Stacking off light

I start out playing 5/10. The very first hand, I have Ac/Jh. This is one of those hands I am not overly fond of…too easy to be dominated, hit one or the other, get excited, and stack off with second best hand. Also, I am in the big blind and have mentioned before the issues with playing a hand out of the gate.
But when the small blind open-limps, it becomes a much stronger hand, is a clear raise, I do so, and he folds. In the great scheme of things, not a very exciting hand…but it is the correct play and one I need to be more willing to make.
But there are some moves I am often too willing to make…like getting it all in pre-flop with A/K. But sometimes I wonder if I really am too willing…
UTG+1 click-raises with 6.26, the small blind then goes all in 3.50 and gets called. The WORST hand I want to see here is maybe Queens…but probably Kings v. Aces. What I actually see is the small blind show Jacks…and get called by treys. Of course, the treys get rewarded for playing even worse than the Jacks and turn a boat.
Both players, in my opinion, played poorly. The click-raise screamed exactly what it was…a drawing hand that wanted to see the flop cheap. The Jacks risked way too much for no reason…a simple raise to .75 sees if oyur opponent is serious, and then if you want to be over-aggressive, you shove on the 8 high flop.
The treys are no better than a coin flip and are getting nowhere near the right odds to call. Horrible play, an easy fold.
UTG+1 click-raises with 1.18 and, in the big blind, I re-pop to .65 with Jacks and 4.48. When utg+1 calls, it leaves just .53 behind and it is a 100% guarantee that any flop other than maybe J/J, I am shoving the flop.
I get a 6h/8h/3c flop, shove, and get called. I figure to be ahead of something like A/x suited…but am even further ahead as she shows Ks/Qh. Of course, she turns the Queen and Rivers the King to take the pot…but I still think I played it correctly. I got her to put it in bad as a 3-1 dog, she just hit her outs.
The problem is, it makes me more aggressive and not in a good way. UTG+1 limps with 6.27, mp flats with 11.29, and I am on the button with Ac/Ks. Two people have shown weakness, I am obviously raising. I bump it to .60, anticipating one of them thinking it is just a position raise and calling.
They will then check the flop, I will raise, take down the pot, and life is good.
But the big blind, with 10.45, spoils the plan with a re-pop to 2.05. Now, the first thought should always be big pair, like Q/Q+. Of course, when I raise from the button after a couple of limpers, he can anticipate me having a wider range, so by extension might widen his own to say…10/10+, A/10+, A/x suited to re-raise.
Now I have a choice. If I call, it leaves me 1.20 behind. Folding is a viable option here, but calling is really not. This is a very clear all-in or fold.
I talk myself into thinking he has a wide range, that I have fold equity, and barring all that I might get lucky. It is that last prt that bothers me…I go all-in hoping to get lucky, thinking I am probably behind and might even be drawing super thin against Kings or Aces…but I do go all-in.
And for the second time in two races…I lose.
There is a very real sense that this hand was directly related to the prior one…I was feeling like it was “my turn” and I got loose at a bad time. That is poor play and a real hole in my game.
I know a lot of players do not mind getting it all in on a coin-flip and when I get down a bit, it is something I am all too willing to do. Thing is…I would rather do it with the made hand than the chaser.

Anyway, having gotten stacked, but still wanting to play and at that moment not realizing how poorly I played the second portion, I decide to drop down to 2/5 and keep playing. And sure enough, first hand, big blind with Ac/8c I check the big blind with 2 other players in the hand.
We all check the Kd/10c/6h flop. The turn actually gives me a draw when the 4c hits. We check to the short stack with 1.21 who bets the pot. The second stack, with 1.85 calls and with 2.00 and the nut flush draw, I also call.
There is an argument to be made for raising here, trying to either win the pot there or build a bigger pot if I river my hand but, having just gotten stacked on a loose raise, I go the conservative, pot control route.
The river is the Ah. Great. Now I have top pair, weak kicker on a board with straight, 2 pair and set possibilities. We all check and my hand beats the 6d/7d and 9h/js hands to take a small pot.
As by–the-book and inconsequential as this hand was in a vacuum, in the great sceme of the overall session, it was very important. It got me thinking again and playing better.
I pick up a couple small pots where I correctly read weakness and probably drive off better hands or missed draws. On the button with 2.54 I open to .15 with Js/Kd. The small blind calls with 10.75. Weird thing is…somehow I knew he was going to before he did and, with absolutely no evidence, I put him on a weak hand that plans to just take away the pot on the flop.


Sure enough the flop comes Qc/2h/8h and he leads out for .15. I do not even hesitate but re-pop to .45. I am not surprised when he calls, but I expect a check-fold on the turn.

The turn is the 5s, he takes his time and bets .20. I again re-pop, this time to .65, and again I expect a fold but get another nasty surprise as he calls.

Now I am a bit nervous. He called pre-flop, led out and called on the flop, led out and called on the turn. He has thrice shown strength, and it is probably time to cut my losses. I start looking at the board.
10/J+ with a Jack in hand, maybe something like A/8 suited, or even a heart draw of some sort seem the most likely hands. Maybe some sort of small to medium pair.

The river is the 7d, he surprises me by checking. I then make a huge mistake and shove my last 1.29 all in into 2.50 and…he folds. Had to have been a missed flush draw?

I think I mis-played this hand…but even though he showed strength in calling, he also showed weakness with the defensive bets. I go back and forth between thinking I scared away a missed flush and scared away a stronger hand like top pair, weak kicker or second pair.


In middle position I pick up 2 black aces. I have had people folding to my raises so make a weird play, upping my raise to 4x the bb with 3.38. It works as I get the big blind to call with 1.75. This is good and bad…good because I got action on my Aces, bad because I know me…if he hits his hand, he is doubling through me because having him covered but with Aces, it would take a stupendously bad flop and an incredible read for me to fold.
That is an admitted weakness in my game that has gotten me stacked several times.

The flop does not come close to scaring me…10d/3d/6h. I am behind pockets matching those and weird 2 pair hands that I would struggle to believe…10/6, 10/3, 6/3…maybe suited cards that flopped lucky?
He leads out to .15 and I love that…if he has a set, he check-raises me. Here it is more like he has A/x suited that hit one of the cards, maybe a small to medium pair or maybe even something like A/Q.

I re-pop to .60 and am pretty happy he calls it. I figure the hand is done, though, as he probably check-folds the turn.

The turn is the 2c, he checks, I put him all in and he calls.

There are not a lot of draws so I figure he has the 10 or a diamond draw…but he shows pocket 7s, the river bricks and I get maximum value from my Aces for a change.

So I start getting aggressive…opening from middle position with J/10 and continuation betting a/a/9 flops, that sort of thing. My stack is growing, mostly with no resistance on or before the flop. And then I get into a hand by accident.


The button opens with a click-raise with 2.00 and I elect to call with rather modest holdings, the Qs/6s. Usually I fold this, but for whatever reason, seeing the click raise and having the 3rd nut flush draw, I decide to take a flyer.

The problem with this sort of play is knowing what to do when you hit a pair…like say…an 8d/Qd/2d flop. I have top pair, no kicker, on a flush-heavy board. I check, he bets .15 and I….call?

Well…something to be said for keepint the pot small. Something more to be said for either A) folding in a bad situation where I am risking 2 bucks with a pair of Queens that might be drawing to an infitesimile chance against a made flush. Very little to be gained by raising.

The turn is the 10s, I check again. He takes his time and bets .25. If he bet straight out I probably fold here, but since he hesitated…I do not think he has the flush and, in fact, by his hesitation the 10 seems possible but unlikely…more like he had the 8 on the flop maybe and did not think a Queen was likely? I now think there is a chance I am ahead but still no reason to play a big pot. I call.

The river is the Ac. If he had something like Kd/9c, I am ahead. If he flopped the flush I am way behind. Other than that I could be anywhere in the hand, but based on his turn bet I think I am probably behind. I will call a small bet, but not very big. I check and am pretty happy when he checks behind.
He flips up the 10c/9d. SO now his play makes a bit more sense. Standard position open/continuation bet. His hand improved on the turn with second pair, modest flush draw. No need to bet the river and get raised off it by a check-raised flush type hand.


This is another case where I am not real sure I played the hand right…pre-flop, flop and turn folds all make sense. But I stuck with a modest hand and got lucky when it held up.

But it also feeds into my feeling that this session, people are playing loose and a wide range. He put in 2 bets on a dangerous board too…a few raises take it down pre-flop, a few more take it down on the flop and even after loosing a sizable pot, I have 4.96 and open utg+1 to .15 with Ac/Kd. The next seat calls with 3.65 and the big blind comes along with 17.96.

The flop is nice…6h/4h/Kc. Some chance there is a set, better chance I will face a draw, but with top pair, top kicker I like my hand. BB checks, I make a pot size bet to drive out the draws and utg+2 click-raises, the big blind folds.

His raise screams “you were just continuation betting, go away”. I re-pop to 3.29, expecting him to fold, but he re-raises to 3.50 all in. Oh nuts. He has pocket 4s or 6s…but now with my big raise, I am committed and the .21 cent call is easy even thinking I am crushed.

I am surprised to be ahead. He has pocket queens and walked into big slick. For once I win a big pot with top-top, getting max value from it.

In fact, it is such a big pot that after stacking off light at 5/10 and putting in another 2, I am still up over 2.00.


When I open-raise 2.70 with Aces, I realize I am now playing afraid to give back my gains. That is a recipe for disaster, so I shut it down.