and raises to 1.00. Now I have a decision. If I think he has slow-played a big hand…hidden boat, maybe the flush…I am calling .70 to win 1.70, about 2.5-1, a little less than…I only have to be wrong one in three to win the hand. I might fold here if I strongly believe this read…but I do not think so.

If I think he is playing something I am beating…poorly played Kings, lets say, or A/10 type hands…I re-raise. This is actually where I think he is at. I think I am ahead.

But there are just too many hands that beat me. If he is betting on the come when the flush draw arrives, I should fold. If he slow-played the boat I should fold. If I am ahead, I go all in.

My hand has show-down value but is not really strong enough to re-raise so I finally decide to flat call. I think I am ahead but have just enough fear I am behind that I decide to just see his bet instead of re-raising. If I am right, I win a pot, if I am wrong I do not go broke.

Good decision…he shows pocket tens. He flopped quads. And for the first time in a while, I am super happy with my play, even though I lost 1.20 on the hand. But I hit a big hand, thought I was ahead, but took the prudent route and, while I did not lose to the hand I feared (flush), I did not push a marginal but beatable hand. Go me!

So now I am down to 2.75 but feeling good about it. So good I open to .10 utg with pocket threes, a hand I routinely fold in that situation…but a real flaw in my game that after I lose to a huge hand and/or with a big hand, I often ramp up the aggression and often pay for it.

UTG+1 calls with 4.79 and then middle position goes all in for .32, it is folded back around to me.
Now, normally I fold here. I am either behind or in a coin flip with the all in and thus getting poor odds, if I call I face the prospect of a re-raise. When I am playing well, I believe this is a fold. But this time, I look at the low cost of losing if NOT re-raised and elect to call.

My bad play is made somewhat better when utg+1 also calls.

The flop is pretty good, Qd/7d/3h. I flopped bottom set. This is a pretty clear raise…and I check hoping he will raise so I can check-raise him. There is no reason to think he will…he has been very passive so far. He checks behind.

The turn is the 6s and now I (belatedly) spring into action, betting the pot. So I compound my poor pre-flop and flop play with a bad bet…I should just bet half the pot here.

He folds and…well, I always should have called the first guy, who shows 8h/4h.

Actually, I still should have folded…I was not getting the correct odds to call and did not know he had such a horrible hand.

Of course, this pales in comparison to a play I make later on a Jack high board where I think a guy is on a flush draw and get it all in...and am beat by second pair, thus letting you know I was on a pure bluff and gave away all the progress I had made.