Two Hands to start the game with

I'm going to discuss two consecutive hands I played recently at a cash game ($5/$10 no limit).  They were the first two hands I played at this particular table.

I had just barely sat down at the table and had to post the big blind.  I didn't recognize any of the players and I hadn't seen even one hand played out before I posted.

An early player limped in; a middle player raised it to $50.  The small blind called.  I looked down, and saw Ace/Jack of hearts.  Yee-haw!  What do you think I did?  Reraise?  Smooth call and slow play?  (I can tell you that I made my decision instantly, and never second-guessed it for a moment.)

I folded.

What??  Fold Ace/Jack suited from the big blind?  What could ever have compelled me to do something so ridiculous?

Well, of course several things went into my decision.

First of all, I didn't know my opponents at all.  I didn't know whether the pre-flop raiser would play any two napkins, or was super-tight and only played Aces.

Second, Mr. Raiser already had one over-caller.  Another tighty?  Who knows?  I sure didn't!  I could be way behind already; against any pair I am under 50% to win.  Was I willing to commit so much of my hard-earned money on just a guess or a hunch?  No; at least, not until I knew the players better.

Third, as I've alluded to already, Ace/Jack is the kind of hand that can seriously be behind.  Any pair leads it at this point; and against Ace/King or Ace/Queen it is something like a four-to-one dog.  And the pre-flop betting made it seem quite possible that I was up against a bigger Ace; certainly Ace/Ten or worse wouldn't be very likely to raise into two limpers, or overcall a big raise.  The fact that my hand was suited adds maybe a percentage point or two to my chances; unless I flop a flush, or at least a four-flush, the hand isn't really worth taking any further past the flop.

So I folded, as did the early limper.  It was heads up to the flop.

The dealer put a Four/Deuce/Ten rainbow on the board (and no hearts) -- completely missing my hand.

The preflop raiser put a $70 bet into a $120 pot.  The small blind thought for a while, fiddling with his cards while he considered what to do.  He eventually said, "I think your bluffing", and mucked his hand.

I don't know what either player had, but as the session continued that day I determined that the early raiser was moderately tight, and the small blind who called him much looser.  In other words, I don't think the pre-flop raiser was bluffing, and I think I made a good laydown.

++++++++++++++++++++++

The very next hand, I was in the small blind.  The same pre-flop raiser from the last hand raised it to $50.  The player to his left insta-called.  Everyone else folded to me, so I was looking at putting $45 into a $115 pot; in other words, I was getting pot odds of 2.5 to 1.  If my hand was a winner 40% or so of the time, mathematically a call was the right choice.

I looked down and saw Ace of Spades/Queen of Diamonds; a hand only one kicker better than my previous hand.

I decided to call.  Ace/Queen is actually a LOT better than Ace/Jack.  And I trusted that I could get away from the hand if I failed to flop anything.

It was up to the big blind now -- and he popped it up to $100!  A curious little min-raise.

The preflop raiser called the extra $50; now there was $260 in the pot.

The player on his left, who insta-called the initial raise, said, "Well, that's too much for me" and folded his hand!  I was baffled.  The pot odds at that point were over five to one!  I called the raise, and we went to the flop.

The cards came King of Diamonds, Two of Spades, Jack of Spades.  I was first to act.

I had basically garbage at this point.  A gut-shot straight draw, sure; but the Ten of Spades completes the potential flush for my opponents.  With only a 13% or so chance at the non-spade straight, I had lost total interest in the hand.  I checked.

Oddly, my two opponents also checked.

The turn was the Jack of Clubs, putting two Jacks on the board.  Now, my non-spade straight was a 7% possibility; but against the potential full house it was still loser.

I checked -- and again, the two other players also checked.

The river was . . . the Ten of Diamonds!  So, I had rivered my straight!

By now, I pretty much thought that I had the best hand after all.  I didn't think somebody with a full house would have played it that way -- it would have meant that they seriously slowplayed a set (holding pocket kings) or two-pair (say, King-Jack).  So I began to consider how best to get the most value for my hand.

I decided to bet $200 into the $350 pot -- a pretty big bet, maybe looking like a "scared" bet.  I got one caller -- the big blind -- and the other player folded.

I showed my straight.  My opponent showed Ace/King offsuit, and I dragged in the pot of over $700.

Needless to say, I think my opponent misplayed his hand.  His preflop re-raise was good; with Ace/King your goal is to build the pot, and you're not afraid to see the flop.

Checking the flop was a huge blunder.  You've got top pair and top kicker, on a board that is straightening.  Why give an opponent (i.e. me) the chance to catch up?  Put out a bet here and pick up your pot.  I certainly would have folded to a bet here!

After the turn brought another Jack, I can understand the check here.  I don't agree with it, but I do understand it.  Having failed to bet the flop, he doesn't know where he's at in the hand.  And being timid, he just checks behind.  He should have bet here to gain some information.  Again, I would have folded if he had.

On the river, it's too late.  I even think the call was a mistake; any Queen or Jack beats you.

Needless to say, it was a lucrative session at the poker table that night.

Stealing blinds

I've heard more than a few players say that they probably lose more money from the blind positions than anywhere else on the table.  I'm sure that's the case for me also, but maybe not as much as it is for other players.

I'm not really all that connected to my blinds after I post them.  If you want to steal them, go right ahead.  They don't belong to me anymore, those chips belong to the winner of the hand (and it usually won't be me).

Whenever I hear advice to defend your blinds or (worse) "protect your children", I cringe.  Protect your children?  It's not your children fool, it's a couple of clay chips.

I've lost way more money "defending my blinds" than I ever have letting somebody with garbage steal them.  I've even played games where the same player would raise (or re-raise) whenever I was in the blind position so that I would fold and he would take the blinds.  Go ahead!

But I have to add, if I wake up with a decent hand (say Ace/Queen, or a pair of Jacks or better), I WILL play back.  And I consistently find that when I am up against a thief who is taking my big blind every round, and I am patient enough to wait until I have a playable hand before I try to defend, I end up winning in one hand much more than what I lost surrendering all those other hands!

And ... what's more ... I confess that I'm not the least bit above stealing blinds myself!  If I see that the big blind is really tight, and I am in late position (or sometimes even middle position), I will from time to time toss in a raise with a wide range of hands and try to pick up the pot right there.  If I do, that makes me feel better about letting all my blinds go.

Back from Foxwoods

Well, I spent the weekend at Foxwoods, and except for getting a flat tire on my rental car, I had a terrific time (as always).

On a dare from my co-worker Jon (who wasn't able to come down with me after all), I joined 37 others in playing the $560 buy-in Saturday afternoon tournament.  The tournament lasted about six hours!  But unfortunately, for me it only lasted about three.  Even though I made it through over half the field and played good poker, I didn't get the helping of luck I need to make it into the money.  My last hand happened when I shoved my short stack from middle position with Queen/Eight offsuit.  I was called by a pair of sixes, so with two overcards my chances were just under 50%.  But another six flopped, and I was down to less than 5% to win.  The last two cards were blanks, so it was off to the cash games for me.

A couple of hands will illustrate how I did playing cash poker.  Both times I had pocket queens.

The first time, I bet big against a guy who had flopped a flush and consequently donked off way too many chips.  I don't know what made me think my hand was any good . . . I know better than that!

The second time, I put my opponent all-in after the flop came three low cards (I had him covered).  He had pocket kings!  The board was a five-card straight, so we ended up splitting the pot.  Whew!

One more hand stands out and it is truly pretty sick.  I had six/five offsuit on the button, and joined six other limpers.  The flop came nine-eight-seven with two spades.  I had flopped a straight!  Now, I think straights are really vulnerable hands.  The big blind bet out and got two callers, and when it came to me I popped it up big.  The big blind now re-raised all-in (he had me covered), and I called.  He had two spades, Jack high, and roughly a one in three chance to win.  Do I need to say what happened next?  The flush card came on the river, and I was felted.

Foxwoods is such a fun place to play.  It was not very busy, however.  Folks attributed the small crowd to the fact that there is a big tournament going on at the Borgata right now, so a lot of players are going there.  Also, college has started up again so a lot of the kids are back in school.

The people who play in the poker room at Foxwoods are a total hoot, at least to this kid from Nebraska.  They are basically a caricature of the East Coast tough guy, like they just stepped out of an episode of The Sopranos.  One guy literally referred to his cousin Vinny.  Another guy was directed to "fuhgettaboutit"!  All I needed was for somebody to say "Badda-boom, badda-bing" and the picture would have been complete.

And of course, each hand was a macho contest, with nobody able to back down from anybody else.  Now for me -- who years ago gave up any pretense of being macho -- it was no problem at all for me to fold my blinds or call a bet without raising.  But for the other players, what can I say?  The standard pre-flop raise was anywhere between $30 and $50 (in a 2/5 game!), and five or six players would stay in.  Pots routinely came close to the $1000 point by showdown.  It was a very unusual environment for me, and while I never really got frustrated with this style I was baffled most of the time on how to adjust.

Later this month, I will be in Minneapolis so I'll have a chance to check out the Canterbury Park club.  I've been there before and it is a really nice, fun poker room.  Really bad players, which is the most important element of course!  I'll be there with my co-worker Steve, and I'm sure it will be a great time.