This post will probably be somewhat longish, as I intend to comment on an entire Poker session I had recently. It was a very unusual session; the kind of session that can only happen in no-limit hold-em. Posting this kind of stuff is very helpful to me, particularly when I go back and look at it later.
There are two more tournaments coming up that I probably won’t make it to either. The Summer Poker Roundup in Pendleton is the weekend of 7/18; that’s definitely out for me. And there’s a tournament in Reno called the Pot Of Gold at the end of July (at the Grand Sierra). I might still make it to that one for a tournament or two, but I’m not counting on it.
Now, let’s play some poker. There’s a $2/$5 table waiting for us.
The context for this session is as follows: I’d played a bit of poker lately, but not very much. And I’ve been on something of a losing streak too. Whenever that happens to me, I study my play very closely to see why: Is it just bad cards, or is it bad play? Sometimes it’s one; sometimes the other. But when I see full house over full house, or AQ (me) versus AA (villain) on a board with an Ace and a Queen, it’s a bit comforting to see that it’s more likely to be bad cards. If I can continue to just play my game and have confidence I should bring it back.
Meanwhile, as I evaluate the session I’m going to post below, I have to give myself a grade of D+ or maybe C-. Pretty pathetic, as you will see.
Hand #1 of 5: I’m under-the-gun, and see Q© 7ª. Now, as I’ve blogged about before, I have started to mix up my pre-flop play a little bit. I’m worried that I’ve become too predictable, so every sixth time I open-raise, I do so with whatever hand I manage to pick up. And this was one of those times, so I put $15 into the pot.
The key to this kind of crazy Gus Hansen style is to immediately surrender if there is any resistance, or if the flop doesn’t give you anything better than a pair. Since I’ve started this strategy, I’ve been really pleased with the results. Most of the time, my opponents will fold without a fight (there’s the benefit of a tight image). Occasionally, they will play back at me, and I’ll let it go. But overall, it has been a smallish money maker.
The problem here is that this particular hand has come on the heels of a couple of really decent starting hands for me – AA and QQ to be precise. And since everybody’s folded pre-flop, I haven’t been able to show down my tightness. So it looks like I’ve just been stealing blinds from middle/early position. Consequently, this time around, I got three callers: The cutoff, the button, and the small blind. This didn’t bother me; actually, I thought it was pretty cool to see such a nice, big pot getting built up. If I flopped anything decent, nobody would have any idea.
So with $65 in the pot, the flop came 7§ 2¨ Q§. Now, this is probably the most perfect flop imaginable for my garbage hand! I have top two pair, and doubtless a stranglehold on the pot.
The small blind checked, and since I didn’t like seeing the flush draw on the board, I put out a big bet of $50. This would be enough to chase out any draws. My only caller was the small blind, and so with $165 in my pot (I mean THE pot), we went to the turn.
A raggy 10ª came out. The small blind checked again. Still worried about the flush draw, I put out a bet of $120 into a $165 pot, and my opponent quickly called. Now the pot was over $400, and I was really starting to wonder what the other guy had.
The river was the A§, and suddenly my opponent came alive and bet about $325 into the $400 pot, enough to put me all in. I sat for a minute and thought about what hands he could have:
· A flush draw that came in: Not possible; nobody would chase the bad pot odds I was offering from the start.
· A straight draw that hit: Even less likely. It would require him to play exactly King-Jack and call all the way to the end.
· A set, or a higher two pair (such as Aces up). Possible; but if that was the case then I am supposed to lose anyway. I’ve frequently been able to fold to a set, but I wasn’t going to this time.
· A pair of Aces, a lower pair, or some other kind of garbage. I actually thought this described his hand and betting history most closely. So I called.
He turned over the 8§ 9§ for a rivered flush, and I lost my entire $500 buy-in (plus a few more chips I’d won along the way). The lesson here is that not every player is good enough to lay down draws when they’re getting too high a price to chase. I obviously should have folded on the river and saved my last $320 dollars.
While he raked in what used to be “my” pot of over $1000, I pulled out some more Franklins and bought back in. *sigh*
Hand #2 of 5: I’m in the big blind. A young, way-too-loose player two off the button limps, the rest of the table folds to me, and I check with the 5§ 10ª. There’s $12 in the pot.
The flop was sweet: 5© 5ª 3ª. I check, planning to check-raise my uber-aggressive opponent after whatever continuation bet he doubtless puts out. Much to my surprise (and mild consternation), he checks.
The turn is the 2©. Since nobody else was going to bet my hand, I put $5 out. I didn’t like all the draws on the board. Without much delay, my opponent called.
The river was the Jª, so the spade flush draw had arrived. I value bet $10. My opponent raised to $45. I actually thought I had the best hand; my loose opponent was very unbelievable, and my read of his body language made me think he was uncomfortable with the situation. I called and showed my set; he tabled the 8¨ 2§ for two pair, and I snagged the $100+ pot.
I totally don’t understand limping from early position with Eight/Deuce offsuit. He was behind from the start, and drawing almost completely dead from the flop on.
Hand #3 of 5: (This hand I played SO BAD!) The same loose player from the last hand is now under-the-gun, and limps for $5. It’s folded all the way to me in the small blind. I have a gorgeous hand; the A¨ K¨. I just complete the bet, intending to outplay my opponents post-flop. The big blind checks, and with $15 in the pot we take it to the flop.
9© 8§ K©. With top pair top kicker, I make a pot-sized bet of $15. The big blind folds, and the other player calls. I got him!
The turn is the K§. I check with my trips, to let my opponent catch up. If he bets, I’m probably check-raising to protect against the flush. However, he just checks behind.
The river is the 8ª, so now I have the nut full house. I value-bet $40, almost the size of the pot. I’m hoping it looks like a bluff. My opponent raises to $155! What is up?
The only hand that beats me is if my opponent has exactly 8¨ 8©. But if he had that, wouldn’t he have bet more on the earlier streets? He filled up on the turn … and checked? It’s much more likely that he had the last king, and we were splitting the pot. Nevertheless, I was convinced that there were monsters under the bed, so rather than giving myself the chance to double up (he had me covered), I meekly call. I really think that earlier hand – Hand #1 – made me a bit gun-shy. He had J§ 10© for a missed straight draw, and I disgustedly pull in a $350-ish pot. I congratulate myself on winning the smallest amount of money possible. My opponent eventually busts out and leaves a few hands later; those chips should have been mine too.
Hand #4 of 5: Another pathetically-played hand. In middle position, I open-raise to $15 with Q©Q§. My only caller is the small blind, a player I hadn’t seen before. The two of us take the $35 pot to the flop.
9¨ Aª J¨. The small blind checks. Some players (including occasionally me) will bet out with the underpair on a board like this to see “where they’re at”. I figure in this case, I can learn the same by just checking and taking Fourth Street. That’s what I do after the small blind checks.
The turn is 2ª. The small blind bets $10. I’m pretty much certain he doesn’t have an Ace here, and that my Queens are best. But I just (inexplicably) call, rather than value-raise.
The river is the 5©. Now my opponent bets $35 into the $40+ pot. I can’t imagine how that card helped him; he’s got to have a busted draw. But again, meekly, I just call. He shows the 5¨ 5ª for a rivered set and ownership of the $120 pot; I’m so disgusted that I just muck. I played this hand so passively that I deserved to lose it.
Hand #5 of 5: In middle position, I pick up AªKª. I resolve to play this hand more aggressively than I’ve been playing up to this point. My raise to $15 yields only one caller, the button. By this point I’ve worked my stack up to almost $700; still under my two $500 buy-ins (the first of which I donked off in the first hand I have listed). My opponent has me covered with over $850 in chips.
The flop comes K§ 5¨ 6©, so I have top pair and top kicker. Having promised myself to play this hand fast, I see no reason to change my mind, so I bet $20 into the $30-ish pot. My opponent calls.
The turn is the A¨, now I have top two pair. There’s around $70 in the pot. I bet $60 (I told you I was going to play fast!) and my opponent snap-calls.
The river, oh beautiful river, A©. I have the totally nut hand, Aces full of Kings. No quads possible, and no higher full house. I pot-bet $200. My opponent min-raises me to $400. Calling would leave me with less than $200 behind, so I go ahead and put it all in. He calls and proudly shows his A§ 8§. He is stunned to learn that this $1300 pot is going to me instead.
Whenever I am involved in a big pot like this (and sometimes when I am not), I go back and study it carefully to see what I can learn. In this case, I am completely baffled as to why he played this hand like this. The only thing I can think of is that he must have thought I was tilting from the previous hands I’d been playing. So, he decided to push with a moderate hand. Seriously! The only Ace he beats is Ace/Seven, Ace/Four, Ace/Three, or Ace/Deuce; he either chops or loses to any other Ace. And would I have bet so fiercely without an Ace? Even a flopped set fills up and beats him. Baffling.
I didn’t stay at the table much longer, and ended up logging a $300 win for the night which, frankly, I didn’t deserve. But I’ll take it.
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