Playing 5/10, I know going in I will almost always lose the first hand. I do not want to get involved with sub-par holdings out of position right off the bat, so will almost always fold when raised to unless I have a pair or Big Slick type hands…so I figure to play roughly 1 in 17 big blind hands.
I have occasionally wondered if I should start with a weird amount like 4.27 or something so they do not know it is my first hand…maybe at higher levels I will but I am not sure how many people are aware enough at this level to make it worthwhile.
In this case the button click-raises with 14.70, the small blind calls with 8.50 and I have 8c/10c and am calling .10 to win .50…5-1 with suited connectors against what is probably a position raise with soft cards seems like a decent idea. I call as well.
The flop is vaguely interesting…7s/ad/9s. There is an excellent chance one of my esteemed opponents possesses and Ace, a smaller yet viable chance one has a Spade draw, and even the chance someone will hang around with something like the J/10 hoping to hit their gut shot.
We check to the button who hesitates and then bets the pot. The small blind folds and I elect to call, tentatively putting him on the ace and figuring I can take a nice pot if I hit my straight.
The turn is the 10h, at least giving me a small pair but also hitting a few not unlikely hands such as the aforementioned J/10 so I am not overly excited about it. It also makes it so if I should hit the Jack for a straight, a Q/K type hand…very believable for the button…might hit it harder. I check and am pretty happy when he checks behind.
The river is all kinds of ugly, the Ks. Now there is a flush, a couple straight draws, and 3 cards that make a higher pair. I am beating medium pairs and that is about it. I check, planning to fold to virtually any bet, but he checks behind with pocket 4s and I start the session with a nice .70 pickup.
I also like that I played the hand in such a way as to keep the pot small and manageable.
I continue the theme when the button opens to .30 with 15.84 and, with 4.52, I look down at pocket 9s in the small blind.
Often here I will re-raise, and certainly there is something to be said for that move. But it is a move better made with a little stronger hand…say Jacks or better.
To open on a button, people have a pretty wide range…any suited hand, any pair, any connectors, suited or not…and often enough, even just a dry face card or better.
Against that range I am in pretty good shape with Jacks, but significantly less likely to win unimproved with nines. When I re-raise, the pot is going to be at least 2 bucks if they call, I will have 3 behind and be in a tough spot if the board has 2 or 3 big cards on it.
By flat-calling, the pot is smaller and I have more room to play with maneuvers like check-raises on favorable boards. So I think it would be prudent to call more and raise less IN THIS SPECIFIC SITUATION. I am out of position for the entire hand with what is a drawing hand, I want to play a small pot unless I hit it hard.
I pretty much like the flop. 2s/4c/Qh. Sure, any hand like 10/Q+ is ahead, but unlikely. No obvious draws…I am in pretty good shape. I check, planning to check-raise a small bet, call anything up to about the size of the pot, and fold to a huge bet. He bets .40, about half the pot, and I call.
The turn is harmless, the 7c. Here is where I like having position. If I am behind him, he checks, I am confident and lead out with a bet, expecting a fold. Acting first, I still think I am ahead but want to keep the pot small so I check. He checks behind and, unless an Ace or King hits the river, I am pretty sure I am ahead.
The river is the 3d. I almost raise but, if he has something like a Q/5 suited type hand, he will still call but will not raise lest I have a better queen. I think I will only get called by hands that beat me or MAYBE something like pocket 8s.
At the same time, he might raise with something like A/7 or A/4 type hands, and I will call even a pot-size bet with the way the hand played out.
He checks behind and shows 3c/9h, a complete position bet/continuation bet bluff. I might have gotten a small call out of him when he hit the river…but I think I played the hand correctly. Small pot with decent but not great hand…then again, maybe this is one of those “value bet thin” opportunities. Bet thin or try to induce the bluff?
Of course, it is not always good to keep the pot small. Middle position limps with 9.69 and, on the button, I have Ac/Qc and 5.07. I think this is clearly a situation to raise it to about .50, but I elect to call and play for the flush. This lets the small blind and big blind in cheaply, and essentially means even flopping an Ace or Queen is not so good as I will have no clue if anyone got in cheap and hit a low two pair type thing.
The small blind completes with 13.29 and the big blind checks with 7.09. So now we are 4-handed and I have just Ace high…
And the flop is as wonderful/horrible/frightening/great potential as I could hope for. Ah/Kd/10d. There are all sorts of draws, the A/K I doubt and A/10 I would believe just out-flopped me as did just the type of hands I might have let in cheap…Q/J, K/10.
It is checked to me and I face a decision. If I am ahead and check, I let in some draws for nothing. If I raise, I will face a check-raise from hands that have me beat and some that don’t and have a decision of my own. Or I could try to draw at the 3 clean outs I have if behind.
This is a case where a pre-flop raise would have identified at least some of the potential…having failed once, I elect to raise, thinking someone might read it as a position raise and re-pop in which case I would test them with a big re-pop…but they all fold.
I really think this was not the best way to play the hand; I let people in cheaply and thus either A) made less than I should have or B) gave them excellent odds to out-draw me. Admittedly, this is a high reward play…if I hit the flush, it will be surprising to people that I would limp here so I can make a good deal…but the odds against it are high, it does NOT fit the style I play best…play a lot of small pots and big ones only with made hands.
But it would be a vast improvement in my game to get a better handle on pot control and, when I have marginal hands, do a better job of keeping the pot smaller, particularly out of position.
Monday
Sunday
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.
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.
Saturday
Risk versus reward
I start playing again. UTG limps with 1.76, mp calls with 19.37, and 4.56, hijack calls with 3.13, , and on the button I also call with 1.95 and pocket deuces. In the small blind I look at pocket 2s…easiest call ever. I am not re-raising here as I WILL get action and WON’T like it.
The big blind checks and we take the flop 7 handed.
If I am going to play a 7-handed pot, I like hitting a set on a 10c/9d/2h flop. Two possible sets, a lot of draws, and the probability someone has an over pair. MP2 bets .37, folded to me with just one person left to act…re-raise or try to bring him along? I decide to see if I can triple up and flat, but he folds anyway.
I figure the range is one of the two aforementioned sets, J/10, 10/9, Q/K, or bigger pair. The turn is kind of ugly, the 8h, he shoves 1.34 and I know I am calling but…
If he has J/Q I am drawing thin, if he has pocket 8s, 9s, or 10s I am also in deep trouble, but other than that I look good and I am just not good enough to more than consider folding in passing. I know I am calling, even with the sinking feeling I am tossing off another 1.34 with the worst hand.
I am wrong..he has top pair, decent kicker…10h/qh. So he also has the flush draw. So he has 7 hearts that make the flush (the 10 and 9 give me a boat), plus 3 jacks for a total of 10 outs…I am a 5-1 favorite, my hand holds up and I take down a nice pot.
When my hands hold up, this game is easy!
The very next hand I make a mistake. The button limps with 6.07, the small blind completes with 4.81 and I look down at the cowboys. Not wanting to give away some of my newfound chip wealth, I over-raise to .90 and they both fold.
I played scared. I should have just made a standard raise to .25 or .30 cents and seen how it went. I had a strong hand against two weak ones, that would charge them for their draws. But I knew I would see it to the river even if obviously beat and instead of adjusting my post-flop play, I made a bad raise.
From middle position I open to .15 with Jc/Kc. This is a play I make on occasion when people are folding a lot. I mostly expect to pick up the blinds or at worst, pick up a small pot with a flop continuation bet if called by one player. The next seat calls with 3.95 and the small blind elects to come along with just .80.
The 9h/Ad/Qs flop does not make me ecstatic…with just .65 behind, I figure the small blind probably has the Ace, I am drawing to 4 tens. He checks, I make one of my rare flop checks after a pre-flop bet, and the next guy leads out for .28.
The blind takes his time, then click-raises, leaving himself just .09 behind. I think I am behind, I am getting horrible odds, and am in danger of getting hit with the squeeze play if I call. I make the disciplined and, I believe, correct fold. Guy behind calls.
The turn is hysterical…10H. I would have hit my straight. They get the last .10 in and I figure the mp guy has to have something like A/10+, maybe even pockets, something that hit the flop and big blind probably some sort of ace.
Well, big blind proves looser than expected…Qc/10c, so he called with poor odds to hit his flush. MP shows As/4h.
On the bright side, my read was correct insofar as believing I was behind. I made the correct play. But it really reminds me I might be playing too tight because players like this I want to be in more hands with.
I make a couple of standard plays that do not work, hit a few blinds and suddenly have lost 2/3rd of my stack, down to 1.26. UTG+1 I click the wrong button and raise to .10 with pocket 3s. I wanted to raise to .15. It is folded to the big blind who goes all-in 18.35.
What an idiot. On the bright side, it makes it a very easy fold for me…no matter his hand, the only thing I am ahead of is A/2 or pocket deuces, and best case scenario is a race. Enjoy that .10 win. Big risk for little gain unless you had Aces.
Of course, it is also possible he had a poor hand and got what he wanted...picking up .10 for no risk. But way too much risk for no gain.
The big blind checks and we take the flop 7 handed.
If I am going to play a 7-handed pot, I like hitting a set on a 10c/9d/2h flop. Two possible sets, a lot of draws, and the probability someone has an over pair. MP2 bets .37, folded to me with just one person left to act…re-raise or try to bring him along? I decide to see if I can triple up and flat, but he folds anyway.
I figure the range is one of the two aforementioned sets, J/10, 10/9, Q/K, or bigger pair. The turn is kind of ugly, the 8h, he shoves 1.34 and I know I am calling but…
If he has J/Q I am drawing thin, if he has pocket 8s, 9s, or 10s I am also in deep trouble, but other than that I look good and I am just not good enough to more than consider folding in passing. I know I am calling, even with the sinking feeling I am tossing off another 1.34 with the worst hand.
I am wrong..he has top pair, decent kicker…10h/qh. So he also has the flush draw. So he has 7 hearts that make the flush (the 10 and 9 give me a boat), plus 3 jacks for a total of 10 outs…I am a 5-1 favorite, my hand holds up and I take down a nice pot.
When my hands hold up, this game is easy!
The very next hand I make a mistake. The button limps with 6.07, the small blind completes with 4.81 and I look down at the cowboys. Not wanting to give away some of my newfound chip wealth, I over-raise to .90 and they both fold.
I played scared. I should have just made a standard raise to .25 or .30 cents and seen how it went. I had a strong hand against two weak ones, that would charge them for their draws. But I knew I would see it to the river even if obviously beat and instead of adjusting my post-flop play, I made a bad raise.
From middle position I open to .15 with Jc/Kc. This is a play I make on occasion when people are folding a lot. I mostly expect to pick up the blinds or at worst, pick up a small pot with a flop continuation bet if called by one player. The next seat calls with 3.95 and the small blind elects to come along with just .80.
The 9h/Ad/Qs flop does not make me ecstatic…with just .65 behind, I figure the small blind probably has the Ace, I am drawing to 4 tens. He checks, I make one of my rare flop checks after a pre-flop bet, and the next guy leads out for .28.
The blind takes his time, then click-raises, leaving himself just .09 behind. I think I am behind, I am getting horrible odds, and am in danger of getting hit with the squeeze play if I call. I make the disciplined and, I believe, correct fold. Guy behind calls.
The turn is hysterical…10H. I would have hit my straight. They get the last .10 in and I figure the mp guy has to have something like A/10+, maybe even pockets, something that hit the flop and big blind probably some sort of ace.
Well, big blind proves looser than expected…Qc/10c, so he called with poor odds to hit his flush. MP shows As/4h.
On the bright side, my read was correct insofar as believing I was behind. I made the correct play. But it really reminds me I might be playing too tight because players like this I want to be in more hands with.
I make a couple of standard plays that do not work, hit a few blinds and suddenly have lost 2/3rd of my stack, down to 1.26. UTG+1 I click the wrong button and raise to .10 with pocket 3s. I wanted to raise to .15. It is folded to the big blind who goes all-in 18.35.
What an idiot. On the bright side, it makes it a very easy fold for me…no matter his hand, the only thing I am ahead of is A/2 or pocket deuces, and best case scenario is a race. Enjoy that .10 win. Big risk for little gain unless you had Aces.
Of course, it is also possible he had a poor hand and got what he wanted...picking up .10 for no risk. But way too much risk for no gain.
Thursday
Coin Flip
After the debacle with the jacks, I step down to 2/5 for a bit. This is a mixed choice; on the one hand, starting with 40bb means there is just a couple bucks at risk. On the down side, a missed flop or two puts you in bad shape.
I manage to get down to .92 without seeing a river with a couple times folding to big turn check or re-raises. So when I pick up pocket Queens, it is part of the plan to see the river or have won by then.
UTG takes their time then opens to .15 with 3.04, the hijack flats with 5 even and, in the small blind, I go all in. This is probably my best decision, but lets think about it for a second.
The advantage to going all in is I will see the river. I have the third best starting hand, there is already .37 in the pot, I gain fold equity and have a good chance of getting at least one fold.
The disadvantage is I might be looking to triple up here and letting them see the flop, they might catch a worse hand but enough to call me. But if the flop is scary, I might hesitate. I am not a good enough player to play dangerous with tough decisions, so for me, at this point, I believe it is the proper play to shove.
It works out for me when one guy folds, the other calls with 8s and my queens hold up. But just because it works out in one instance does not mean it is the correct strategy.
Being in the small blind, if I merely call here the pot is .50 or so and I have .77 left. Any continuation bet pot-commits me so I am shoving the flop. The difference is that now they have seen the flop. If they hit something like 2 pair they call, if not they do not. It just seems like more risk for the same or less reward than getting it all in when I believe I am ahead.
So now I am at 1.65 and folding like mad. UTG opens to .15 with 5.00, I fold, middle position flat-calls with 2.57, the small blind raises to .55 with 5.00, utg re-pops to 5.00 all in and gets called by middle position and the small blind.
With this action I expect to see one of 4 hands from utg: Aces, Kings, Queens or big slick. Actually, the worst hand I expect to see from anyone is Jacks or better, weighted heavily towards pairs and one player having big slick.
UTG and the small blind each have Aces, so their moves definitely make sense. Middle position has…pocket 6s?
He had the smallest number of chips, true…but with a raise, caller, re-raise, and re-re-raise, he has to know at least one of them has a big pair, q/q+…so he is way behind and not getting the right price to call here. He needs 8-1 and is getting 3-1 at best, and that only if the blind over-calls.
I would like to think I do not make that play, but…
Having been hit by just one blind, I open to .15 from middle position with 1.60. The big blind re-pops to .46 with 5.07.
What a weird amount. It is not a pot bet…he has to deliberately make that weird amount. My best move here is probably a fold; I am drawing thin against any over-pair, and his range here is somewhat narrow…eights or better, suited Ace, maybe A/10+?
I widen it a bit because he is the big blind and I was middle position, and also because people with the habit of making non-standard bet amounts tend to also have non-standard starting, raising and re-raising requirements.
If I am behind a bigger pair I am really playing for a set as I am relatively short-stacked so any draw is going to take my whole stack and not give proper odds. So I really need 8-1 on a call…there is .32 in the pot and I have to call .31, so just about 2-1.
Curiously, I choose to think he is on a move and might lay it down, so I re-raise all-in 1.60.
He snap-calls as anyone who played the hand as he would did and his hand is at the top end of his range, A/K. IT is irrelevant that the tens hold up…I think I mis-played the hand. When he re-raised from the big blind, he represented a strong hand, and I had a medium strength pair. More caution might be better in the future.
There is really no need to get involved in coin flip situations unless I am sure I am on the positive side of it. Pick my spots better, have better results.
I manage to get down to .92 without seeing a river with a couple times folding to big turn check or re-raises. So when I pick up pocket Queens, it is part of the plan to see the river or have won by then.
UTG takes their time then opens to .15 with 3.04, the hijack flats with 5 even and, in the small blind, I go all in. This is probably my best decision, but lets think about it for a second.
The advantage to going all in is I will see the river. I have the third best starting hand, there is already .37 in the pot, I gain fold equity and have a good chance of getting at least one fold.
The disadvantage is I might be looking to triple up here and letting them see the flop, they might catch a worse hand but enough to call me. But if the flop is scary, I might hesitate. I am not a good enough player to play dangerous with tough decisions, so for me, at this point, I believe it is the proper play to shove.
It works out for me when one guy folds, the other calls with 8s and my queens hold up. But just because it works out in one instance does not mean it is the correct strategy.
Being in the small blind, if I merely call here the pot is .50 or so and I have .77 left. Any continuation bet pot-commits me so I am shoving the flop. The difference is that now they have seen the flop. If they hit something like 2 pair they call, if not they do not. It just seems like more risk for the same or less reward than getting it all in when I believe I am ahead.
So now I am at 1.65 and folding like mad. UTG opens to .15 with 5.00, I fold, middle position flat-calls with 2.57, the small blind raises to .55 with 5.00, utg re-pops to 5.00 all in and gets called by middle position and the small blind.
With this action I expect to see one of 4 hands from utg: Aces, Kings, Queens or big slick. Actually, the worst hand I expect to see from anyone is Jacks or better, weighted heavily towards pairs and one player having big slick.
UTG and the small blind each have Aces, so their moves definitely make sense. Middle position has…pocket 6s?
He had the smallest number of chips, true…but with a raise, caller, re-raise, and re-re-raise, he has to know at least one of them has a big pair, q/q+…so he is way behind and not getting the right price to call here. He needs 8-1 and is getting 3-1 at best, and that only if the blind over-calls.
I would like to think I do not make that play, but…
Having been hit by just one blind, I open to .15 from middle position with 1.60. The big blind re-pops to .46 with 5.07.
What a weird amount. It is not a pot bet…he has to deliberately make that weird amount. My best move here is probably a fold; I am drawing thin against any over-pair, and his range here is somewhat narrow…eights or better, suited Ace, maybe A/10+?
I widen it a bit because he is the big blind and I was middle position, and also because people with the habit of making non-standard bet amounts tend to also have non-standard starting, raising and re-raising requirements.
If I am behind a bigger pair I am really playing for a set as I am relatively short-stacked so any draw is going to take my whole stack and not give proper odds. So I really need 8-1 on a call…there is .32 in the pot and I have to call .31, so just about 2-1.
Curiously, I choose to think he is on a move and might lay it down, so I re-raise all-in 1.60.
He snap-calls as anyone who played the hand as he would did and his hand is at the top end of his range, A/K. IT is irrelevant that the tens hold up…I think I mis-played the hand. When he re-raised from the big blind, he represented a strong hand, and I had a medium strength pair. More caution might be better in the future.
There is really no need to get involved in coin flip situations unless I am sure I am on the positive side of it. Pick my spots better, have better results.
Wednesday
Jacked up
When I see a hand that goes to show-down, sometimes I like to play along with it and see how close to their holdings I can get. Early middle position open limps with 12.19 and the big blind checks with 11.01.
Okay, we know very little so far. The limper probably has some sort of drawing hand like pocket 6s or worse, suited connectors, maybe something like J/10 or a suited hand that doesn’t match…Q/3s type garbage. The big blind could have pretty much any two cards.
The 6c/3s4s hits a few hands, misses a lot. The big blind leads out for .20, a pot size bet essentially. He could easily have something like 4/8 or A/3, he could have a couple spades, he could have 2 big cards or even pockets that match the board.
The limper click-raises…this feels like a “I see your fish bet and want to see if you will fold.” The big blind flats it. So now we have a pot of about a buck.
The turn is the 4c, the big blind checks, the limper does the ultra-fishy .10 min-bet probably expecting a fold. Instead he sees a check-raise over pot-size to 1.35.
Right abut now I figure the big blind has some hand with a 4 in it. It fits his play perfectly…he had a poor hand pre-flop, hit a small part of the flop, wanted to see if his hand was good. The re-raise priced him in. The turn gives him three of a kind, he is looking good.
I revise that judgement when the limper re-pops to 11.69 all in. He has to have something like pocket 6s or pocket threes here? How do you do that without a super-strong hand? You just saw a big check-raise.
The big blind calls. I expect to see set over set or set vs. something like 10/4 trash that hit the four.
The limper shows a hand that fit my initial profile…4d/6d. He flopped two pair, turned the boat. The big blind…show 8s/5h? What? He called all in on a gut-shot straight draw? He is drawing dead and loses a 20.25 pot playing the board plus his 8. What a tool.
I do not have words to describe this. I mean, I think my analysis was pretty sound…IF he was a sound player. But he called a huge re-raise of his check-raise all in when literally the ONLY hands he could beat were 2/7 and 2/8. Those are the ONLY two possible holdings he could beat. Any other holding has either a higher card or paired the board.
His check-raise was kind of cool, he read weakness and pounced on it. However, when re-raised all in, the only way this could have been a more obvious fold was if he himself held the deuce-seven. His play was fine until there and at that point he derailed horrifically.
Speaking of de-railing horrifically…
UTG+2 limps with 17.88, next guy calls with 3.34, a fold, a call with 30.61, the small blind completes with 10.15, and in the big blind, with 3.35, I look down at Jh/Js.
There are a lot of weak hands behind me…4 limps. Probably a couple small pocket pairs, suited connectors, suited card type hands. I think I can probably take it down right here and bump it to .80. The first limper calls, everyone else folds.
He still has a similar range, shading towards stronger draws or slightly larger pockets…the implied odds if someone calls behind him could allow him to make this move, plus he is at worst playing for 1/6th his stack.
I could do without the Ace on the As/10d/2c flop, but I typically continuation bet half the pot here anyway. This time I instead lead out for 1.90, leaving myself just .65 cents behind. What a bad bet on so many levels. He calls, it does not matter what he has because with .65 left I am priced into my turn shove on the 4c, even though his call pretty much screams A/x suited since there are very few draws and none that make sense.
Also possible are pocket tens or pocket deuces.
Turns out he had a worse hand than I anticipated, Ad/Qh but still more than ample to stack my poor pair of jacks.
If I bet a more reasonable .60 cents on the turn it is possible I get away from the hand, but when I overbet, against my normal style, on the flop, I was all but guaranteed to either make a worse hand fold or a better hand stack me. I played very poorly and had the expected result.
Actually, I like my pre-flop raise…I got a poor call from a hand that never should have limped. But then I made a major flop error. So some good, more bad.
Contrast that to my next hand. The cut-off open limps with 5, I am in the small blind it looked soft, I have pocket Queens and 3.90, I re-raise to .60 and the limper calls.
Again I am not overly excited about the flop…Kc/4c/Ad. This time I check and he checks behind. The turn is the 9s. I am feeling better about my hand…he could still have a soft Ace or some sort of hand that hit the King, but more likely a draw of some sort or smaller pair.
I lead out for my normal half pot bet of .60 and he calls. I like that he just flats it. He has a pretty wide range, some of which beat me, a lot of which are behind. But now, with better betting, I have 2.60 behind instead of .65, I was not locked into the hand if he came out with a big re-raise.
The river is the Js which I am also not to keen on. Q/10, pocket Jacks, any Ace or King beat me. I want to keep the pot small, I check, he checks behind and his K/Q take it down.
He played the hand cautiously, but so did I. It is possible I could have taken it down with flop, turn and river bets, but it is also likely he would have called it down and I would have gotten stacked. Even though I lost over a quarter of my stack on this hand, I think I played it vastly better than the prior hand.
Unfortunately, it leaves me with a short stack and I sometimes, after making a GOOD play like that, will make a bad play.
The small blind opens to .40 with 19.98 and, in the big blind with 2.60, I look at a pedestrian 10d/Kc. He over-raised here which could represent anything from pocket rockets on down to a 2/7 making a position raise. For some bizarre reason I decide to re-pop it to 1.20, expecting a fold. He calls.
The flop is Kh/4d/4c. I have Kings up, modest kicker, and with 1.40 left, a pot of 2.40, my aggressive pre-flop move that failed means I am pretty much locked into seeing this one through.
Now, admittedly I am pretty good against his overall range here…A/K, K/Q, K/J and anything like x/4 suited have me crushed, but I am well out in front of everything else. But still…I want the fold equity so I shove. Fortunately, he folds so he was probably on some sort of move, and my making a move wins a small pot. But it was a seriously curious move I made and I am not overly fond of my play on the hand. A fortuitous flop should not mask that.
So I bounce around getting down to about 2.88 or so, back up to 3.38, up and down in that range for a while. MP limps with 8.34, small blind completes with 3.53 and I am stuck in that position I hate…3.38, big blind being squeezed, and a horrible hand of jc/2c.
I always hit just enough of this to take a shot at it, get stubborn, and lose a bunch.
Sure enough, here comes the Js/Qc/7s. I hit middle pair, no kicker. The small blind checks, I decide to take a stab at it and bet .20.
The early limper calls and the big blind folds.
The turn is the Kc. Limp, call with one behind. He could have hit this soft, hard, or not at all. Worth taking a look at the turn. I again lead out for .30, he again calls. I am done with the hand.
The only draws that make sense are something like 9/10 or a spade draw, but many more of the hands in his range are ahead of me, including an awful lot of Queen and Jack hands, none of which I can beat.
The river is the 6d, I check, he checks behind. I figure he has to have me beat so am glad to see a showdown cheap, not so glad to have put in .50 more than I would have if someone would have just raised pre-flop so I could go away.
Fortunately, he had one of the few…very few…hands I could beat, a 5/8s for a busted flush draw and I take down a modest but nice pot for a hand I had no desire to be in.
A re-raise with suited A/k wins a pot, I fold, and then utg limps with 3.27, I limp from the hijack with 4.45 and pocket 4s, and the big blind checks with 4 even.
The flop is pretty good for such a modest holding facing one drawing hand and two random cards…8s/3d/3h. I am ahead of the vast majority of their range here. The big blind checks, the limper raises to .20. I think I have a shot at this pot and re-pop to .60.
It probably made sense when I did it, but now I find it a bit curious. It works, however, as they both fold.
34 hands later I have 4.30.MP opens to .35 with 12.11, the cut-off calls with 8.73 and on the button I look down at Js/Jh. I re-pop to 1.55 figuring they are about 70% to fold. This proves to be one of the 30% as the cut-off re-raises all in 8.73. I have 2.75 left.
His range here is A/K, A/Qs, maybe 10s or better. If I think he thinks I am making a move, drop it to A/J, A/10s+, pockets 8+.
Any way you look at it, I fare poorly against his range and should fold here. There is about 2.70 in the pot plus the 2.75 I need to call, so I am getting 2-1, but am probably needing to get 3-1 to call here.
Being an idiot, I call anyway, he shows Queens, I do not improve, and after a session I really worked to get back in the positive, I throw it all away being stubborn.
When he re-raised a re-raise, I need to be ready to release nice but not strong hands like Jacks here. It is a real weakness in my game I need to work on. Stacking off twice with Jacks is not something I am proud of. It plants me firmly in the fish camp for sure.
Okay, we know very little so far. The limper probably has some sort of drawing hand like pocket 6s or worse, suited connectors, maybe something like J/10 or a suited hand that doesn’t match…Q/3s type garbage. The big blind could have pretty much any two cards.
The 6c/3s4s hits a few hands, misses a lot. The big blind leads out for .20, a pot size bet essentially. He could easily have something like 4/8 or A/3, he could have a couple spades, he could have 2 big cards or even pockets that match the board.
The limper click-raises…this feels like a “I see your fish bet and want to see if you will fold.” The big blind flats it. So now we have a pot of about a buck.
The turn is the 4c, the big blind checks, the limper does the ultra-fishy .10 min-bet probably expecting a fold. Instead he sees a check-raise over pot-size to 1.35.
Right abut now I figure the big blind has some hand with a 4 in it. It fits his play perfectly…he had a poor hand pre-flop, hit a small part of the flop, wanted to see if his hand was good. The re-raise priced him in. The turn gives him three of a kind, he is looking good.
I revise that judgement when the limper re-pops to 11.69 all in. He has to have something like pocket 6s or pocket threes here? How do you do that without a super-strong hand? You just saw a big check-raise.
The big blind calls. I expect to see set over set or set vs. something like 10/4 trash that hit the four.
The limper shows a hand that fit my initial profile…4d/6d. He flopped two pair, turned the boat. The big blind…show 8s/5h? What? He called all in on a gut-shot straight draw? He is drawing dead and loses a 20.25 pot playing the board plus his 8. What a tool.
I do not have words to describe this. I mean, I think my analysis was pretty sound…IF he was a sound player. But he called a huge re-raise of his check-raise all in when literally the ONLY hands he could beat were 2/7 and 2/8. Those are the ONLY two possible holdings he could beat. Any other holding has either a higher card or paired the board.
His check-raise was kind of cool, he read weakness and pounced on it. However, when re-raised all in, the only way this could have been a more obvious fold was if he himself held the deuce-seven. His play was fine until there and at that point he derailed horrifically.
Speaking of de-railing horrifically…
UTG+2 limps with 17.88, next guy calls with 3.34, a fold, a call with 30.61, the small blind completes with 10.15, and in the big blind, with 3.35, I look down at Jh/Js.
There are a lot of weak hands behind me…4 limps. Probably a couple small pocket pairs, suited connectors, suited card type hands. I think I can probably take it down right here and bump it to .80. The first limper calls, everyone else folds.
He still has a similar range, shading towards stronger draws or slightly larger pockets…the implied odds if someone calls behind him could allow him to make this move, plus he is at worst playing for 1/6th his stack.
I could do without the Ace on the As/10d/2c flop, but I typically continuation bet half the pot here anyway. This time I instead lead out for 1.90, leaving myself just .65 cents behind. What a bad bet on so many levels. He calls, it does not matter what he has because with .65 left I am priced into my turn shove on the 4c, even though his call pretty much screams A/x suited since there are very few draws and none that make sense.
Also possible are pocket tens or pocket deuces.
Turns out he had a worse hand than I anticipated, Ad/Qh but still more than ample to stack my poor pair of jacks.
If I bet a more reasonable .60 cents on the turn it is possible I get away from the hand, but when I overbet, against my normal style, on the flop, I was all but guaranteed to either make a worse hand fold or a better hand stack me. I played very poorly and had the expected result.
Actually, I like my pre-flop raise…I got a poor call from a hand that never should have limped. But then I made a major flop error. So some good, more bad.
Contrast that to my next hand. The cut-off open limps with 5, I am in the small blind it looked soft, I have pocket Queens and 3.90, I re-raise to .60 and the limper calls.
Again I am not overly excited about the flop…Kc/4c/Ad. This time I check and he checks behind. The turn is the 9s. I am feeling better about my hand…he could still have a soft Ace or some sort of hand that hit the King, but more likely a draw of some sort or smaller pair.
I lead out for my normal half pot bet of .60 and he calls. I like that he just flats it. He has a pretty wide range, some of which beat me, a lot of which are behind. But now, with better betting, I have 2.60 behind instead of .65, I was not locked into the hand if he came out with a big re-raise.
The river is the Js which I am also not to keen on. Q/10, pocket Jacks, any Ace or King beat me. I want to keep the pot small, I check, he checks behind and his K/Q take it down.
He played the hand cautiously, but so did I. It is possible I could have taken it down with flop, turn and river bets, but it is also likely he would have called it down and I would have gotten stacked. Even though I lost over a quarter of my stack on this hand, I think I played it vastly better than the prior hand.
Unfortunately, it leaves me with a short stack and I sometimes, after making a GOOD play like that, will make a bad play.
The small blind opens to .40 with 19.98 and, in the big blind with 2.60, I look at a pedestrian 10d/Kc. He over-raised here which could represent anything from pocket rockets on down to a 2/7 making a position raise. For some bizarre reason I decide to re-pop it to 1.20, expecting a fold. He calls.
The flop is Kh/4d/4c. I have Kings up, modest kicker, and with 1.40 left, a pot of 2.40, my aggressive pre-flop move that failed means I am pretty much locked into seeing this one through.
Now, admittedly I am pretty good against his overall range here…A/K, K/Q, K/J and anything like x/4 suited have me crushed, but I am well out in front of everything else. But still…I want the fold equity so I shove. Fortunately, he folds so he was probably on some sort of move, and my making a move wins a small pot. But it was a seriously curious move I made and I am not overly fond of my play on the hand. A fortuitous flop should not mask that.
So I bounce around getting down to about 2.88 or so, back up to 3.38, up and down in that range for a while. MP limps with 8.34, small blind completes with 3.53 and I am stuck in that position I hate…3.38, big blind being squeezed, and a horrible hand of jc/2c.
I always hit just enough of this to take a shot at it, get stubborn, and lose a bunch.
Sure enough, here comes the Js/Qc/7s. I hit middle pair, no kicker. The small blind checks, I decide to take a stab at it and bet .20.
The early limper calls and the big blind folds.
The turn is the Kc. Limp, call with one behind. He could have hit this soft, hard, or not at all. Worth taking a look at the turn. I again lead out for .30, he again calls. I am done with the hand.
The only draws that make sense are something like 9/10 or a spade draw, but many more of the hands in his range are ahead of me, including an awful lot of Queen and Jack hands, none of which I can beat.
The river is the 6d, I check, he checks behind. I figure he has to have me beat so am glad to see a showdown cheap, not so glad to have put in .50 more than I would have if someone would have just raised pre-flop so I could go away.
Fortunately, he had one of the few…very few…hands I could beat, a 5/8s for a busted flush draw and I take down a modest but nice pot for a hand I had no desire to be in.
A re-raise with suited A/k wins a pot, I fold, and then utg limps with 3.27, I limp from the hijack with 4.45 and pocket 4s, and the big blind checks with 4 even.
The flop is pretty good for such a modest holding facing one drawing hand and two random cards…8s/3d/3h. I am ahead of the vast majority of their range here. The big blind checks, the limper raises to .20. I think I have a shot at this pot and re-pop to .60.
It probably made sense when I did it, but now I find it a bit curious. It works, however, as they both fold.
34 hands later I have 4.30.MP opens to .35 with 12.11, the cut-off calls with 8.73 and on the button I look down at Js/Jh. I re-pop to 1.55 figuring they are about 70% to fold. This proves to be one of the 30% as the cut-off re-raises all in 8.73. I have 2.75 left.
His range here is A/K, A/Qs, maybe 10s or better. If I think he thinks I am making a move, drop it to A/J, A/10s+, pockets 8+.
Any way you look at it, I fare poorly against his range and should fold here. There is about 2.70 in the pot plus the 2.75 I need to call, so I am getting 2-1, but am probably needing to get 3-1 to call here.
Being an idiot, I call anyway, he shows Queens, I do not improve, and after a session I really worked to get back in the positive, I throw it all away being stubborn.
When he re-raised a re-raise, I need to be ready to release nice but not strong hands like Jacks here. It is a real weakness in my game I need to work on. Stacking off twice with Jacks is not something I am proud of. It plants me firmly in the fish camp for sure.
Tuesday
Stack it up
After folding the first 36 hands, I open on the button with Qh/Jc, people fold, then I fold another half dozen hands. The button opens to .30 and I re-pop from small blind to .90 with Ac/Qh. He folds. I then fold 9 more hands.
Finally, on the 55th hand I am dealt into, I see a flop when I am in the big blind holding 9h/jc and people limp. I check, then fold to a bet on an 8s/2c/kc flop. They later get it all in with a full house 2s full of Kings verse trip kings.
Another 11 folds ensue. I am feeling like I will never pick up a hand. UTG+1 opens to .30 with 2.99, I call from the hijack with 3.50 and pocket 10s, the button makes a weird raise to .55 with 8.25, the big blind calls with 4 as do the initial raiser and I.
The flop is the 7f/5s/Jc. With this much action, it would not surprise me to see a set in there, nor would something like A/J or big pockets from the button. The big blind leads out for 2.10, the initial raiser folds and I have a choice.
This is not an overly dangerous board for my tens, I have been very patient, folded lots of hands, and this is the first hand that feels like it has showdown value.
However, it is not worthy of a re-raise, there is someone behind me, and I have a good chance of being behind. I am proud of the fold. I am even prouder when the guy behind me re-pops to 4.20 and the blind calls all in.
The re-raise shows pocket 5s, the initial raiser A/J. That is one of my better assessments in a long time and I got off cheap.
A bunch of folds later I pick up an actual hand, 2 red aces. UTG+1 I open to .30 with 3.37, the next guy does the click-raise nonsense with 1.75, I re-pop to 1.65 and he re-raises his last .10 all in. Perfect, I got what I wanted…heads up all in pre-flop with the best hand.
Better yet…he did that with 10/8 off.
One reason I like it when I play a lot is I get used to seeing the same moves and start understanding what they represent. I open on the button with 4.93 and the small blind calls with 18.74.
The 9d/10d/5s hits a lot of hands he could call with but misses a lot as well. He dips into the time bank and checks, I bet .40, he click raises to .80.
I think he is trying to bet me off a continuation bet. He has maybe 2 overcards, maybe a small pair, maybe a suited ace that missed. He does not have a good hand. He is betting I raised and continuation bet based on position and he thinks I have nothing. I re-raise to 1.60 and he folds.
I would like to say my pocket twos were the best hand…but I think it has more to do with my read of what he thought I had was better. Actually, his read was right…but I read his read and wrote a new chapter.
Of course, it is not always true that a re-raise means nothing.
IN middle position with 3.90 I open to .30 with pocket jacks. The next guy calls with 10 even.
The 9d/9s/qs flop feels pretty safe. Unless someone has something like A/Q I should be well ahead here. I bet .40 and he re-raises to 1.00.
So unlike the click-raise trying to lazily drive me off a standard continuation bet, this is a pot size bet re-raising more than I raised. He put some thought and effort into it. Right here I should fold but I call. The turn is the 8h and I shove my last 2.60 all in.
Brave bet…but stupid. Check was the play here. H does have to think about it…taking not just his regular time but about half his time bank before finally calling with Qh/Ks. I never improve and my bad read stacks me.
It does not keep me from making moves. Having restarted, I am in the cut-off with 4.33 when utg+1 opens to .30 with 12.37/ It is folded to me and I look down at As/10s.
Now, as a general rule this is a quick fold, but for some reason I elect to call here. We take the flop heads up and it misses me completely, the Kh/8d/9s. This hits a fair number of hands he could have..A/K, K/K, pocket 8s or 9s, and even something like suited J/10.
It also misses a lot of hands…small to medium pockets, A/Q, suited cards type hands. He leads out pretty aggressively for .50. I elect to call and see what he does on the turn. If he raises I have a clear fold, if he checks I will bet and try to take down the pot.
If he re-raises, again it is a clear fold. If he calls I will be very cautious on the river as a lot of people will call me down with hands as weak as pocket treys here.
The turn is the 2h, he checks and I have a choice. I think he probably whiffed with something like A/6s or has a low pair he is nervous about and thinks he is beat. I put out a .90 bet into about 1.60 and am done putting in chips but he folds and I add about .80 to my stack.
All in all not a very exciting hand, but one that shows why I am willing sometimes to take bad hands too far with poor reads. When I actually have something I tend to play that instead of the situation.
I had just played a hand with A/Q where, with an open ended straight draw but the possibility someone holding Q/K held the nut straight, he raised all-in 15.69 into a pot of about a buck. Sitting behind 4.29 I open to .30 from middle position with Ac/Qd, the cut-off click-raises with 9.32 and I call.
A click-raise here screams weakness to me and, if he makes a serious raise to say… a dollar, I fold but with the click-raise I think he has at best a mediocre pair and at worst total air and just thinks I will fold to a re-raise.
The flop is Ah/10h/5h. That is about as bad a flop as I can see…sort of. I myself represented weakness, as many people when re-raised pre-flop will call almost any re-raise, then fold to any bet on the flop. This is a co-ordinated flop that has me drawing all but dead if he was playing something like a 6/7 hearts. But it is also a good spot for a check-raise.
I check, he bets .90 and I re-raise all in my last 3.69. This is a very poor play as he will only ever call if he has me beat…with the hearts on the board, he has to have a flush or set to call here.
Or A/6 which is what he shows…the 6 is a heart, but not a good one, he never improves, and my poor play is rewarded with a double up.
In retrospect, while some of the decisions seem to make sense…the check-raise, for example…I was clearly either A) playing at a super high level with incredible reads of weakness that suckered him into a super bad call…after all, how can I make that move without the flush or set myself? (by being a bad player? Oh…right…)
Or B) I was on tilt and pressing bad plays, deserving to get stacked again.
Either way, having regained what I had initially lost with a bad read, it was time to rat-hole.
I need to have awareness of why I am making decisions. Although at the time my thought process seemed to make sense on the last hand...he showed weakness, I did too, then hit a better than average hand and made a move...it was not a good move.
Just because it got rewarded does not make it good, either.
Finally, on the 55th hand I am dealt into, I see a flop when I am in the big blind holding 9h/jc and people limp. I check, then fold to a bet on an 8s/2c/kc flop. They later get it all in with a full house 2s full of Kings verse trip kings.
Another 11 folds ensue. I am feeling like I will never pick up a hand. UTG+1 opens to .30 with 2.99, I call from the hijack with 3.50 and pocket 10s, the button makes a weird raise to .55 with 8.25, the big blind calls with 4 as do the initial raiser and I.
The flop is the 7f/5s/Jc. With this much action, it would not surprise me to see a set in there, nor would something like A/J or big pockets from the button. The big blind leads out for 2.10, the initial raiser folds and I have a choice.
This is not an overly dangerous board for my tens, I have been very patient, folded lots of hands, and this is the first hand that feels like it has showdown value.
However, it is not worthy of a re-raise, there is someone behind me, and I have a good chance of being behind. I am proud of the fold. I am even prouder when the guy behind me re-pops to 4.20 and the blind calls all in.
The re-raise shows pocket 5s, the initial raiser A/J. That is one of my better assessments in a long time and I got off cheap.
A bunch of folds later I pick up an actual hand, 2 red aces. UTG+1 I open to .30 with 3.37, the next guy does the click-raise nonsense with 1.75, I re-pop to 1.65 and he re-raises his last .10 all in. Perfect, I got what I wanted…heads up all in pre-flop with the best hand.
Better yet…he did that with 10/8 off.
One reason I like it when I play a lot is I get used to seeing the same moves and start understanding what they represent. I open on the button with 4.93 and the small blind calls with 18.74.
The 9d/10d/5s hits a lot of hands he could call with but misses a lot as well. He dips into the time bank and checks, I bet .40, he click raises to .80.
I think he is trying to bet me off a continuation bet. He has maybe 2 overcards, maybe a small pair, maybe a suited ace that missed. He does not have a good hand. He is betting I raised and continuation bet based on position and he thinks I have nothing. I re-raise to 1.60 and he folds.
I would like to say my pocket twos were the best hand…but I think it has more to do with my read of what he thought I had was better. Actually, his read was right…but I read his read and wrote a new chapter.
Of course, it is not always true that a re-raise means nothing.
IN middle position with 3.90 I open to .30 with pocket jacks. The next guy calls with 10 even.
The 9d/9s/qs flop feels pretty safe. Unless someone has something like A/Q I should be well ahead here. I bet .40 and he re-raises to 1.00.
So unlike the click-raise trying to lazily drive me off a standard continuation bet, this is a pot size bet re-raising more than I raised. He put some thought and effort into it. Right here I should fold but I call. The turn is the 8h and I shove my last 2.60 all in.
Brave bet…but stupid. Check was the play here. H does have to think about it…taking not just his regular time but about half his time bank before finally calling with Qh/Ks. I never improve and my bad read stacks me.
It does not keep me from making moves. Having restarted, I am in the cut-off with 4.33 when utg+1 opens to .30 with 12.37/ It is folded to me and I look down at As/10s.
Now, as a general rule this is a quick fold, but for some reason I elect to call here. We take the flop heads up and it misses me completely, the Kh/8d/9s. This hits a fair number of hands he could have..A/K, K/K, pocket 8s or 9s, and even something like suited J/10.
It also misses a lot of hands…small to medium pockets, A/Q, suited cards type hands. He leads out pretty aggressively for .50. I elect to call and see what he does on the turn. If he raises I have a clear fold, if he checks I will bet and try to take down the pot.
If he re-raises, again it is a clear fold. If he calls I will be very cautious on the river as a lot of people will call me down with hands as weak as pocket treys here.
The turn is the 2h, he checks and I have a choice. I think he probably whiffed with something like A/6s or has a low pair he is nervous about and thinks he is beat. I put out a .90 bet into about 1.60 and am done putting in chips but he folds and I add about .80 to my stack.
All in all not a very exciting hand, but one that shows why I am willing sometimes to take bad hands too far with poor reads. When I actually have something I tend to play that instead of the situation.
I had just played a hand with A/Q where, with an open ended straight draw but the possibility someone holding Q/K held the nut straight, he raised all-in 15.69 into a pot of about a buck. Sitting behind 4.29 I open to .30 from middle position with Ac/Qd, the cut-off click-raises with 9.32 and I call.
A click-raise here screams weakness to me and, if he makes a serious raise to say… a dollar, I fold but with the click-raise I think he has at best a mediocre pair and at worst total air and just thinks I will fold to a re-raise.
The flop is Ah/10h/5h. That is about as bad a flop as I can see…sort of. I myself represented weakness, as many people when re-raised pre-flop will call almost any re-raise, then fold to any bet on the flop. This is a co-ordinated flop that has me drawing all but dead if he was playing something like a 6/7 hearts. But it is also a good spot for a check-raise.
I check, he bets .90 and I re-raise all in my last 3.69. This is a very poor play as he will only ever call if he has me beat…with the hearts on the board, he has to have a flush or set to call here.
Or A/6 which is what he shows…the 6 is a heart, but not a good one, he never improves, and my poor play is rewarded with a double up.
In retrospect, while some of the decisions seem to make sense…the check-raise, for example…I was clearly either A) playing at a super high level with incredible reads of weakness that suckered him into a super bad call…after all, how can I make that move without the flush or set myself? (by being a bad player? Oh…right…)
Or B) I was on tilt and pressing bad plays, deserving to get stacked again.
Either way, having regained what I had initially lost with a bad read, it was time to rat-hole.
I need to have awareness of why I am making decisions. Although at the time my thought process seemed to make sense on the last hand...he showed weakness, I did too, then hit a better than average hand and made a move...it was not a good move.
Just because it got rewarded does not make it good, either.
Sunday
Is it better to be good, lucky, or good and lucky?
UTG+1 opens to .30 with 12.77, I flat-call with 15.36, the hijack calls with 10, the small blind calls with 3.25 and we have a pot of 1.30 and four players.
When the flop comes 6d/9h/3d I am not super excited. On the one hand, it misses an awful lot of hands and hits very few…maybe suited Q/9+, assorted pocket pairs, the unlikely but possible 7/8 hit a straight draw. On the other hand…with that much action, I am likely facing a better pocket pair.
The small blind checks, utg+1 continuation bets .60 and I have a choice. With 2 people left to act, I might face a big raise. On the other hand, I can represent strength by calling and perhaps take away a decent pot with a turn bet. I decide to call and see what happens.
Everyone else folds and we see the Ah fall on the turn. He checks which demands a bet, I oblige with 1.20 and he folds.
I seriously doubt my sevens were the best hand anyone had…he quite possibly had something like 8s or 10s and did not want to lose a big pot, I showed strength and he played predictably.
And the very next hand I have pocket 7s again, open to .30 from utg+1, everyone folds. Hockey sticks ftw.
Numerous folds and forgettable hands later, utg+1 opens to .32 with 13.52. People deliberately being stupid like that annoy me but I double check to make sure I do not make dumb plays just for that reason. In the small blind I re-pop to 1.06 with 16.45 and he calls.
The flop is pretty scary…10d/9h/Kc. Pocket 10s or 9s are in his range, so is Q/K suited, smaller pockets, suited connectors…a lot of hands that flop hits. At the same time I have top/top and was the pre-flop aggressor. I lead out for 1.20. He calls.
Now I am exactly where I do not want to be…in a sizable pot with a marginal hand. Still, he could just be seeing if I am serious. We will see how the turn develops.
The 8s does not make me overly happy, though it is not a horrible card. It does add a couple hands that have me in trouble, but I want to see where he is. I bet 2.20 and he calls. Now there is over 8 bucks in the pot and I know he has SOMETHING but do not know if I am ahead or behind in the hand.
The river 10s only changes things if he had something like A/10, J/10 type hands…otherwise whoever was ahead on the turn is still ahead. I do not want to face a big re-raise, so I check planning to call about a half pot bet. He checks behind.
At this point I think I am probably ahead. Maybe he had a weird missed draw like Q/J or maybe something like A/9. But he turns over the Ad/Kd and we split the pot. I lose .25 due to the rake…
After that I rathole and start again with 4.00.
I have been playing for a while, having people fold to my continuation bets, and feeling good. UTG+1 limps with 5.63, the button limps with 3.34, and I check with 5.59 and Jd/6d.
This is the type hand I wish people would raise on me so I could fold before I hit a piece of the flop, meet resistance, and get stubborn, shipping chips like mad with marginal hands in bad spots.
The flop is 10d/Kd/6h. I have the third nut flush draw and randomly decide that is a betting situation. I bet .20, utg+1 calls and the button raises to 1.15.
This is a clear signal; fold. Go away. His stack is small enough I have the wrong odds to chase a flush, there is another guy behind, and I am chasing the third nuts.
So having accidentally gotten into the hand, taken a stab at it, and being squeezed, I make the obvious move…I re-pop to 2.10.
Idiot. This is why I hate getting to play bad hands in the big blind. I get stupid because I am not a very good player.
UTG+1 folds, button re-pops to 3.24 all in. It is beyond obvious I am beat, probably by a set of 6s but he could have something like K/10 or 10/6 suited to have limped there…whatever he has, he hit the flop hard.
Unfortunately, my poor play has led to the following situation: 5.84 in the pot and it is 1.14 more to me. Getting better than 5-1 on the call…and with two cards to come I am 3-1 dog but at this point the pot is too big and I played too stupidly to fold.
He flips up 2 black aces…a horribly mis-played pair of aces, and of course my even worse play is rewarded when I spike the 8d on the river to steal the pot.
I fold for a while, then I pick up pocket Kings in the small blind, it is folded to me, I raise and he folds. The very next hand I pick them up again. The cut-off opens to .40 with 2.89 and, with 8.77, I re-pop to 1.35. If he has anything at all then we will see a river with all the chips in the middle.
He calls and when the flop comes 4d/7c/8d he insta-ships his last 1.54 which, with over 2.70 in the pot and an over pair, I would have to have an incredibly accurate read to fold here. I do not, I insta-call, and the turn is the 10c.
Great, I think, he now wins with any Jack, 6, or 9…10 outs. Fortunately the river is an Ace and my cowboys hold up.
The rest of the round is pretty uneventful and once again I notice a weird trend. My biggest score came when I made a massive mistake and got rewarded for it. I need to not let that get into my head lest I start playing idiotically.
I need to figure out a way to avoid the big blind conundrum...even though it paid off this time, it was still a huge mistake that I should not repeat.
When the flop comes 6d/9h/3d I am not super excited. On the one hand, it misses an awful lot of hands and hits very few…maybe suited Q/9+, assorted pocket pairs, the unlikely but possible 7/8 hit a straight draw. On the other hand…with that much action, I am likely facing a better pocket pair.
The small blind checks, utg+1 continuation bets .60 and I have a choice. With 2 people left to act, I might face a big raise. On the other hand, I can represent strength by calling and perhaps take away a decent pot with a turn bet. I decide to call and see what happens.
Everyone else folds and we see the Ah fall on the turn. He checks which demands a bet, I oblige with 1.20 and he folds.
I seriously doubt my sevens were the best hand anyone had…he quite possibly had something like 8s or 10s and did not want to lose a big pot, I showed strength and he played predictably.
And the very next hand I have pocket 7s again, open to .30 from utg+1, everyone folds. Hockey sticks ftw.
Numerous folds and forgettable hands later, utg+1 opens to .32 with 13.52. People deliberately being stupid like that annoy me but I double check to make sure I do not make dumb plays just for that reason. In the small blind I re-pop to 1.06 with 16.45 and he calls.
The flop is pretty scary…10d/9h/Kc. Pocket 10s or 9s are in his range, so is Q/K suited, smaller pockets, suited connectors…a lot of hands that flop hits. At the same time I have top/top and was the pre-flop aggressor. I lead out for 1.20. He calls.
Now I am exactly where I do not want to be…in a sizable pot with a marginal hand. Still, he could just be seeing if I am serious. We will see how the turn develops.
The 8s does not make me overly happy, though it is not a horrible card. It does add a couple hands that have me in trouble, but I want to see where he is. I bet 2.20 and he calls. Now there is over 8 bucks in the pot and I know he has SOMETHING but do not know if I am ahead or behind in the hand.
The river 10s only changes things if he had something like A/10, J/10 type hands…otherwise whoever was ahead on the turn is still ahead. I do not want to face a big re-raise, so I check planning to call about a half pot bet. He checks behind.
At this point I think I am probably ahead. Maybe he had a weird missed draw like Q/J or maybe something like A/9. But he turns over the Ad/Kd and we split the pot. I lose .25 due to the rake…
After that I rathole and start again with 4.00.
I have been playing for a while, having people fold to my continuation bets, and feeling good. UTG+1 limps with 5.63, the button limps with 3.34, and I check with 5.59 and Jd/6d.
This is the type hand I wish people would raise on me so I could fold before I hit a piece of the flop, meet resistance, and get stubborn, shipping chips like mad with marginal hands in bad spots.
The flop is 10d/Kd/6h. I have the third nut flush draw and randomly decide that is a betting situation. I bet .20, utg+1 calls and the button raises to 1.15.
This is a clear signal; fold. Go away. His stack is small enough I have the wrong odds to chase a flush, there is another guy behind, and I am chasing the third nuts.
So having accidentally gotten into the hand, taken a stab at it, and being squeezed, I make the obvious move…I re-pop to 2.10.
Idiot. This is why I hate getting to play bad hands in the big blind. I get stupid because I am not a very good player.
UTG+1 folds, button re-pops to 3.24 all in. It is beyond obvious I am beat, probably by a set of 6s but he could have something like K/10 or 10/6 suited to have limped there…whatever he has, he hit the flop hard.
Unfortunately, my poor play has led to the following situation: 5.84 in the pot and it is 1.14 more to me. Getting better than 5-1 on the call…and with two cards to come I am 3-1 dog but at this point the pot is too big and I played too stupidly to fold.
He flips up 2 black aces…a horribly mis-played pair of aces, and of course my even worse play is rewarded when I spike the 8d on the river to steal the pot.
I fold for a while, then I pick up pocket Kings in the small blind, it is folded to me, I raise and he folds. The very next hand I pick them up again. The cut-off opens to .40 with 2.89 and, with 8.77, I re-pop to 1.35. If he has anything at all then we will see a river with all the chips in the middle.
He calls and when the flop comes 4d/7c/8d he insta-ships his last 1.54 which, with over 2.70 in the pot and an over pair, I would have to have an incredibly accurate read to fold here. I do not, I insta-call, and the turn is the 10c.
Great, I think, he now wins with any Jack, 6, or 9…10 outs. Fortunately the river is an Ace and my cowboys hold up.
The rest of the round is pretty uneventful and once again I notice a weird trend. My biggest score came when I made a massive mistake and got rewarded for it. I need to not let that get into my head lest I start playing idiotically.
I need to figure out a way to avoid the big blind conundrum...even though it paid off this time, it was still a huge mistake that I should not repeat.
Saturday
Hand it over
Sitting behind 3.80 I pick up 2 red Kings utg+2 and open to .30. The cut-off calls with 6.10 and so does the small blind with 21.25. I am not real sure how I feel about this.
On the one hand, I get to see a flop with a chance to win a nice pot. On the other hand, I do not like having two other players in the hand, especially if I do not improve and there is a lot of action or an Ace. It is hard to let go of a big hand for me still, so I would just as soon get it all in pre-flop. Later, when I am a better player, this will not be true…but right now it is.
The flop is jolly good, Kc/3c/4d. I am ahead of anything and only draws like a 5/6 or A/x clubs have any real chance of catching up. Even better, he leads into me for a buck, meaning if I flat it, I will have 1.60 left and it is all going in. I debate re-raising, but decide to raise the turn instead.
Even if they hit the flush, I will have 10 outs on the re-draw to the full house and the pot will be big enough I will not be good enough to get away from the hand. Regardless of what the turn is, the chips are shipping.
The turn gives me the second nuts, with only the pocket 3s ahead and only pocket aces having a chance of drawing out. Easiest call ever when he leads into me, I call all in and his nines are drawing dead.
After folding for a while, utg+1 opens to .20 with 25.35, one fold, call with 10.58, call with 12.67, call with 1.66, call with 47.95 and I look down at Ah/Kd in the small blind.
I am sensing a lot of weakness….drawing hands, small to medium pairs, suited aces. I think I can get a lot of folds and bump it to 1.50.The third caller calls with me covered, the short stack also calls leaving .46 behind.
With about 5 bucks in the pot and three players, when the flop drops Ad/3h/2c I have to think. I have 5.92 left. Pocket Aces are unlikely, 3h/2c also possible but unlikely, and I am ahead of everything else except the possible things like A/3 suited, A/2 suited.
At the same time, I want to end the hand now. No reason to get tricky or sneaky and have something stupid like a 5/6d stick around and draw out. I ship it, the big stack folds, small stack calls off his last .66.
No clue what he would have to overcall 4 callers and a big re-raise (that he should have shoved rather than flatting). I am pretty happy when he turns up Kc/Qd. He is drawing to 3 outs, never gets them, and I take down a nice 5.16 pot with a read of weakness, aggressive pre-flop, and fortuitous flop.
UTG click-raises with 3.84 and, on the button with 11.73, I elect to see if I can lure in one or both blinds, flop a draw and take a nice pot with Ad/8d. They spoil my evil plan for world domination and fold.
The flop is the 2d/7c/4h, he leads out for .30 and I call with my two overs, planning to have him check the turn, I will bet it and take down the pot. The turn is the irrelevant 8h, pairing me but making no difference, really. He checks, I bet .80 and he calls.
Now I have to put him on a hand. He min-raised early, continuation bet, then check-called an all-small flop. A/x suited, medium pockets, a couple over cards to the board or even an overpair all fit the bill. The river is the Ac and he bets 2.54 all in.
Now I have top two pair and and am facing a pot size bet all in. No obvious draws, so I am behind only a modest pocket pair that hit a set, but the way the hand played out, I am more thinking he has something like A/10 suited. Any way you look at it, I am not good enough to fold here. I call and his As/6s helped him donate 38 big blinds to me.
Oddly, except for the river, the cards never mattered…I was playing a situation and played it right, got lucky and it benefited me hugely.
I wonder sometimes if I play too tight. I mean, on the one hand…I already am a losing player and much of my losing comes from hanging onto hands too long after the flop. But I wonder how many of the “good folds’ I make are horrific folds if I knew the truth. Case in point:
I open fold the cut-off with 15.10 and Ks/9s. I know it is a poor hand, but might be worth opening here to see if I can take down the blinds which I will a good 60 – 75% of the time. The small blind, with 9.61, does open to .30 and the big blind with 19.22 calls.
At this point I am glad to be out of the hand. I do not want to get involved with one guy who can stack me and another who can take 2/3rds of my stack with a marginal hand that is likely to hit something good but not great.
The Jd/6d/5d flop is the type that will hit many, many hands either guy could play here as both have a very wide range. The small blind continuation bets with a pot-size bet which the big blind flat calls.
If the big blind re-raises here I think the hand is over. A flop like that has all sorts of possibilities…straight draws with hands like 7/8, flushes or flush draws, and lots of hands like K/J+, J/10, A/J.
When he flats, it makes it hard to tell…does he have the nuts and wants the small blind to hang himself? Does he have a draw? Did he hit part of it but is nervous about the small blind having the nuts?
The turn is the 10h, the small blind leads out for 1.80 and again the big blind flat calls. I am thinking most likely we are looking at a couple of flushes or flush draws with still the possibility of something like a set or two pair.
The river is the Qc, a very interesting card. Lets say instead of flush the small blind had something like A/K. It actually fits the way he played the hand somewhat and now he would have a straight. It also makes hands like J/q or Q/10 2 pair hands.
He raises 5.40, leaving himself about 1.60. The big blind thinks for a goodly long while and finally calls.
I am thinking flush, straight, set are the most likely hands here, though 2 pair are a lesser possibility. Any way you look at it, I am folding anything weaker than a set here, and possibly even folding that.
The small blind shows Ah/Js…second pair, top kicker. The big blind shows 10d/Jc for two pair.
So a battle of the blinds has a 15 dollar pot over a pair vs 2 pair on a board showing straight and flush possibilities. Crazy.
UTG opens to .35 with 9.94 and I flat call from the next seat with 15.15 holding pocket 8s. Middle position comes along with 5.62 and then the big blind raises to 1.50 with 10.49.
When the utg raises to 9.94 it is an easy fold…I give him probably aces or kings, q/q+, MAYBE A/K and I am drawing thin against that. If he flat calls, I probably come along as my implied odds would be excellent. But believing I am against a bigger pair most likely and a coin flip at best, I am out.
The big blind does call and sure enough…utg has pocket aces, big blind big slick. Flop and turn bring Kings and the pocket rockets get shafted in a 19.26 pot.
I am just happy I had the good sense to fold when clearly behind with poor odds. Not a certain thing. But the beauty of it is the very next hand I open to .30 from middle position with pocket 7s and win the blinds, thus getting back almost half of what I put in the previous pot.
A bit later the cut-off opens to .40 with 7.42. A bigger than normal raise like this frequently represents a weak drawing hand…pockets of 6 or less, say, that would rather have everyone fold. The button calls with 3.60 and they take the flop heads up.
The 9h/6h/As flop is more likely to hit the button I think as he might have an Ace in a lot of his potential holdings. The cut-off continuation bets .30.
What an absolutely idiotic bet. He raised .40 into a .15 cent pot…now he is going to bet .30 into a .95 cent pot? Betting in reverse screams A) weakness and B) bad player.
It is almost incumbent on the button to re-raise with any non-nut hand and get this chowder head out of the hand. He flats it.
The turn is the 7s, the cut-off checks, the button then shows he is just as bad as the cut-off with a .40 bet into about 1.70. Call.
The river is the 3c. 8/10 is the absolute nuts. I would believe a soft ace, two pair, or even something like K/q from either player. The cut-off checks, the button bets .80 cents. The cut-off calls.
The button shows Js/10s. So lets review his play; he calls the open with a drawing hand. Fair enough. He calls the flop, sensing a continuation bet. Fair enough. He picks up a draw on the turn and raises the river because that is the only way he can win. I guess in retrospect it makes sense…but I still think not re-raising the flop or making a serious turn bet was a mistake.
The cut-off shows much better than expected…pocket Queens. Okay, the over-raise is a bit out of school, the underbet on the flop with the Ace makes sense, then he plays pot control. Much better than expected. But still a horrible play from the flop on.
And that is the thing...I think sometimes I credit others with being better players than they are. By the same token...all too often when I call I am up against the absolute nuts. I think the clear result is this; I need to get better at putting people on ranges that more accurately represent holdings. I put them on the same range I would have and I am relatively tight.
On the one hand, I get to see a flop with a chance to win a nice pot. On the other hand, I do not like having two other players in the hand, especially if I do not improve and there is a lot of action or an Ace. It is hard to let go of a big hand for me still, so I would just as soon get it all in pre-flop. Later, when I am a better player, this will not be true…but right now it is.
The flop is jolly good, Kc/3c/4d. I am ahead of anything and only draws like a 5/6 or A/x clubs have any real chance of catching up. Even better, he leads into me for a buck, meaning if I flat it, I will have 1.60 left and it is all going in. I debate re-raising, but decide to raise the turn instead.
Even if they hit the flush, I will have 10 outs on the re-draw to the full house and the pot will be big enough I will not be good enough to get away from the hand. Regardless of what the turn is, the chips are shipping.
The turn gives me the second nuts, with only the pocket 3s ahead and only pocket aces having a chance of drawing out. Easiest call ever when he leads into me, I call all in and his nines are drawing dead.
After folding for a while, utg+1 opens to .20 with 25.35, one fold, call with 10.58, call with 12.67, call with 1.66, call with 47.95 and I look down at Ah/Kd in the small blind.
I am sensing a lot of weakness….drawing hands, small to medium pairs, suited aces. I think I can get a lot of folds and bump it to 1.50.The third caller calls with me covered, the short stack also calls leaving .46 behind.
With about 5 bucks in the pot and three players, when the flop drops Ad/3h/2c I have to think. I have 5.92 left. Pocket Aces are unlikely, 3h/2c also possible but unlikely, and I am ahead of everything else except the possible things like A/3 suited, A/2 suited.
At the same time, I want to end the hand now. No reason to get tricky or sneaky and have something stupid like a 5/6d stick around and draw out. I ship it, the big stack folds, small stack calls off his last .66.
No clue what he would have to overcall 4 callers and a big re-raise (that he should have shoved rather than flatting). I am pretty happy when he turns up Kc/Qd. He is drawing to 3 outs, never gets them, and I take down a nice 5.16 pot with a read of weakness, aggressive pre-flop, and fortuitous flop.
UTG click-raises with 3.84 and, on the button with 11.73, I elect to see if I can lure in one or both blinds, flop a draw and take a nice pot with Ad/8d. They spoil my evil plan for world domination and fold.
The flop is the 2d/7c/4h, he leads out for .30 and I call with my two overs, planning to have him check the turn, I will bet it and take down the pot. The turn is the irrelevant 8h, pairing me but making no difference, really. He checks, I bet .80 and he calls.
Now I have to put him on a hand. He min-raised early, continuation bet, then check-called an all-small flop. A/x suited, medium pockets, a couple over cards to the board or even an overpair all fit the bill. The river is the Ac and he bets 2.54 all in.
Now I have top two pair and and am facing a pot size bet all in. No obvious draws, so I am behind only a modest pocket pair that hit a set, but the way the hand played out, I am more thinking he has something like A/10 suited. Any way you look at it, I am not good enough to fold here. I call and his As/6s helped him donate 38 big blinds to me.
Oddly, except for the river, the cards never mattered…I was playing a situation and played it right, got lucky and it benefited me hugely.
I wonder sometimes if I play too tight. I mean, on the one hand…I already am a losing player and much of my losing comes from hanging onto hands too long after the flop. But I wonder how many of the “good folds’ I make are horrific folds if I knew the truth. Case in point:
I open fold the cut-off with 15.10 and Ks/9s. I know it is a poor hand, but might be worth opening here to see if I can take down the blinds which I will a good 60 – 75% of the time. The small blind, with 9.61, does open to .30 and the big blind with 19.22 calls.
At this point I am glad to be out of the hand. I do not want to get involved with one guy who can stack me and another who can take 2/3rds of my stack with a marginal hand that is likely to hit something good but not great.
The Jd/6d/5d flop is the type that will hit many, many hands either guy could play here as both have a very wide range. The small blind continuation bets with a pot-size bet which the big blind flat calls.
If the big blind re-raises here I think the hand is over. A flop like that has all sorts of possibilities…straight draws with hands like 7/8, flushes or flush draws, and lots of hands like K/J+, J/10, A/J.
When he flats, it makes it hard to tell…does he have the nuts and wants the small blind to hang himself? Does he have a draw? Did he hit part of it but is nervous about the small blind having the nuts?
The turn is the 10h, the small blind leads out for 1.80 and again the big blind flat calls. I am thinking most likely we are looking at a couple of flushes or flush draws with still the possibility of something like a set or two pair.
The river is the Qc, a very interesting card. Lets say instead of flush the small blind had something like A/K. It actually fits the way he played the hand somewhat and now he would have a straight. It also makes hands like J/q or Q/10 2 pair hands.
He raises 5.40, leaving himself about 1.60. The big blind thinks for a goodly long while and finally calls.
I am thinking flush, straight, set are the most likely hands here, though 2 pair are a lesser possibility. Any way you look at it, I am folding anything weaker than a set here, and possibly even folding that.
The small blind shows Ah/Js…second pair, top kicker. The big blind shows 10d/Jc for two pair.
So a battle of the blinds has a 15 dollar pot over a pair vs 2 pair on a board showing straight and flush possibilities. Crazy.
UTG opens to .35 with 9.94 and I flat call from the next seat with 15.15 holding pocket 8s. Middle position comes along with 5.62 and then the big blind raises to 1.50 with 10.49.
When the utg raises to 9.94 it is an easy fold…I give him probably aces or kings, q/q+, MAYBE A/K and I am drawing thin against that. If he flat calls, I probably come along as my implied odds would be excellent. But believing I am against a bigger pair most likely and a coin flip at best, I am out.
The big blind does call and sure enough…utg has pocket aces, big blind big slick. Flop and turn bring Kings and the pocket rockets get shafted in a 19.26 pot.
I am just happy I had the good sense to fold when clearly behind with poor odds. Not a certain thing. But the beauty of it is the very next hand I open to .30 from middle position with pocket 7s and win the blinds, thus getting back almost half of what I put in the previous pot.
A bit later the cut-off opens to .40 with 7.42. A bigger than normal raise like this frequently represents a weak drawing hand…pockets of 6 or less, say, that would rather have everyone fold. The button calls with 3.60 and they take the flop heads up.
The 9h/6h/As flop is more likely to hit the button I think as he might have an Ace in a lot of his potential holdings. The cut-off continuation bets .30.
What an absolutely idiotic bet. He raised .40 into a .15 cent pot…now he is going to bet .30 into a .95 cent pot? Betting in reverse screams A) weakness and B) bad player.
It is almost incumbent on the button to re-raise with any non-nut hand and get this chowder head out of the hand. He flats it.
The turn is the 7s, the cut-off checks, the button then shows he is just as bad as the cut-off with a .40 bet into about 1.70. Call.
The river is the 3c. 8/10 is the absolute nuts. I would believe a soft ace, two pair, or even something like K/q from either player. The cut-off checks, the button bets .80 cents. The cut-off calls.
The button shows Js/10s. So lets review his play; he calls the open with a drawing hand. Fair enough. He calls the flop, sensing a continuation bet. Fair enough. He picks up a draw on the turn and raises the river because that is the only way he can win. I guess in retrospect it makes sense…but I still think not re-raising the flop or making a serious turn bet was a mistake.
The cut-off shows much better than expected…pocket Queens. Okay, the over-raise is a bit out of school, the underbet on the flop with the Ace makes sense, then he plays pot control. Much better than expected. But still a horrible play from the flop on.
And that is the thing...I think sometimes I credit others with being better players than they are. By the same token...all too often when I call I am up against the absolute nuts. I think the clear result is this; I need to get better at putting people on ranges that more accurately represent holdings. I put them on the same range I would have and I am relatively tight.
Friday
Quads mean nothing when you are terrible
About 60 hands into a session of 5/10, early mp open limps with 2.08, I complete from the small blind with pocket 9s and 3.46 and the big blind checks with 18.78.
I like to play a small pot out of position with a marginal hand like this knowing if I hit, it should be well disguised and might take down a nice pot.
I love/hate the flop…Ac/Jc/9d. That hits a boat load of hands…and club suited connectors, A/x suited, J/10, K/Q type hands. I would be very surprised if someone had pocket Aces or Jacks here, so I figure to be way ahead at the moment but there are some big possible draws that would not surprise me.
And yet, having nothing remotely approaching the nuts, I check my set, the big blind checks behind, and the mp limper bets the pot, .30. I figure I really want the big blind in the hand, so I flat call it but he folds anyway and we see the turn heads up with about .90 in the pot.
The turn is the 5d, hitting nothing I am afraid of, leaving the same draws. I check, he bets the pot, and I click raise since that puts him all in. He calls, shows Ah/Qd and I have him drawing dead. Too bad there was not more available because the river is the 9s, giving me quads and a modest 3.98 pot for them.
Contrast that to the next meaningful hand. I had opened pocket 10s and folded to a big re-raise, paid out a few blinds and bled a bit here and there in such ways. The cut-off opens for .30 with 2.71, the small blind calls with 12.33. I have 3.44, As/Qh, and a sudden burst of aggression, re-raising to 1.20 believing I will take the pot down right there.
MP re-pops all in, the small blind folds, and it is 1.51 to call. There is 4.16 in the pot giving me roughly 3.5-1 with an above average hand…I do not want to call, because I think I am at best in a coin flip against a pair but more likely drawing thin against Q/Q+ but I am priced in and call. He shows an even worse hand, Ac/Js, neither of us improves and I win a 5.34 pot with Ace high.
I really need to think about my play here. I thought the first guy was making a position raise with a wide range of hands, the small blind showed weakness by flat-calling. I had a decent but not great hand and figured about 80% of the time, the re-raise gets them to lay it down pre-flop, resulting in a .60 win.
So I am risking 1.20 to win .60, but I am also, as we see, priced in to calling a re-raise. Just because it worked out for me this time does not mean it was the right move.
Say I do this ten times. 8 times they fold, for net gain to that point of 4.80. Twice they call or re-raise, and against their range to call/re-raise I am probably about 40% or so to win. The numbers might not be exact, but I think they are pretty close…I think with A/Q+, 9/9+, and A/Js+ I should make this move.
My analysis might be off, but with less than 40 bb, it seems like the correct move.
And time for another exercise in hand-reading.UTG+2 opens to .40 with 10.05. The over-size open raise generally indicates a hand that does not really want action…usually low to middle pair, but not always. The high-jack, with 10, re-raises to 1.20. I put him on J/J+, maybe A/K, A/Q suited type hands. The button flats it with 9.90…a bit trickier to figure.
With the initial raiser still to come, he might be hedging his bet against a raise or might be calling with any pair or maybe something like suited connectors, suited aces, or drawing hands like J/10. With 2.75 in the pot, it is an easy call for the initial raiser and the three of them take the flop with about 3.75 in the pot.
After all the pre-flop fire-works, the flop is the 6s/4h/10d. Could hit pockets, most likely the 4s or 6s from the mp guy and 10s for the later guys. Maybe the J/10 guy if there is one, and him I would expect to raise.
It is checked around and the 3c hits, perhaps the most innocuous card in the entire deck. It guarantees no flush, unless someone was so loose they played a 5/7 or 2/5 it completes no draws…in other words, a completely irrelevant card.
MP now bets out for 3 bucks, the cut-off folds, and the button calls.
So now I am thinking it has to be something like over pair versus over pair, with set over set or set over over pair somewhat likely. There are no believable draws left, this has to be a couple of made hands.
The river is the 9c. Unless someone had pocket 9s…very possible…or the less possible, almost unbelievable 7/8, this changes nothing. The mp bets 5.85 all in.
I suppose it is possible he had something like pocket 5s and bet the turn with an open ended straight draw. Fours, sixes are also in his range, with Jacks or better also a possibility.
The button calls his last 5.70. It takes a stronger hand to call, right? So Queens or better, maybe even a poorly played hand like A/10s, J/10, 9/10 or some weird two-pair hand like 4/6 suited?
Middle position shows pocket 6s. It fits how he played the hand; try to win pre-flop, call with good odds when two people are in the pot, slow-play the probable winner, get it all in.
The button shows…well…uh…I missed his hand. Badly. Ah/3h/ He called off 100 big blinds with a pair of threes. No straight draw. No flush draw. Wow. Could he really think his threes were good here? The only hand he beats here is a King high bluff. Or pocket deuces. Wow.
UTG opens to .30 with 8.09In the hijack, I have Qc/Qd and elect to re-raise to 1.05. UTG calls and we take the flop heads up.
The flop is 7c/6d/Jh. I am probably way ahead, behind only pockets matching the board, Kings or Aces. I do not put much stock in the latter. He checks, I raise to 1.20 and he re-raises to 2.50.
Right here I should be done with the hand. A/J, K/J, Q/J are really the only hands I can beat. He is not bluffing here, he most likely hit this flop hard or has the feared over pair. There is an outside shot he has something like tens but is it worth getting involved?
My brain shuts down and I re-raise all in which he snap-calls with pocket jacks. Ouch. I got cleaned out, and deservedly so.
This is a huge hole in my game. Over pairs are nice...but not guaranteed. When I am ovbiously beat and drawing thin...LAY IT DOWN.
I like to play a small pot out of position with a marginal hand like this knowing if I hit, it should be well disguised and might take down a nice pot.
I love/hate the flop…Ac/Jc/9d. That hits a boat load of hands…and club suited connectors, A/x suited, J/10, K/Q type hands. I would be very surprised if someone had pocket Aces or Jacks here, so I figure to be way ahead at the moment but there are some big possible draws that would not surprise me.
And yet, having nothing remotely approaching the nuts, I check my set, the big blind checks behind, and the mp limper bets the pot, .30. I figure I really want the big blind in the hand, so I flat call it but he folds anyway and we see the turn heads up with about .90 in the pot.
The turn is the 5d, hitting nothing I am afraid of, leaving the same draws. I check, he bets the pot, and I click raise since that puts him all in. He calls, shows Ah/Qd and I have him drawing dead. Too bad there was not more available because the river is the 9s, giving me quads and a modest 3.98 pot for them.
Contrast that to the next meaningful hand. I had opened pocket 10s and folded to a big re-raise, paid out a few blinds and bled a bit here and there in such ways. The cut-off opens for .30 with 2.71, the small blind calls with 12.33. I have 3.44, As/Qh, and a sudden burst of aggression, re-raising to 1.20 believing I will take the pot down right there.
MP re-pops all in, the small blind folds, and it is 1.51 to call. There is 4.16 in the pot giving me roughly 3.5-1 with an above average hand…I do not want to call, because I think I am at best in a coin flip against a pair but more likely drawing thin against Q/Q+ but I am priced in and call. He shows an even worse hand, Ac/Js, neither of us improves and I win a 5.34 pot with Ace high.
I really need to think about my play here. I thought the first guy was making a position raise with a wide range of hands, the small blind showed weakness by flat-calling. I had a decent but not great hand and figured about 80% of the time, the re-raise gets them to lay it down pre-flop, resulting in a .60 win.
So I am risking 1.20 to win .60, but I am also, as we see, priced in to calling a re-raise. Just because it worked out for me this time does not mean it was the right move.
Say I do this ten times. 8 times they fold, for net gain to that point of 4.80. Twice they call or re-raise, and against their range to call/re-raise I am probably about 40% or so to win. The numbers might not be exact, but I think they are pretty close…I think with A/Q+, 9/9+, and A/Js+ I should make this move.
My analysis might be off, but with less than 40 bb, it seems like the correct move.
And time for another exercise in hand-reading.UTG+2 opens to .40 with 10.05. The over-size open raise generally indicates a hand that does not really want action…usually low to middle pair, but not always. The high-jack, with 10, re-raises to 1.20. I put him on J/J+, maybe A/K, A/Q suited type hands. The button flats it with 9.90…a bit trickier to figure.
With the initial raiser still to come, he might be hedging his bet against a raise or might be calling with any pair or maybe something like suited connectors, suited aces, or drawing hands like J/10. With 2.75 in the pot, it is an easy call for the initial raiser and the three of them take the flop with about 3.75 in the pot.
After all the pre-flop fire-works, the flop is the 6s/4h/10d. Could hit pockets, most likely the 4s or 6s from the mp guy and 10s for the later guys. Maybe the J/10 guy if there is one, and him I would expect to raise.
It is checked around and the 3c hits, perhaps the most innocuous card in the entire deck. It guarantees no flush, unless someone was so loose they played a 5/7 or 2/5 it completes no draws…in other words, a completely irrelevant card.
MP now bets out for 3 bucks, the cut-off folds, and the button calls.
So now I am thinking it has to be something like over pair versus over pair, with set over set or set over over pair somewhat likely. There are no believable draws left, this has to be a couple of made hands.
The river is the 9c. Unless someone had pocket 9s…very possible…or the less possible, almost unbelievable 7/8, this changes nothing. The mp bets 5.85 all in.
I suppose it is possible he had something like pocket 5s and bet the turn with an open ended straight draw. Fours, sixes are also in his range, with Jacks or better also a possibility.
The button calls his last 5.70. It takes a stronger hand to call, right? So Queens or better, maybe even a poorly played hand like A/10s, J/10, 9/10 or some weird two-pair hand like 4/6 suited?
Middle position shows pocket 6s. It fits how he played the hand; try to win pre-flop, call with good odds when two people are in the pot, slow-play the probable winner, get it all in.
The button shows…well…uh…I missed his hand. Badly. Ah/3h/ He called off 100 big blinds with a pair of threes. No straight draw. No flush draw. Wow. Could he really think his threes were good here? The only hand he beats here is a King high bluff. Or pocket deuces. Wow.
UTG opens to .30 with 8.09In the hijack, I have Qc/Qd and elect to re-raise to 1.05. UTG calls and we take the flop heads up.
The flop is 7c/6d/Jh. I am probably way ahead, behind only pockets matching the board, Kings or Aces. I do not put much stock in the latter. He checks, I raise to 1.20 and he re-raises to 2.50.
Right here I should be done with the hand. A/J, K/J, Q/J are really the only hands I can beat. He is not bluffing here, he most likely hit this flop hard or has the feared over pair. There is an outside shot he has something like tens but is it worth getting involved?
My brain shuts down and I re-raise all in which he snap-calls with pocket jacks. Ouch. I got cleaned out, and deservedly so.
This is a huge hole in my game. Over pairs are nice...but not guaranteed. When I am ovbiously beat and drawing thin...LAY IT DOWN.
Thursday
Set it up
Decided to step down for a bit and play some 2/5. Started playing 2 tables with 2 bucks on each, on one table was down to 1.07 and on the other up to 2.27. On the table with 2.27 I open utg with a min-raise to .10 with pocket fives, hoping to see a cheap flop.
UTG+1 calls with 3.47, the button comes along with 11.06, the small blind completes with 3.08 and the four of us take the flop.
I like the 6c/Kd/5c. Someone playing a suited King or something like K/Q or K/J hit this, I will also probably get action from any flush draw. I am not particularly nervous about pocket Kings based on pre-flop action, and if someone has pocket 6s, I am getting stacked.
The sb checks, I continuation bet .25 cents, UTG+1 click-raises to .50, a fold, the small blind calls.
So now there is about 1,60 in the pot, I have 1.88 left and am probably ahead. I want to get it in while I have the lead and with this much interest, they are almost guaranteed to call. I re-pop all in.
The utg+1 flat calls it, then the small blind re-raises all in.
About this point I get the sinking feeling I am on the wrong end of set over set, and the other guy is most likely a flush draw, possible the OTHER set in a sick cooler, or maybe just a bad player sticking around with a weak King or 2 pair or even something goofy like an open ended straight draw.
UTG+1 calls…I am surprised to see the red pocket rockets, he mis-played them horribly. And the big blind is all in…with that goofy 7h/8d straight draw. I show my set and start hoping.
The turn is the 10c, the river the Jc. The Aces win the 1.51 side pot and my set pulls in 6.50. Nice….almost a triple up.
I almost quit for the night but decide to keep playing. It is a weird night where almost every raise I put in faces a monstrous re-raise so I tighten up for a while, win a couple pots, lose a couple and notice a few times I am folded to in the big blind so loosen up again.
After a while UTG open limps with 7., utg+ 1 and 2 call with 2.81 and 1.56, a fold, and in middle position I look down at As/Qh. Now, often I fold here, but this time I just sense weakness and think I can take the pot uncontested so I raise to .35. It is folded back to the last guy who called and he again flat-calls.
I start thinking about what he could have. Big pairs, big slick are out. It feels like a drawing hand that got big eyes at the size of the pot. Suited connectors, suited ace, small to medium pair…nothing bigger than 7s or 8s I think.
The flop is 9c/6h/4d, he checks, I bet .40 expecting to either take it down or face a re-raise all in. He flat calls it. I am confused. The turn is the 5h, he checks.
A lot of times people will pride-call the first bet, but fold to the second bet. He has .81 left, I bet .80 expecting him to fold…and he calls.
The river is the 2h, he bets his last penny. Having badly mis-read him and mis-played the hand, the bet is so ridiculous there is no way I am not calling it. I expect to see him turn over a straight or set of 6s or even something like A/9 and I am kicking myself for giving away 15 BB with A/Q…
Until he shows the 10d/Jc.
I have made some pretty bad plays…but his might top every bad play I have ever made. All he could beat was an 8 high bluff. Literally. And he stacked off with Jack high.
After a while I Have 6.87 and pick up Ac/Jc. I open to .15 in middle position, the big blind calls with 5. And we see the flop heads up. I have seen this guy betting huge with some pretty marginal holdings.
The flop is 4c/9s/6d. Probably missed up both. He takes his time, checks, I bet .25 expecting a call and bet on the turn. He almost runs out of time and then calls.
The turn is the Jd, he takes his time and checks. I bet .55 and he check-click raises. I believe he is on total air and have a choice. I am not folding here…but do I re-raise all in or flat call and see how the river looks?
Though I think he is loose and could have a hand as bad as 5/8, even loose, wild players can have something like pocket 4s. If the river is dangerous, I can fold there if he bets all in but I think he will check the river with a strong holding and bet with a weak one. If I go all in, he is calling here…and I am not sure the risk is worthwhile. After all, my hand is just top/top. I flat.
The river is the 4d. That actually hit’s a fair number of hands he could have…Q/4 suited+, and diamond suited hand, etc. At the same time….it misses a lot of hands, too.
He bets 1 buck into a pot of over three bucks. I think I have him but am not so sure that I am willing to put him all in so I flat call and he shows Js/Qh. I pull down a nice 4.69 pot with a pretty marginal hand.
I hover around between 8 and 9 bucks for a while, am thinking about quitting, and should have.
With 8.79 I pick up Qs/Qh. Middle position open limps with 4.66, the next seat raises to .30 with 1.36.
I see (and use) this move a lot…when I am middle or later and people have shown weakness, I widen my range and will re-raise with a pretty wide range expecting to take down the pot. Against a wide range like that, I want to get heads up, so I raise the pot, 1.02. Everyone folds except the raiser who re-raises all in. The .34 cents is an easy call.
Unfortunately, he had a legit hand…pocket kings, and when the flop brings another, I take a hit.
I play a couple more hands and end with more than a double up of what I put in, satisfied overall. In the same situation, I play the queens the same way…I trusted my reads all night, this time he had a better than expected hand. If he has a bigger stack and re-pops, I think I lay the Queens down so that tells me I am improving again.
UTG+1 calls with 3.47, the button comes along with 11.06, the small blind completes with 3.08 and the four of us take the flop.
I like the 6c/Kd/5c. Someone playing a suited King or something like K/Q or K/J hit this, I will also probably get action from any flush draw. I am not particularly nervous about pocket Kings based on pre-flop action, and if someone has pocket 6s, I am getting stacked.
The sb checks, I continuation bet .25 cents, UTG+1 click-raises to .50, a fold, the small blind calls.
So now there is about 1,60 in the pot, I have 1.88 left and am probably ahead. I want to get it in while I have the lead and with this much interest, they are almost guaranteed to call. I re-pop all in.
The utg+1 flat calls it, then the small blind re-raises all in.
About this point I get the sinking feeling I am on the wrong end of set over set, and the other guy is most likely a flush draw, possible the OTHER set in a sick cooler, or maybe just a bad player sticking around with a weak King or 2 pair or even something goofy like an open ended straight draw.
UTG+1 calls…I am surprised to see the red pocket rockets, he mis-played them horribly. And the big blind is all in…with that goofy 7h/8d straight draw. I show my set and start hoping.
The turn is the 10c, the river the Jc. The Aces win the 1.51 side pot and my set pulls in 6.50. Nice….almost a triple up.
I almost quit for the night but decide to keep playing. It is a weird night where almost every raise I put in faces a monstrous re-raise so I tighten up for a while, win a couple pots, lose a couple and notice a few times I am folded to in the big blind so loosen up again.
After a while UTG open limps with 7., utg+ 1 and 2 call with 2.81 and 1.56, a fold, and in middle position I look down at As/Qh. Now, often I fold here, but this time I just sense weakness and think I can take the pot uncontested so I raise to .35. It is folded back to the last guy who called and he again flat-calls.
I start thinking about what he could have. Big pairs, big slick are out. It feels like a drawing hand that got big eyes at the size of the pot. Suited connectors, suited ace, small to medium pair…nothing bigger than 7s or 8s I think.
The flop is 9c/6h/4d, he checks, I bet .40 expecting to either take it down or face a re-raise all in. He flat calls it. I am confused. The turn is the 5h, he checks.
A lot of times people will pride-call the first bet, but fold to the second bet. He has .81 left, I bet .80 expecting him to fold…and he calls.
The river is the 2h, he bets his last penny. Having badly mis-read him and mis-played the hand, the bet is so ridiculous there is no way I am not calling it. I expect to see him turn over a straight or set of 6s or even something like A/9 and I am kicking myself for giving away 15 BB with A/Q…
Until he shows the 10d/Jc.
I have made some pretty bad plays…but his might top every bad play I have ever made. All he could beat was an 8 high bluff. Literally. And he stacked off with Jack high.
After a while I Have 6.87 and pick up Ac/Jc. I open to .15 in middle position, the big blind calls with 5. And we see the flop heads up. I have seen this guy betting huge with some pretty marginal holdings.
The flop is 4c/9s/6d. Probably missed up both. He takes his time, checks, I bet .25 expecting a call and bet on the turn. He almost runs out of time and then calls.
The turn is the Jd, he takes his time and checks. I bet .55 and he check-click raises. I believe he is on total air and have a choice. I am not folding here…but do I re-raise all in or flat call and see how the river looks?
Though I think he is loose and could have a hand as bad as 5/8, even loose, wild players can have something like pocket 4s. If the river is dangerous, I can fold there if he bets all in but I think he will check the river with a strong holding and bet with a weak one. If I go all in, he is calling here…and I am not sure the risk is worthwhile. After all, my hand is just top/top. I flat.
The river is the 4d. That actually hit’s a fair number of hands he could have…Q/4 suited+, and diamond suited hand, etc. At the same time….it misses a lot of hands, too.
He bets 1 buck into a pot of over three bucks. I think I have him but am not so sure that I am willing to put him all in so I flat call and he shows Js/Qh. I pull down a nice 4.69 pot with a pretty marginal hand.
I hover around between 8 and 9 bucks for a while, am thinking about quitting, and should have.
With 8.79 I pick up Qs/Qh. Middle position open limps with 4.66, the next seat raises to .30 with 1.36.
I see (and use) this move a lot…when I am middle or later and people have shown weakness, I widen my range and will re-raise with a pretty wide range expecting to take down the pot. Against a wide range like that, I want to get heads up, so I raise the pot, 1.02. Everyone folds except the raiser who re-raises all in. The .34 cents is an easy call.
Unfortunately, he had a legit hand…pocket kings, and when the flop brings another, I take a hit.
I play a couple more hands and end with more than a double up of what I put in, satisfied overall. In the same situation, I play the queens the same way…I trusted my reads all night, this time he had a better than expected hand. If he has a bigger stack and re-pops, I think I lay the Queens down so that tells me I am improving again.
Wednesday
How did that turn out?
With 4.52, I pick up pocket jacks utg and open to .30 playing 5/10. The small blind calls with 8.62 and we take the flop heads up.
5s/6s/8s/ I am not overly fond of this flop. I may have just flopped dead to running Jacks. He checks, I bet .40, he click-raises to .80.
Okay, if he actually had the flush, he raises bigger than that. If he has a set I also expect a pot-size bet. This feels like a bluff, drawing hand, or even two over cards trying to pick off a bluff continuation bet with nothing that will fold a dangerous flop. I call.
The turn is the irrelevant 2d, he checks, I bet 1.20 expecting him to fold. He calls. I now think he has Something, but not a lot…maybe pockets bigger than 8, maybe a straight draw, maybe even something like A/Q with one of them being a spade.
The river is the Ah which hit’s a lot of hands he could have. I do not particularly like it, but am happy when he checks. I am not raising again because if I do, I have to lay it down to any re-raise, but there is some chance I can win a show-down if he has a flush draw worse than an ace, a pair worse than Jacks, or a missed straight draw.
He shows the 7c/5c and he shows a mix of a couple of the things I thought he might have…lower pair, missed straight draw.
I am really working hard on going with hand ranges instead of specific hands, and it is paying off quite a bit. I add over 2 bucks to my stack and am rolling.
With 7.02, I have been quiet for a while. UTG+1 I pick up pocket 8s. Sometimes I fold them here, this time I open for .30. Middle position re-raises to .90 with 9.75 and I have a choice.
This is a tough spot for me. When I do flop my set, I tend to struggle to get paid off. I am perhaps too aggressive. At the same time, every so often someone will stack off and the raise is therefore .60 for potentially 7.02...uf U have 3 bucks or so, I have to fold here, but this time I call.
I love the flop…8d/6d/2h. I have the absolute nuts at the moment. I decide to go for the check raise. He obliges by betting a stout .90.
I figure he has an over pair and is trying to bet off the flush draw or maybe has the flush draw himself. I can either flat it or charge him for the flush draw. I choose the latter approach and raise the pot, 4.65,
He comes over the top and it is all in 1.47 to call, an easy call. I have the nuts at the moment, if he is on the flush draw I have the re-draw to the boat, and if he has an over pair or lower set I have him drawing very thing.
The fist-pump auto call shows him with pocket Kings, the turn and river brick (well, okay…the river pairs the board giving me 8s full of sixes) and I have a 13.25 balance.
I have decided I have been playing too tight lately and been trying to open with a wider range of hands and even, on occasion, call a speculative hand or two. So when utg+2 limps with 8.01, I limp behind with js/10s and 14.07. The big blind checks with 3.45 and we take the flop.
One reason people love to play J/10 is because any straight it hits, it is the nut straight so long as both cards are used. So when the flop is Kc/Qs/9h I am loving it. I flopped the nuts and very few cards can take it away. If someone flopped a set the chips are getting shipped, and otherwise only runner-runner can beat me.
The big blind checks, utg+2 min-raises. I have a choice to make. Big blind, I assume he hit nothing and is done with the hand. I have no idea whether the early limper hit anything or not. Should I call or raise?
I have the nuts and want the big blind to come along if at all possible. Plenty of time to raise on the turn if he folds so I flat it and the big blind indeed comes along.
The turn is the 5c and they both check. I should probably check here, but I do have 2 clubs on the board, the big blind over called, and I might get a call so I lead out for .30, about half the pot. The big blind folds, UTG+2 calls.
The river is the 8h, he checks. How much to bet? I have to decide between half pot, pot size, or over bet.
He open limped, under bet the flop, check-called the turn. He has at best a marginal hand so I doubt he will call a very big bet. I elect to bet half the pot and he folds.
I do not know if I would have gotten more action had I checked the turn or not…I doubt it. I think I like the line I took here as it built a pot that might have made it worth calling if he has something like K/10, A/9 type hands. In the end I flop a big hand and take a modest pot.
I am now faced with a tough decision. I have worked my way from 4 bucks up to about 15. With a big stack like that I can call more re-raises with speculative hands, open pots more aggressively...but I can also undo hours of good play with one silly call or ill-timed bluff or draw-chasing.
Also, playing Rush, I find I do better when I play more but shorter sessions...I tend to make better decisions. So I decide to pack it in for a while and go play some X-box.
5s/6s/8s/ I am not overly fond of this flop. I may have just flopped dead to running Jacks. He checks, I bet .40, he click-raises to .80.
Okay, if he actually had the flush, he raises bigger than that. If he has a set I also expect a pot-size bet. This feels like a bluff, drawing hand, or even two over cards trying to pick off a bluff continuation bet with nothing that will fold a dangerous flop. I call.
The turn is the irrelevant 2d, he checks, I bet 1.20 expecting him to fold. He calls. I now think he has Something, but not a lot…maybe pockets bigger than 8, maybe a straight draw, maybe even something like A/Q with one of them being a spade.
The river is the Ah which hit’s a lot of hands he could have. I do not particularly like it, but am happy when he checks. I am not raising again because if I do, I have to lay it down to any re-raise, but there is some chance I can win a show-down if he has a flush draw worse than an ace, a pair worse than Jacks, or a missed straight draw.
He shows the 7c/5c and he shows a mix of a couple of the things I thought he might have…lower pair, missed straight draw.
I am really working hard on going with hand ranges instead of specific hands, and it is paying off quite a bit. I add over 2 bucks to my stack and am rolling.
With 7.02, I have been quiet for a while. UTG+1 I pick up pocket 8s. Sometimes I fold them here, this time I open for .30. Middle position re-raises to .90 with 9.75 and I have a choice.
This is a tough spot for me. When I do flop my set, I tend to struggle to get paid off. I am perhaps too aggressive. At the same time, every so often someone will stack off and the raise is therefore .60 for potentially 7.02...uf U have 3 bucks or so, I have to fold here, but this time I call.
I love the flop…8d/6d/2h. I have the absolute nuts at the moment. I decide to go for the check raise. He obliges by betting a stout .90.
I figure he has an over pair and is trying to bet off the flush draw or maybe has the flush draw himself. I can either flat it or charge him for the flush draw. I choose the latter approach and raise the pot, 4.65,
He comes over the top and it is all in 1.47 to call, an easy call. I have the nuts at the moment, if he is on the flush draw I have the re-draw to the boat, and if he has an over pair or lower set I have him drawing very thing.
The fist-pump auto call shows him with pocket Kings, the turn and river brick (well, okay…the river pairs the board giving me 8s full of sixes) and I have a 13.25 balance.
I have decided I have been playing too tight lately and been trying to open with a wider range of hands and even, on occasion, call a speculative hand or two. So when utg+2 limps with 8.01, I limp behind with js/10s and 14.07. The big blind checks with 3.45 and we take the flop.
One reason people love to play J/10 is because any straight it hits, it is the nut straight so long as both cards are used. So when the flop is Kc/Qs/9h I am loving it. I flopped the nuts and very few cards can take it away. If someone flopped a set the chips are getting shipped, and otherwise only runner-runner can beat me.
The big blind checks, utg+2 min-raises. I have a choice to make. Big blind, I assume he hit nothing and is done with the hand. I have no idea whether the early limper hit anything or not. Should I call or raise?
I have the nuts and want the big blind to come along if at all possible. Plenty of time to raise on the turn if he folds so I flat it and the big blind indeed comes along.
The turn is the 5c and they both check. I should probably check here, but I do have 2 clubs on the board, the big blind over called, and I might get a call so I lead out for .30, about half the pot. The big blind folds, UTG+2 calls.
The river is the 8h, he checks. How much to bet? I have to decide between half pot, pot size, or over bet.
He open limped, under bet the flop, check-called the turn. He has at best a marginal hand so I doubt he will call a very big bet. I elect to bet half the pot and he folds.
I do not know if I would have gotten more action had I checked the turn or not…I doubt it. I think I like the line I took here as it built a pot that might have made it worth calling if he has something like K/10, A/9 type hands. In the end I flop a big hand and take a modest pot.
I am now faced with a tough decision. I have worked my way from 4 bucks up to about 15. With a big stack like that I can call more re-raises with speculative hands, open pots more aggressively...but I can also undo hours of good play with one silly call or ill-timed bluff or draw-chasing.
Also, playing Rush, I find I do better when I play more but shorter sessions...I tend to make better decisions. So I decide to pack it in for a while and go play some X-box.
Tuesday
Oops
With 4.83 I get a bit aggressive and open to .30 from utg+1 with pocket sevens. Middle position calls with 10.73, the small blind and big blind also call with 1.51 and 16.30.
The flop is marginally good with the 4c/3d/6c, but I am not super excited. With 3 callers, there is a good chance someone has a better pocket pair, probably something between 8s and jacks.
There is also a chance someone just setted up and club draws are possible. So I am far from having the nuts. I pretty much want to end this hand here and now as I have 3 probable outs if I am behind…the sixes…and a few more outs that are not “clean” outs…the sevens, for example.
The small blind leads out for .40 into a pot of over 1.20. I re-pop to 2.40, the middle position folds and the small blind calls all in for his last .81.
I figure he has to have a set, over pair or the flush draw. I would be surprised, but only marginally, to see something like a 5/6 suited. I am wrong.
He has Kh/8s. He over called with that garbage, raised into three people and called a strong re-raise on a gut-shot runner-runner straight draw. I need to be in more hands with him.
I hit the straight on the turn, the board pairs on the river, I win the hand.
The very next hand, with 6.70, I pick up pocket 8s in the small blind and am looking forward to playing another pocket when utg+3, whom I just touched up on his horrible play, with 4.00, opens to 1.10.
I very nearly call….but even complete tools can pick up a hand, and although this looks like an idiotic tilt raise from a bad player, I know he will call with anything and can easily suck out. Not worth risking 4 bucks on a pair of eights. I fold.
Later, after chasing a nut flush draw and folding to big river bet, I have 5.03. UTG+2 opens to .20, I re-raise to .75 with two black jacks, and he calls with 10.07.
I am not too happy about the call. He could have a suited Ace, a medium pair, A/K, all sorts of hands here. Queens and Kings also believable.
The flop is 7d/5c/Ks. He checks.
If I check here, about 90% of the time they bet the pot on the turn, and unless it is a Jack I have to fold since they could have hit the King and been trapping and I am a poor player still. So it behooves me to bet here.
I lead out for .90 cents, he does me no favors and calls. Or maybe he does. I guess in retrospect if he has something like A/K, K/Q, K/J type hands he probably re-raises here.
Same with a set, though there is always the possibility he has some bizarre draw…if he has a 6/8 or something like that. So it is possible he has a medium pair, 8s or better, and wants to play a small pot.
The turn is the Jh and he checks. A check might be wise here, but in the heat of the moment I over-emphasize the possibility of A/K and bet. He folds.
On the one hand, I possibly lost a chance to have him pick up enough to bluff with on the river. The only draws he has that beat me are horribly played A/Q or A/10, the aforementioned 6/8 or some equally long-shot draw.
On the other hand…I won over 1.60 with no risk…
Later, I make a bizarre call with King high that loses a fair amount, and then lose the rest with top pair, top kicker to flopped trip 10s with someone who stayed in against a raise and call with 10/4, and quit having been up to about 8 bucks at one point and ending with nada.
Mostly because of poor play.
I need to be aware of what I am doing more often instead of giving back all my progress with bonehead plays.
The flop is marginally good with the 4c/3d/6c, but I am not super excited. With 3 callers, there is a good chance someone has a better pocket pair, probably something between 8s and jacks.
There is also a chance someone just setted up and club draws are possible. So I am far from having the nuts. I pretty much want to end this hand here and now as I have 3 probable outs if I am behind…the sixes…and a few more outs that are not “clean” outs…the sevens, for example.
The small blind leads out for .40 into a pot of over 1.20. I re-pop to 2.40, the middle position folds and the small blind calls all in for his last .81.
I figure he has to have a set, over pair or the flush draw. I would be surprised, but only marginally, to see something like a 5/6 suited. I am wrong.
He has Kh/8s. He over called with that garbage, raised into three people and called a strong re-raise on a gut-shot runner-runner straight draw. I need to be in more hands with him.
I hit the straight on the turn, the board pairs on the river, I win the hand.
The very next hand, with 6.70, I pick up pocket 8s in the small blind and am looking forward to playing another pocket when utg+3, whom I just touched up on his horrible play, with 4.00, opens to 1.10.
I very nearly call….but even complete tools can pick up a hand, and although this looks like an idiotic tilt raise from a bad player, I know he will call with anything and can easily suck out. Not worth risking 4 bucks on a pair of eights. I fold.
Later, after chasing a nut flush draw and folding to big river bet, I have 5.03. UTG+2 opens to .20, I re-raise to .75 with two black jacks, and he calls with 10.07.
I am not too happy about the call. He could have a suited Ace, a medium pair, A/K, all sorts of hands here. Queens and Kings also believable.
The flop is 7d/5c/Ks. He checks.
If I check here, about 90% of the time they bet the pot on the turn, and unless it is a Jack I have to fold since they could have hit the King and been trapping and I am a poor player still. So it behooves me to bet here.
I lead out for .90 cents, he does me no favors and calls. Or maybe he does. I guess in retrospect if he has something like A/K, K/Q, K/J type hands he probably re-raises here.
Same with a set, though there is always the possibility he has some bizarre draw…if he has a 6/8 or something like that. So it is possible he has a medium pair, 8s or better, and wants to play a small pot.
The turn is the Jh and he checks. A check might be wise here, but in the heat of the moment I over-emphasize the possibility of A/K and bet. He folds.
On the one hand, I possibly lost a chance to have him pick up enough to bluff with on the river. The only draws he has that beat me are horribly played A/Q or A/10, the aforementioned 6/8 or some equally long-shot draw.
On the other hand…I won over 1.60 with no risk…
Later, I make a bizarre call with King high that loses a fair amount, and then lose the rest with top pair, top kicker to flopped trip 10s with someone who stayed in against a raise and call with 10/4, and quit having been up to about 8 bucks at one point and ending with nada.
Mostly because of poor play.
I need to be aware of what I am doing more often instead of giving back all my progress with bonehead plays.
Monday
Hand reading exercises
UTG opens to .20 with 5.32, a fold, a call with 12.04 and I find myself on the button with Ac/9c. Okay, I have a drawing hand, position, and will likely get another caller from the big blind. I elect to call with 3.70, then both blinds disappoint me by folding.
The flop is 9d, 3h, 2c. With the min-raise, the utg has a wider range than usual…A/10+, K/J+, any suited ace or king, any pair. The call represents more or less the same range.
I figure to have the best hand with top pair, top kicker and when they both check, the bet is mandatory. With about .70 cents in there, I lead out for .40. UTG calls, middle folds.
So I figure he probably has 2 overs, maybe even something like A/4 or A/5. He checks the 7h turn, I lead out for .80 and he again calls.
The river is the 5d and he checks. Let’s see…he min-raised utg, check-called innocuous flops and turns and checked the river. What fits that?
An Ace that missed, 2 over cards, pocket 4s, pocket 6s or slow-playing a set or over-pair. I do pretty well against that range so I go ahead and bet again.
He folds, so I really have no idea if I was right or not. But with a marginal hand, I am happy with that pot.
In middle position I open to .30 with pocket Aces. I am happy when the button calls with 10 and then the big blind also calls with 10.73.
If there have to be two other players, I am happy with the 6c/4c/4h flop. Probably missed everyone except a draw. I want to take down the pot and lead out for .95, getting the button to call and the big blind to fold.
Over pair or flush draw, slightly weighted toward the flush draw, with two big cards also a possibility. The turn is the 10d, I have 2.94 left and the pot means I am playing this to the river, so I shove my last 2.94 which he calls.
Really, the main thing I am afraid of here is pocket 10s, but I think maybe A/10c, A/x clubs are likely, with pockets 7 through 9s equally likely. Less likely but possible are jacks, queens or kings.
He flips up pocket 7s, my aces hold up and I double up. Nice, my Aces held.
With 7.27 I open to .30 from utg+2. The big blind is my only customer, with 10 even.
The flop is 5c/4d/5s, he checks, and something like 99.999% of the time, I am betting here regardless of what I have. I bet .40 which he snap-calls.
The turn is the Qs and we both check. An unusual move for me as I almost always bet here. The river is the 9c, he leads out for .40.
Okay, so he called out of position pre-flop, check-called the flop, checked the turn, and then under-bet the river. I am thinking marginal hand here. Maybe a dry ace, medium pair, maybe even A/K or A/Q type hands.
Also possible but less likely are pocket 4s or pocket 9s. I re-raise to 1.40, takes his time and calls with pocket 7s. My pocket queens boated up and take down the pot.
UTG+1, with 4.29, takes time and then click-raises. Middle position, with 17.90, calls, the big blind also calls with 7.22 and they see the flop three handed.
The flop is the 5s/6c/8d, it is checked around. The turn is the 7d.
Big Blind raises to .20, about 1/3rd the pot. UTG folds, mp bumps it to 1.25.
This is a frequent reaction to weak, defensive bets like that of the big blind and may or may not mean he has a hand. As the moment the 9/10 is the nuts, but there are 2 flush draws, the way the hand has played any set is possible and something like pocket 9s or even pocket 4s is also a distinct possibility.
BB re-pops to 2.30, indicating a hand, and mp re-re-re-raises to 2.20, which the button calls.
At this point I am thinking set over set, set over 2 pair, two pair versus straight are the most likely hands.
The river is the 10d, bb hesitates, then bets 1.0, mp raises to 2.20 and there is a call.
Flush is a possibility, but remote. I think these are two made hands and think my turn conjecture is pretty good.
Big blind shows Ks/4s…the ignorant end of the straight. The mp shows Ac/9c and takes the pot with the higher straight.
I really do not like the play on this hand at all. While the K/4s was almost the same hand as pocket 4s at that point in the hand, all the re-raising without shoving screamed “hand that can be beat trying to scare away better hand”.
Worse, he was betting into a made hand. Not worth getting involved with the bottom end of a straight, the best he could hope for was something like a set where the board did not pair.
But I have seen worse plays…cut-off open limps with 16.17, small blind completes with 7.58 and the big blind checks with 7.86.
The flop is 10d/4d/3s, it is checked around. The turn is the qd, the sb checks, big blind bets .30 (pot size bet) and everyone calls.
River is the 8c, the small blind leads out for 1.20, the big blind calls, the cut-off folds.
The small blind shows pocket aces and loses to the big blind’s king high flush…k/7 was his holding.
So the desire to get action on aces led him to let everyone see a cheap flop, he bet nothing when he was ahead, and then called and bet when he was behind. How did that work out for him?
Yes, if he raises pre-flop he probably gets a fold from the big blind…but he does not lose 16 blinds on the hand and makes 3. That is a 19 blind swing because he tried to trap, then did not bet to charge the draws.
I have to constantly remind myself...while there are players on this level capable of tricky plays (i.e. the pocket rockets dude), there are far more people against whom it should be a simple game; bet when I have the goods, fold the rest of the time.
The flop is 9d, 3h, 2c. With the min-raise, the utg has a wider range than usual…A/10+, K/J+, any suited ace or king, any pair. The call represents more or less the same range.
I figure to have the best hand with top pair, top kicker and when they both check, the bet is mandatory. With about .70 cents in there, I lead out for .40. UTG calls, middle folds.
So I figure he probably has 2 overs, maybe even something like A/4 or A/5. He checks the 7h turn, I lead out for .80 and he again calls.
The river is the 5d and he checks. Let’s see…he min-raised utg, check-called innocuous flops and turns and checked the river. What fits that?
An Ace that missed, 2 over cards, pocket 4s, pocket 6s or slow-playing a set or over-pair. I do pretty well against that range so I go ahead and bet again.
He folds, so I really have no idea if I was right or not. But with a marginal hand, I am happy with that pot.
In middle position I open to .30 with pocket Aces. I am happy when the button calls with 10 and then the big blind also calls with 10.73.
If there have to be two other players, I am happy with the 6c/4c/4h flop. Probably missed everyone except a draw. I want to take down the pot and lead out for .95, getting the button to call and the big blind to fold.
Over pair or flush draw, slightly weighted toward the flush draw, with two big cards also a possibility. The turn is the 10d, I have 2.94 left and the pot means I am playing this to the river, so I shove my last 2.94 which he calls.
Really, the main thing I am afraid of here is pocket 10s, but I think maybe A/10c, A/x clubs are likely, with pockets 7 through 9s equally likely. Less likely but possible are jacks, queens or kings.
He flips up pocket 7s, my aces hold up and I double up. Nice, my Aces held.
With 7.27 I open to .30 from utg+2. The big blind is my only customer, with 10 even.
The flop is 5c/4d/5s, he checks, and something like 99.999% of the time, I am betting here regardless of what I have. I bet .40 which he snap-calls.
The turn is the Qs and we both check. An unusual move for me as I almost always bet here. The river is the 9c, he leads out for .40.
Okay, so he called out of position pre-flop, check-called the flop, checked the turn, and then under-bet the river. I am thinking marginal hand here. Maybe a dry ace, medium pair, maybe even A/K or A/Q type hands.
Also possible but less likely are pocket 4s or pocket 9s. I re-raise to 1.40, takes his time and calls with pocket 7s. My pocket queens boated up and take down the pot.
UTG+1, with 4.29, takes time and then click-raises. Middle position, with 17.90, calls, the big blind also calls with 7.22 and they see the flop three handed.
The flop is the 5s/6c/8d, it is checked around. The turn is the 7d.
Big Blind raises to .20, about 1/3rd the pot. UTG folds, mp bumps it to 1.25.
This is a frequent reaction to weak, defensive bets like that of the big blind and may or may not mean he has a hand. As the moment the 9/10 is the nuts, but there are 2 flush draws, the way the hand has played any set is possible and something like pocket 9s or even pocket 4s is also a distinct possibility.
BB re-pops to 2.30, indicating a hand, and mp re-re-re-raises to 2.20, which the button calls.
At this point I am thinking set over set, set over 2 pair, two pair versus straight are the most likely hands.
The river is the 10d, bb hesitates, then bets 1.0, mp raises to 2.20 and there is a call.
Flush is a possibility, but remote. I think these are two made hands and think my turn conjecture is pretty good.
Big blind shows Ks/4s…the ignorant end of the straight. The mp shows Ac/9c and takes the pot with the higher straight.
I really do not like the play on this hand at all. While the K/4s was almost the same hand as pocket 4s at that point in the hand, all the re-raising without shoving screamed “hand that can be beat trying to scare away better hand”.
Worse, he was betting into a made hand. Not worth getting involved with the bottom end of a straight, the best he could hope for was something like a set where the board did not pair.
But I have seen worse plays…cut-off open limps with 16.17, small blind completes with 7.58 and the big blind checks with 7.86.
The flop is 10d/4d/3s, it is checked around. The turn is the qd, the sb checks, big blind bets .30 (pot size bet) and everyone calls.
River is the 8c, the small blind leads out for 1.20, the big blind calls, the cut-off folds.
The small blind shows pocket aces and loses to the big blind’s king high flush…k/7 was his holding.
So the desire to get action on aces led him to let everyone see a cheap flop, he bet nothing when he was ahead, and then called and bet when he was behind. How did that work out for him?
Yes, if he raises pre-flop he probably gets a fold from the big blind…but he does not lose 16 blinds on the hand and makes 3. That is a 19 blind swing because he tried to trap, then did not bet to charge the draws.
I have to constantly remind myself...while there are players on this level capable of tricky plays (i.e. the pocket rockets dude), there are far more people against whom it should be a simple game; bet when I have the goods, fold the rest of the time.
Sunday
Slowplaying for the win
I seldom slow-play because it seems to bit me every time. Every so often, though, I will have the absolute nuts and decide to.
Playing 2/5 UTG limps with 2.79, I call from the next seat with 9h/9c and the big blind checks with 1.44. The flop is perfect…3c/9s/7d. They check and, leery of chasing them away, I elect to slow-play.
The turn is the 6d, the bb checks, utg raises to .10. I think about re-raising, but since the only draw are the unlikely flush and the unlikely straight, I call hoping the bb comes along. He does not.
The river is the 4d, UTG again bets .10, I raise to .40 with my set, he calls…with 2d/5d and wins with a 7 high flush.
Yeah, slow-playing is a GREAT option for me. Guess I should have raised the turn, but at the time my thought process seemed logical. Instead I let him pick the betting amount and draw to his hand with infinite odds.
Later, I open from the button with Ah/Qu to .15 with 3.58 behind, the big blind calls with 3.30 and we watch the 2c/9s/3c fop. Misses most hands he could reasonably have, he bets a nickel anyway, I raise to .25, he calls.
The turn is the 5s, he bets a nickel again. It feels like he is betting a draw of some sort and trying to keep the pot small by controlling the bet size. A/x c, maybe a suited 4/5 make some sort of sense. Or maybe something goofy like K/3.
I bump it to .50, he actually asks for time bank help, then eventually calls.
The river is good and bad…Qd. No draws hit, I am behind a set or a weird two pair hand like Q/9, 9/5. Overall, I think I am probably ahead.
He leads out for .10. I think for a while, should I raise or call. If I raise, I am folding to an all-in shove, the pot has about 1.69 in it…I have some show-down value with top pair, top kicker.
If I raise, he probably folds everything I beat, calls with everything that beats me, and raises with some of each. I meekly call and watch him flip up Qc/10c.
So I was right about the flush draw, and end up winning a pot I led beginning to end.
Playing 2/5 UTG limps with 2.79, I call from the next seat with 9h/9c and the big blind checks with 1.44. The flop is perfect…3c/9s/7d. They check and, leery of chasing them away, I elect to slow-play.
The turn is the 6d, the bb checks, utg raises to .10. I think about re-raising, but since the only draw are the unlikely flush and the unlikely straight, I call hoping the bb comes along. He does not.
The river is the 4d, UTG again bets .10, I raise to .40 with my set, he calls…with 2d/5d and wins with a 7 high flush.
Yeah, slow-playing is a GREAT option for me. Guess I should have raised the turn, but at the time my thought process seemed logical. Instead I let him pick the betting amount and draw to his hand with infinite odds.
Later, I open from the button with Ah/Qu to .15 with 3.58 behind, the big blind calls with 3.30 and we watch the 2c/9s/3c fop. Misses most hands he could reasonably have, he bets a nickel anyway, I raise to .25, he calls.
The turn is the 5s, he bets a nickel again. It feels like he is betting a draw of some sort and trying to keep the pot small by controlling the bet size. A/x c, maybe a suited 4/5 make some sort of sense. Or maybe something goofy like K/3.
I bump it to .50, he actually asks for time bank help, then eventually calls.
The river is good and bad…Qd. No draws hit, I am behind a set or a weird two pair hand like Q/9, 9/5. Overall, I think I am probably ahead.
He leads out for .10. I think for a while, should I raise or call. If I raise, I am folding to an all-in shove, the pot has about 1.69 in it…I have some show-down value with top pair, top kicker.
If I raise, he probably folds everything I beat, calls with everything that beats me, and raises with some of each. I meekly call and watch him flip up Qc/10c.
So I was right about the flush draw, and end up winning a pot I led beginning to end.
Saturday
Hand Reading school
I notice this next hand went to show-down, so am looking at it as an exercise in hand-reading skills.
The button limps with 18.18, I fold the Qc/7c, the big blind checks with 15.78.
The button could be trapping with Aces or Kings hoping to get raised, or he could have something like a j/10, suited ace, small pocket pair, maybe a weak ace…and I going to say maybe even a suited Jack type hand. The big blind could have…well…anything.
They both check the 9h/Kh/4c flop. The turn is the Qh.
The big blind leads out with a pot size bet of .20. He could have the unlikely flush, though it is more likely he has the 9 or 4 and wanted to see what the button would do.
The button click-raises. Okay, that could be anything…flush trying to get a re-re-raise, a set, a pair, or even someone thinking the big blind is stealing.
The big blind then re-pops with yet another min-raise which the button flat calls.
So I am thinking we have a couple of marginal hands here or a good but easily beatable hand.
The river really changes nothing, the 3c.
The big blind leads out for .90 cents which the button flat calls. I expect to see maybe 2 pair like a Q/9, maybe Q4 type thing versus a small flush, maybe a pair of queens or something like that.
Or not. The big blind had pocket Aces, the button had Qs/10h. So I was right about the button, wrong about the big blind.
I tighten up quite a bit, then notice people are folding a lot. I see an early middle position guy limp with 7.74, I have Kc/Jd on the button and raise to .40 expecting a series of folds.
My plan goes awry when the small blind re-pops to 1.00 and the original limper calls. I actually play smart and toss my marginal hand into the muck.
With about 2.50 in the pot, they both check the 5s/4d/5h flop. Fair enough…big blind looks like A/K maybe…or maybe just making a move. Some sort of drawing hand for middle position.
Turn is the 9d and the small blind leads out for 1.20. Same sorts of hands as before, the button is playing this more like a draw. At this point I revise my estimate to maybe suited connectors, probably hearts.
The river is the Qs, a dangerous card for a medium pair. The small blind takes his time, then bets 2 bucks into a pot of 4.58…and the mp folds.
Time goes on, I fold lots of hands and am on life support with Ac/8c. The cut-off opens to .20 with 16.14. I am in the small blind with a hand I routinely fold even when I have enough to make it worthwhile from an odds standpoint.
This time I call for who knows what reason. Actually, I know exactly the reason. I decided to take a shot when it would not hurt bad if I missed the draw.
The problem with chasing draws is all too many people…like myself…increase the bet size on each street. So it quickly gets expensive.
Lets say I am the aggressor and open to .30 with a suited ace. I flop two to the flush so I bet…I will put in about half the pot, but more than my pre-flop, so lets say .40 cents. I am already into it for .70 and now there is a buck and a half or so. I miss the turn, bet half the pot, .75 cents…he re-raises the same .75 so I call with excellent odds, but miss on the river.
I put in 2.25 and missed my draw. I will walk away satisfied because for the most part I controlled the betting (except the turn) and will play it again the same way the next time.
All too often if I do not bet the flop or turn I face pot-sized bets instead, which is why I prefer betting; I get the fold equity and control the pot size.
But of course, even if I flop the flush draw, I am only going to hit it one in three times. So lets say I miss twice and put in 2.25 the third time…which means I need to WIN 7.75 just to break even…which means the POT needs to be 10 bucks if I JUST put in the 2.25 on the time I win.
So I usually only play for flushes in very specific circumstances; several people have entered the pot cheaply, I am in late position and can enter for a raise with an above average suited Ace or similar circumstances where I either flop with excellent pot odds or move on.
It is one of the few draws I demand better than accurate odds to play.
But here I am low on coin with a chance to double up and decide to play.
So I flat his raise, the big blind folds and with .50 in the pot we see the flop heads up.
The flop is pretty good…7s/9s/6c. I missed the flush but flopped a straight draw. No need to get too crazy, though so I check. He bets .30 and I flat it.
Turn is the 5d…I hit my draw. I check, he bets .90, I pop all in for my last 1.70. He calls.
And turns up 8/J. Great, split pot. Except the river is the 10s and I lose to his Jack high straight.
UTG, with 13.82, opens to .30 after taking their time. Middle position calls with 14.99 as does the button with 10.22.
UTG I generally give credit for a pretty good hand….10/10+, A/x suited, A/J o, in some cases suited connectors or K/q, though I weight it pretty heavily towards type one hands.
Medium position is getting into medium pairs, say fives or better, plus the above hands and maybe something like A/10. Button is a much wider array, though with a raise and call, I might tighten the list a bit.
The flop is 3s/5h/qc. UTG checks. Jacks or worse, a missed draw, or a big hand like queens.
Medium position raises to .40, I tentatively think A/Q, K/Q, pocket 5s or pocket threes, subject to revision.
The button re-pops to 1.20. I tend heavily to think A/Q or pockets that match or beat the board.
UTG calls which mystifies me. I would have thought a re-raise if he hit or a fold if he missed. A call is unexpected as there are no reasonable draws here. Middle also calls.
Now there is about 4.50 in the pot and three interested parties. The turn is the 8c and utg and mp check.
The button leads out for better than a pot-size bet, 5 bucks. He has to have a big hand, I lean heavily towards a set. Both other players call…top/top? 2 pair? A worse set? Or maybe we have set over set.
The river is the King of clubs. UTG fires out his last 7.32. I am thinking A/K or, more likely, pocket Kings with the way the hand played out. Both other players call. Got to be a set and either something like A/Q or a set?
UTG shows pocket queens so I was pretty close. The button shows…3h/8h? What? That is horrible. He over-called against utg and middle position with an 8 high flush draw?
Nearly as bad is the over-all winner, the middle position who shows the Ac/2c.
He called based on a flush draw, fair enough. He then called with a gut-shot, picked up a flush draw on the turn and rivered the nuts. He played worse than I have in weeks and got paid off huge, 36.01.
The utg had a pretty safe board to slow-play and it STILL bit him. I feel for the guy. He flopped the absolute nuts, there were no reasonable draws, he got bet into by someone drawing all but dead, got called by someone drawing super thin…and still got coolered.By the same token, I read exactly one hand anywhere near correctly…UTG. The others had much worse hands than I gave them credit for.
So a couple hands where, as a neutral observer, I had some decidedly mixed results on figuring out what they had. People are playing far looser than I credit, and I need to take that into account more often.
And work on figuring out hands better.
The button limps with 18.18, I fold the Qc/7c, the big blind checks with 15.78.
The button could be trapping with Aces or Kings hoping to get raised, or he could have something like a j/10, suited ace, small pocket pair, maybe a weak ace…and I going to say maybe even a suited Jack type hand. The big blind could have…well…anything.
They both check the 9h/Kh/4c flop. The turn is the Qh.
The big blind leads out with a pot size bet of .20. He could have the unlikely flush, though it is more likely he has the 9 or 4 and wanted to see what the button would do.
The button click-raises. Okay, that could be anything…flush trying to get a re-re-raise, a set, a pair, or even someone thinking the big blind is stealing.
The big blind then re-pops with yet another min-raise which the button flat calls.
So I am thinking we have a couple of marginal hands here or a good but easily beatable hand.
The river really changes nothing, the 3c.
The big blind leads out for .90 cents which the button flat calls. I expect to see maybe 2 pair like a Q/9, maybe Q4 type thing versus a small flush, maybe a pair of queens or something like that.
Or not. The big blind had pocket Aces, the button had Qs/10h. So I was right about the button, wrong about the big blind.
I tighten up quite a bit, then notice people are folding a lot. I see an early middle position guy limp with 7.74, I have Kc/Jd on the button and raise to .40 expecting a series of folds.
My plan goes awry when the small blind re-pops to 1.00 and the original limper calls. I actually play smart and toss my marginal hand into the muck.
With about 2.50 in the pot, they both check the 5s/4d/5h flop. Fair enough…big blind looks like A/K maybe…or maybe just making a move. Some sort of drawing hand for middle position.
Turn is the 9d and the small blind leads out for 1.20. Same sorts of hands as before, the button is playing this more like a draw. At this point I revise my estimate to maybe suited connectors, probably hearts.
The river is the Qs, a dangerous card for a medium pair. The small blind takes his time, then bets 2 bucks into a pot of 4.58…and the mp folds.
Time goes on, I fold lots of hands and am on life support with Ac/8c. The cut-off opens to .20 with 16.14. I am in the small blind with a hand I routinely fold even when I have enough to make it worthwhile from an odds standpoint.
This time I call for who knows what reason. Actually, I know exactly the reason. I decided to take a shot when it would not hurt bad if I missed the draw.
The problem with chasing draws is all too many people…like myself…increase the bet size on each street. So it quickly gets expensive.
Lets say I am the aggressor and open to .30 with a suited ace. I flop two to the flush so I bet…I will put in about half the pot, but more than my pre-flop, so lets say .40 cents. I am already into it for .70 and now there is a buck and a half or so. I miss the turn, bet half the pot, .75 cents…he re-raises the same .75 so I call with excellent odds, but miss on the river.
I put in 2.25 and missed my draw. I will walk away satisfied because for the most part I controlled the betting (except the turn) and will play it again the same way the next time.
All too often if I do not bet the flop or turn I face pot-sized bets instead, which is why I prefer betting; I get the fold equity and control the pot size.
But of course, even if I flop the flush draw, I am only going to hit it one in three times. So lets say I miss twice and put in 2.25 the third time…which means I need to WIN 7.75 just to break even…which means the POT needs to be 10 bucks if I JUST put in the 2.25 on the time I win.
So I usually only play for flushes in very specific circumstances; several people have entered the pot cheaply, I am in late position and can enter for a raise with an above average suited Ace or similar circumstances where I either flop with excellent pot odds or move on.
It is one of the few draws I demand better than accurate odds to play.
But here I am low on coin with a chance to double up and decide to play.
So I flat his raise, the big blind folds and with .50 in the pot we see the flop heads up.
The flop is pretty good…7s/9s/6c. I missed the flush but flopped a straight draw. No need to get too crazy, though so I check. He bets .30 and I flat it.
Turn is the 5d…I hit my draw. I check, he bets .90, I pop all in for my last 1.70. He calls.
And turns up 8/J. Great, split pot. Except the river is the 10s and I lose to his Jack high straight.
UTG, with 13.82, opens to .30 after taking their time. Middle position calls with 14.99 as does the button with 10.22.
UTG I generally give credit for a pretty good hand….10/10+, A/x suited, A/J o, in some cases suited connectors or K/q, though I weight it pretty heavily towards type one hands.
Medium position is getting into medium pairs, say fives or better, plus the above hands and maybe something like A/10. Button is a much wider array, though with a raise and call, I might tighten the list a bit.
The flop is 3s/5h/qc. UTG checks. Jacks or worse, a missed draw, or a big hand like queens.
Medium position raises to .40, I tentatively think A/Q, K/Q, pocket 5s or pocket threes, subject to revision.
The button re-pops to 1.20. I tend heavily to think A/Q or pockets that match or beat the board.
UTG calls which mystifies me. I would have thought a re-raise if he hit or a fold if he missed. A call is unexpected as there are no reasonable draws here. Middle also calls.
Now there is about 4.50 in the pot and three interested parties. The turn is the 8c and utg and mp check.
The button leads out for better than a pot-size bet, 5 bucks. He has to have a big hand, I lean heavily towards a set. Both other players call…top/top? 2 pair? A worse set? Or maybe we have set over set.
The river is the King of clubs. UTG fires out his last 7.32. I am thinking A/K or, more likely, pocket Kings with the way the hand played out. Both other players call. Got to be a set and either something like A/Q or a set?
UTG shows pocket queens so I was pretty close. The button shows…3h/8h? What? That is horrible. He over-called against utg and middle position with an 8 high flush draw?
Nearly as bad is the over-all winner, the middle position who shows the Ac/2c.
He called based on a flush draw, fair enough. He then called with a gut-shot, picked up a flush draw on the turn and rivered the nuts. He played worse than I have in weeks and got paid off huge, 36.01.
The utg had a pretty safe board to slow-play and it STILL bit him. I feel for the guy. He flopped the absolute nuts, there were no reasonable draws, he got bet into by someone drawing all but dead, got called by someone drawing super thin…and still got coolered.By the same token, I read exactly one hand anywhere near correctly…UTG. The others had much worse hands than I gave them credit for.
So a couple hands where, as a neutral observer, I had some decidedly mixed results on figuring out what they had. People are playing far looser than I credit, and I need to take that into account more often.
And work on figuring out hands better.
Friday
Tool time
My second hand in the session, I pick up A/K. Middle position, with 63.78, opens to .50. That screams small pair, something that does not want action. I have As/Kh and raise to 1.65. He surprises me and calls.
I have 2.25 behind, the pot is 3.40, it is probably all going in on the flop. Sure enough, the flop is 7c/5c/kc.
Ugh. I hit top pair…but what an ugly board. I would believe pocket 5s or 7s. I am not really worried about A/x suited because of his over-raise. I shove my last 2.25 and he calls….
With Ac/6h. Okay, so I was WAY off on what he had. He made a bad raise/worse call. At least now he had the nut flush draw and proper odds. The turn is the harmless 8h and I have to dodge 11 outs…the 9 clubs and 2 sixes.
The river is the 4, I am happy…until I notice it gave him the straight.
So how did I play this hand? Pre-flop, I like it. My read was generally correct…he had a sub-par hand that did not want any action. He was just trying to pick up the blinds with a scare-raise.
Very poor play on his part. He is risking .50 to win .15 and will only ever get action from a better hand.
I like my re-raise, although it can be argued it pot committed me with a drawing hand…at the same time, if I can get it all in with an unsuited A/6 against my A/K every time, I am happy with that.
I actually figured I was in a race and the flop PROBABLY gives me the lead with the King. I am only ever getting called by a better hand when I shove…unless I am against a bad player which, in this case, I would argue I was based on his pre-flop play.
Once I flop top/top, due to having nearly half my stack in, I am committed to the hand and have some fold equity by shoving. If he has 6s, 4s, 3s or deuces he is folding here, and he might even fold something like 8s or 10s.
Overall, a good read ended up costing me 40 big blinds.
Contrast that with me randomly deciding to make a move. The button, with 8.64, click-raises. All day and all night I fold garbage like the Qh/4h. For no apparent reason, I call this time.
I guess, recognizing the odds given, I decided to try to flop a flush draw or something. But the plan right now does not include advances poker plays like bluffing or playing the player type moves..I am trying to get back to the basics, playing good cards and playing them aggressively.
So this move makes no sense on any level. With just 3.85, I do not have enough chips to drive him off a hand, I have a bad hand, bad position…it is just a bad, bad idea.
The flop is the Jc/8d/3c. At least I do not compound my folly…I just check. He min-bets, I sense weakness and re-pop to .40 which he calls. Right there I should be done with the hand.
On the As turn, I bet .90 and he flat-calls it. The river is a 9s.
Okay, at this point I have not bothered to put him on a hand, I called with a bad hand, re-raised with nothing, and then bet with air. I have gotten 1.40 deep with nothing because he min-raised.
I finally, belatedly give up and check, he checks his Kings behind and I lost a good portion of my stack in a hand I should not have been in. Horrible, horrible play from beginning to end.
I continued playing poorly and getting (rightfully) buried. There are times I take a hit and it does not bother me...I get it in good, get drawn out on.
But there are times I really wonder what I am thinking. The first hand here I am okay with...the last one not so much.
When I have a play like that, I need to take the rest of the night off.
I have 2.25 behind, the pot is 3.40, it is probably all going in on the flop. Sure enough, the flop is 7c/5c/kc.
Ugh. I hit top pair…but what an ugly board. I would believe pocket 5s or 7s. I am not really worried about A/x suited because of his over-raise. I shove my last 2.25 and he calls….
With Ac/6h. Okay, so I was WAY off on what he had. He made a bad raise/worse call. At least now he had the nut flush draw and proper odds. The turn is the harmless 8h and I have to dodge 11 outs…the 9 clubs and 2 sixes.
The river is the 4, I am happy…until I notice it gave him the straight.
So how did I play this hand? Pre-flop, I like it. My read was generally correct…he had a sub-par hand that did not want any action. He was just trying to pick up the blinds with a scare-raise.
Very poor play on his part. He is risking .50 to win .15 and will only ever get action from a better hand.
I like my re-raise, although it can be argued it pot committed me with a drawing hand…at the same time, if I can get it all in with an unsuited A/6 against my A/K every time, I am happy with that.
I actually figured I was in a race and the flop PROBABLY gives me the lead with the King. I am only ever getting called by a better hand when I shove…unless I am against a bad player which, in this case, I would argue I was based on his pre-flop play.
Once I flop top/top, due to having nearly half my stack in, I am committed to the hand and have some fold equity by shoving. If he has 6s, 4s, 3s or deuces he is folding here, and he might even fold something like 8s or 10s.
Overall, a good read ended up costing me 40 big blinds.
Contrast that with me randomly deciding to make a move. The button, with 8.64, click-raises. All day and all night I fold garbage like the Qh/4h. For no apparent reason, I call this time.
I guess, recognizing the odds given, I decided to try to flop a flush draw or something. But the plan right now does not include advances poker plays like bluffing or playing the player type moves..I am trying to get back to the basics, playing good cards and playing them aggressively.
So this move makes no sense on any level. With just 3.85, I do not have enough chips to drive him off a hand, I have a bad hand, bad position…it is just a bad, bad idea.
The flop is the Jc/8d/3c. At least I do not compound my folly…I just check. He min-bets, I sense weakness and re-pop to .40 which he calls. Right there I should be done with the hand.
On the As turn, I bet .90 and he flat-calls it. The river is a 9s.
Okay, at this point I have not bothered to put him on a hand, I called with a bad hand, re-raised with nothing, and then bet with air. I have gotten 1.40 deep with nothing because he min-raised.
I finally, belatedly give up and check, he checks his Kings behind and I lost a good portion of my stack in a hand I should not have been in. Horrible, horrible play from beginning to end.
I continued playing poorly and getting (rightfully) buried. There are times I take a hit and it does not bother me...I get it in good, get drawn out on.
But there are times I really wonder what I am thinking. The first hand here I am okay with...the last one not so much.
When I have a play like that, I need to take the rest of the night off.
Thursday
Cowboy Roundup
Sitting behind 26.59, I pick up Kings, this time the red ones. UTG+2 I open to .30, the small blind calls with 11.84
The flop is a pseudo-dream flop, A/A/K, the third nuts. I am only behind A/k and pocket Aces, neither of which is overly likely. Normally, I bet out here. This time I elect to do one of my rare slow-plays. If he has one of those hands, it is all going in anyway and if he doesn’t he would just fold. Finally, a smart decision. He checks behind.
The turn is the irrelevant 9d, I bet half the pot, he calls.
The river is the 7s and suddenly he leads out for 1.30. I should re-pop it…but suddenly I get nervous. What if he called with A/9 or A/7 and now he drew out on me? What is he had big slick and slow-played me? As unlikely as these scenarios were, I suddenly wanted to play a small pot…and flat-called.
Not that I would not call a re-raise...after all, I have the fifth nuts and two hands that beat me...pocket Aces and big slick...are highly unlikely with how the hand played out. But it would be with a sick feeling that I had lost a huge pot.
He flipped up pocket 9s and I took a very, very small pot compared to what I should have taken.
When I have such a powerful hand, I cannot be afraid of getting involved. At the very least, a re-raise on the river was in order here. The way the hand played, it was very unlikely he had A/K or pocket Aces and no other hand beats me. Well, okay, so A/9 and A/7 do, both of which were in his range…but unlikely.
With 26.33 I pick up 2 red jacks in the big blind. UTG+2 opens to .30 with 9.80. The small blind, with 3.25, calls, I re-pop to 1.35, the utg+2 calls and the other folds.
The flop is decent for me…10c/6c/7d. I am pretty aggressive, betting 2.70. He re-pops to 6.20. Well now, that looks bad.
Remember a while ago when the opposition had bet weird and did this, I did the call-fist pump routine. This time it is way different.
He raised a standard amount and flat-called. This time I figure 6/6+, suited Ace, maybe A/J+. The re-raise indicates a made hand and he is wanting to maybe prevent the flush draw. Really, about the only hands I believe he is holding I could beat would be the somewhat unlikely A/10 suited, but I think he more likely has 10s, 6s or 7s. I fold and do not regret it.
Here is a fun hand I had nothing to do with except folding my small blind. Early middle position limps with 22.27, I fold my Ad/2c from the small blind, and the big blind checks with 18.65.
The flop is 4s/3h/8c. The limper bets the pot, .25 and gets a call. Lets see…open limper could be Aces or Kings trapping…though I tend to seldom see that play on this level…it could be a weak ace, probably suited, or a low to medium pair or possibly suited connectors. The big blind could be literally any two cards, but with a call here I would not be surprised to see him have something like 8/3, 8/4….maybe a 5/6 even. He could have all sorts of hand.s He might have two overs to the board or might just be planning to raise any checked turn.
The turn is the 7d. If either of them had the 5/6 they are very happy. The original limper bets .75 and gets a call. Pot is about 2.25 or so now.
The river is the 9s. 10/J is the nuts, but the way this hand played out, it is highly unlikely. Pocket 9s, pocket 8s/4s/3s are all within the realm of possibility as well as random two pair hands.
The initial limper checks, the big blind finally bets…20.42 cents into a 2 dollar pot! What on earth? I am betting he has something like pocket 9s, maybe pocket 3s…I would never call this bet without a 10/j or set of 8s or 9s. But the initial limper does call.
Original limper shows 8s/7s. Okay, flopped top pair, turned two pair, and checked on river when lots of hands beat him.
Big blind had…pocket 4s.He let the other guy hang himself, then made a fish bet and got paid off for it.
I really hate the way the first limper played the hand. He had no business limping in with that hand. I like his flop and turn play, hate every step of the river play. Bet again, don’t call a massive bet like that. Wow. So this pot of 35.35 goes to the big blind who got a free shot to hit his set.
He then eschewed the value bet to try and get hugely paid off.
Though I did not play this hand, I could see me being either guy and I see holes in both plays, yet I also see the value in both plays (except the river call). I guess the line between a really good play and a really bad play is really thin…
For example, I played a hand where to a point I took a similar line (though with a better finish for what I played). With 17.79 I watch the utg limp with 9.71, middle position take his time and then click-raise with 5.90 and from the next seat I have A/K.
Limps and click-raises both scream weak hand/weak player to me. I am raising this something like 103% of the time. I bump it to .85. The first limper calls and we take the flop.
The flop is decent for my hand, 4h/Qs/Jc. He could limp with something like J/10 or a suited ace that hit the four, maybe pocket 4s or some other middle pair, say 7s or worse. All those hands fit how he played the pre-flop, as well as a few random things I would hate to see like K/Q.
He checks, I bet 1/2 the pot expecting him to fold, he calls. The turn is the 10c, he checks, I bet expecting a call…and he folds. Probably should have checked there, but I like to charge people for their draws, and he was getting near pot-commitment time.
I need to be less fearful of getting drawn out on. It will help me make more on hands like this where he is highly unlikely to have a hand that has any chance of drawing out on me.
I had a really bad run where I was getting sucked out on with numerous runner-runner draws or one memorable one where I had Aces, got called on the flop and turn and rivered when a 10 hit by a guy holding 10/4 with a queen and king on the flop.
Or another where my Aces got taken down by a guy who called a re-raise with a suited q/9, missed the flop but called all in anyway and hit runner runner to flush out.
So I got gun shy about how I play, nervous about hands that could beat me and sometimes weighting my thoughts towards those hands instead of more reasonable hands.
As a result, several good hands I have mis=played and not pulled in as many chips as I should. Definitely a hole in my game.
The flop is a pseudo-dream flop, A/A/K, the third nuts. I am only behind A/k and pocket Aces, neither of which is overly likely. Normally, I bet out here. This time I elect to do one of my rare slow-plays. If he has one of those hands, it is all going in anyway and if he doesn’t he would just fold. Finally, a smart decision. He checks behind.
The turn is the irrelevant 9d, I bet half the pot, he calls.
The river is the 7s and suddenly he leads out for 1.30. I should re-pop it…but suddenly I get nervous. What if he called with A/9 or A/7 and now he drew out on me? What is he had big slick and slow-played me? As unlikely as these scenarios were, I suddenly wanted to play a small pot…and flat-called.
Not that I would not call a re-raise...after all, I have the fifth nuts and two hands that beat me...pocket Aces and big slick...are highly unlikely with how the hand played out. But it would be with a sick feeling that I had lost a huge pot.
He flipped up pocket 9s and I took a very, very small pot compared to what I should have taken.
When I have such a powerful hand, I cannot be afraid of getting involved. At the very least, a re-raise on the river was in order here. The way the hand played, it was very unlikely he had A/K or pocket Aces and no other hand beats me. Well, okay, so A/9 and A/7 do, both of which were in his range…but unlikely.
With 26.33 I pick up 2 red jacks in the big blind. UTG+2 opens to .30 with 9.80. The small blind, with 3.25, calls, I re-pop to 1.35, the utg+2 calls and the other folds.
The flop is decent for me…10c/6c/7d. I am pretty aggressive, betting 2.70. He re-pops to 6.20. Well now, that looks bad.
Remember a while ago when the opposition had bet weird and did this, I did the call-fist pump routine. This time it is way different.
He raised a standard amount and flat-called. This time I figure 6/6+, suited Ace, maybe A/J+. The re-raise indicates a made hand and he is wanting to maybe prevent the flush draw. Really, about the only hands I believe he is holding I could beat would be the somewhat unlikely A/10 suited, but I think he more likely has 10s, 6s or 7s. I fold and do not regret it.
Here is a fun hand I had nothing to do with except folding my small blind. Early middle position limps with 22.27, I fold my Ad/2c from the small blind, and the big blind checks with 18.65.
The flop is 4s/3h/8c. The limper bets the pot, .25 and gets a call. Lets see…open limper could be Aces or Kings trapping…though I tend to seldom see that play on this level…it could be a weak ace, probably suited, or a low to medium pair or possibly suited connectors. The big blind could be literally any two cards, but with a call here I would not be surprised to see him have something like 8/3, 8/4….maybe a 5/6 even. He could have all sorts of hand.s He might have two overs to the board or might just be planning to raise any checked turn.
The turn is the 7d. If either of them had the 5/6 they are very happy. The original limper bets .75 and gets a call. Pot is about 2.25 or so now.
The river is the 9s. 10/J is the nuts, but the way this hand played out, it is highly unlikely. Pocket 9s, pocket 8s/4s/3s are all within the realm of possibility as well as random two pair hands.
The initial limper checks, the big blind finally bets…20.42 cents into a 2 dollar pot! What on earth? I am betting he has something like pocket 9s, maybe pocket 3s…I would never call this bet without a 10/j or set of 8s or 9s. But the initial limper does call.
Original limper shows 8s/7s. Okay, flopped top pair, turned two pair, and checked on river when lots of hands beat him.
Big blind had…pocket 4s.He let the other guy hang himself, then made a fish bet and got paid off for it.
I really hate the way the first limper played the hand. He had no business limping in with that hand. I like his flop and turn play, hate every step of the river play. Bet again, don’t call a massive bet like that. Wow. So this pot of 35.35 goes to the big blind who got a free shot to hit his set.
He then eschewed the value bet to try and get hugely paid off.
Though I did not play this hand, I could see me being either guy and I see holes in both plays, yet I also see the value in both plays (except the river call). I guess the line between a really good play and a really bad play is really thin…
For example, I played a hand where to a point I took a similar line (though with a better finish for what I played). With 17.79 I watch the utg limp with 9.71, middle position take his time and then click-raise with 5.90 and from the next seat I have A/K.
Limps and click-raises both scream weak hand/weak player to me. I am raising this something like 103% of the time. I bump it to .85. The first limper calls and we take the flop.
The flop is decent for my hand, 4h/Qs/Jc. He could limp with something like J/10 or a suited ace that hit the four, maybe pocket 4s or some other middle pair, say 7s or worse. All those hands fit how he played the pre-flop, as well as a few random things I would hate to see like K/Q.
He checks, I bet 1/2 the pot expecting him to fold, he calls. The turn is the 10c, he checks, I bet expecting a call…and he folds. Probably should have checked there, but I like to charge people for their draws, and he was getting near pot-commitment time.
I need to be less fearful of getting drawn out on. It will help me make more on hands like this where he is highly unlikely to have a hand that has any chance of drawing out on me.
I had a really bad run where I was getting sucked out on with numerous runner-runner draws or one memorable one where I had Aces, got called on the flop and turn and rivered when a 10 hit by a guy holding 10/4 with a queen and king on the flop.
Or another where my Aces got taken down by a guy who called a re-raise with a suited q/9, missed the flop but called all in anyway and hit runner runner to flush out.
So I got gun shy about how I play, nervous about hands that could beat me and sometimes weighting my thoughts towards those hands instead of more reasonable hands.
As a result, several good hands I have mis=played and not pulled in as many chips as I should. Definitely a hole in my game.
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