Turns out that it's just as hard to do a prop job well after you've given notice as it is to give a shit about a software development job after you've made up your mind that you're leaving. Tonight marks the end of my tenure at Garden City; I just couldn't justify sitting in the 40/80 for a few more hours, and tomorrow, once I got to the level of tilt I achieved, so I turned in my badge, cashed out my box, and rode off into the moon set.
The night started off well. I played 20/40 for 30 minutes with Torello and Yoda, played a hand like a donkey (got 3 bet preflop and the board came down AA4 or something and the 3-bettor checked behind me. I bet the turn and called him down when he raised. He had AK obviously I mean what else can he possibly have other than perhaps a full house) and then managed to win a bunch of pots and actually be up about a rack when they called me into the 40. Within 90 minutes I was up over $2000 on the night, but I wasn't happy. I was nervous. I knew what was coming. I knew I was not allowed to win.
So when I flopped a set of threes in a kill pot, went 5 bets on the flop of A35, got c/r'ed on the turn and called down to see the small blinds 42s (I mean it was only 2 bets preflop, he was fully 1/6th of the way in and had excellent post flop position so I completely understand why he wasn't able to ditch the second nut four high suited), I contemplated my options and decided to try to finish the night after taking a lap off to cool down. About 4 hands later I 3-bet Mike P with 55 and took a flop of 773. This is as good as they get. He called. The turn brought a 4 and I already knew what was coming. I have a theory that one way that I am particularly adept at running bad is the turning of gutshots in HU 3-bet pots. You'll note that when the check/raise comes (as it did in this hand) there are 7 bets in the pot and I have 6 outs to make straight or full house. If my implied odds are zero I have basically an even money situation (there are 47 cards I cannot see, and 6, or roughly 1/8th, of them are good). But my implied odds really aren't zero, they are substantially positive (definitely over a full big bet as I'll often collect two when I hit), and therefore I have a call. I can narrow his range down a good bit because of his preflop raise, so I know for example that he doesn't have 65 and that 33 and 44 are pretty unlikely (for him anyway) and basically well to make a long story short I'm pretty sure calling here wins something like 1/6th to 1/3rd of a big bet more than folding, and when a big bet is $80 well you understand you're smart folk. So I call and of course fold the river cause it's a queen and Mike flashes me A7o which was giving me two bets on any river that I hit so I was right about my implied odds being pretty positive and I rack up my chips and just get the fuck out of dodge.
This experience did cause me to contemplate a new theory which I will perhaps expand at a later time. I think run bad like this creates nits, and I think the big dirty secret either people won't admit or don't know is that nits actually win up to a pretty high level (mostly because their weaker opponents don't figure out that they are nits and continue to pay them off). Both hands that I played preflop were super thin. I opened the pocket 3s three seats off the button, which I think is one pip too loose in general but the kill was in the natural BB so the SB should have been more likely to fold as the game basically changed from a 2/4 blind structure to a 1/3 structure. But anyway the point is that folding my hand is a fine choice preflop, one that I didn't make, which ended up costing me 6.5 kill pot big bets. And the 55 isn't exactly a slam dunk 3-bet either. Mike P opens pretty wide though and with position I should be able to own him pretty badly, but of course because I run bad and turn a gutshot and completely lose the ability to play well and end up getting tied to the pot by his expert slow play. But that's just how I run.
So that's it. I'm on vacation for 19 days. Hopefully when I get down south I'll still have some cash in my pocket.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
California...California...Here we come!
It's not something I'm particularly proud of, but I have in fact seen every single episode of The OC. Danielle owns the boxed set (I think I may have even bought her 1 or 2 of the seasons as a Christmas present one year) and it was probably her second favorite show of all time (right behind Seaquest, which doesn't really count cause she loved it when she was about 10 and just like they say at the end of The Hurt Locker, which by the way was no 2012 but also did not live up to the claim of the world's perfect movie, as you get older it gets harder to love things) so we watched the whole thing and honestly it wasn't that bad. I particularly liked Ryan, the kind from the wrong side of the tracks (Chino) who was supposed to be the main character until it became clear that every other male character was funnier and then again after they killed the female lead in an effort to jump the shark and save the show (which failed miserably). Why on Earth would I tell you all of this? Drum roll please.....In 20 days I'll officially be a resident of Orange County, CA. That's right, after almost 5 years in the Bay Area (almost exactly as long as I was in Boston), Danielle and I are picking up camp and heading south. The reason for the move is both complicated and extremely simple. I'll tell a version in the middle here.
About a year ago I told Danielle that if she ever wanted to get me to move to LA, now was basically her chance. I was flying high as a professional poker player, could do no wrong, and was confident I could move my operation to LA without missing a beat. You see, I've kind of always known that moving to the Bay Area was only an intermediate step to Danielle. Her entire family is from (and mostly still in) Southern California, and she's always wanted to get back there. With me basically being unattached, it seemed like a good spot for her. Fast forward to October, and I'm not flying nearly so high. June, July, August and September were all bad, and I was actually looking to take a prop job at Garden City. As I was in the process of doing that, a recruiter from Google emailed me to ask if maybe I was possibly sorta interested in having a talk with them about possible job openings. I said no, but at Danielle's request I put her in touch with said recruiter. The day of my Garden City orientation the recruiter "put her on the spot" and asked where she'd want to work. I had assumed all along that the answer to this question was simply "Mountain View" , but as it turned out as usual I was mistaken. Danielle chose to interview with Google Irvine, aced the interviews, got the offer, and that, as they say, was that.
Now of course there are negative aspects of this move. Contrary to popular belief I do actually have some friends in the Bay Area who will be sorely missed. I also have grown quite comfortable here, but at the same time feel I've missed out on some stuff because I wasn't really ticking off activities with any urgency since I figured to be here for a long time. And of course there is the small matter of the job at Garden City, for which I gave notice yesterday and will only show up for exactly two more times. As I've written here, that job was giving me stability and security, on top of probably making me a better poker player. But the hours do suck, and there are prop jobs in LA (on which I have several good leads), which means what it really comes down to is choosing between Danielle and my friends, which I'm sorry guys isn't really even something I thought about. Danielle followed me to San Francisco, and now it's my chance to return the favor. And of course there is the small matter that LA is basically the Limit Hold 'Em capital of the entire universe. There is no better place on Earth to do what I do.
So what does all this mean? Well starting later this week I'll be back on days, playing short sessions at Bay 101 and The Oaks. I'm going to treat these last 3 weeks as somewhat of a vacation. If you'd like to host a home game, please let me know. If you'd be willing to try to convince Bay 101 to spread an 8/16 HORSE game (they are licensed for all 5 games) please let me know. If you live in Oakland and wanted to try to play 15/30 with me....well, let me know. It's not like I'm gonna be gone forever, but as with any place you've lived and move away from, the frequency of my visits will drop over time. Thanks to everyone who's made it fun in the past, and thanks to everyone who lives in LA for doing so in the future.
California......
About a year ago I told Danielle that if she ever wanted to get me to move to LA, now was basically her chance. I was flying high as a professional poker player, could do no wrong, and was confident I could move my operation to LA without missing a beat. You see, I've kind of always known that moving to the Bay Area was only an intermediate step to Danielle. Her entire family is from (and mostly still in) Southern California, and she's always wanted to get back there. With me basically being unattached, it seemed like a good spot for her. Fast forward to October, and I'm not flying nearly so high. June, July, August and September were all bad, and I was actually looking to take a prop job at Garden City. As I was in the process of doing that, a recruiter from Google emailed me to ask if maybe I was possibly sorta interested in having a talk with them about possible job openings. I said no, but at Danielle's request I put her in touch with said recruiter. The day of my Garden City orientation the recruiter "put her on the spot" and asked where she'd want to work. I had assumed all along that the answer to this question was simply "Mountain View" , but as it turned out as usual I was mistaken. Danielle chose to interview with Google Irvine, aced the interviews, got the offer, and that, as they say, was that.
Now of course there are negative aspects of this move. Contrary to popular belief I do actually have some friends in the Bay Area who will be sorely missed. I also have grown quite comfortable here, but at the same time feel I've missed out on some stuff because I wasn't really ticking off activities with any urgency since I figured to be here for a long time. And of course there is the small matter of the job at Garden City, for which I gave notice yesterday and will only show up for exactly two more times. As I've written here, that job was giving me stability and security, on top of probably making me a better poker player. But the hours do suck, and there are prop jobs in LA (on which I have several good leads), which means what it really comes down to is choosing between Danielle and my friends, which I'm sorry guys isn't really even something I thought about. Danielle followed me to San Francisco, and now it's my chance to return the favor. And of course there is the small matter that LA is basically the Limit Hold 'Em capital of the entire universe. There is no better place on Earth to do what I do.
So what does all this mean? Well starting later this week I'll be back on days, playing short sessions at Bay 101 and The Oaks. I'm going to treat these last 3 weeks as somewhat of a vacation. If you'd like to host a home game, please let me know. If you'd be willing to try to convince Bay 101 to spread an 8/16 HORSE game (they are licensed for all 5 games) please let me know. If you live in Oakland and wanted to try to play 15/30 with me....well, let me know. It's not like I'm gonna be gone forever, but as with any place you've lived and move away from, the frequency of my visits will drop over time. Thanks to everyone who's made it fun in the past, and thanks to everyone who lives in LA for doing so in the future.
California......
Friday, January 22, 2010
Misfit Toys
I realize that most of the people who read this blog also read two plus two, but I figured for those who don't it might be fun to put all the threads I've started in the past few weeks. Actually not really fun, but some of it is pretty good and interesting so here goes. Remember that I typically only post hands on two plus two when something interesting and worth talking about happens. They're often an example of me playing at my worst.SSHE for Life
Preflop Range Quickie
Expert Slow Play
Often Claimed, Seldom Accomplished
Insert Title Here
AK ui as usual
C-betting Question
Door Number 2
WA/WB is the new c/r b/f
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Once More, With Feeling
I feel like I must have already used that title. It's hard to keep coming up with titles after 220 posts. Anyway....
Last night's 40/80 game was a disaster. There is this guy named Nick (who hates me, possibly because I hate him, although it could go the other way around I'm not really sure) who is on a Lifetime Heater TM against me. Every time I play with him he wins 5+ racks. Last night was no exception, with him coloring up a rack of $10 chips into a $1000 yellow one literally every 45 minutes or so for 4.5 hours. The problem is that I don't think I'd realized the full extent of this until the middle of my session last night. I'd basically been treating this guy as a LAG, when in fact he's really just a loose passive who picks up a group 1 or 2 hand twice an orbit in a 6 handed game. For last night at least I'm not even exaggerating; he was probably raising preflop close to 30 percent of the time, and every single time he got to showdown he was turning over a hand that should have been in the top third of that range (basically I'm claiming he was getting a top 10 percent starter 3 times more often than he should have been, which is completely possible and a total mind fuck for assigning him hand ranges). The situation was complicated by another guy, whom I know to be loose and passive, basically doing the same thing on his immediate left. We've got two guys picking up monsters every hand, and somebody had to pay for, which is where I come in, as usual, blowing up almost 2 racks in the first 60 minutes of my session, then playing badly and breaking even for the next 3 hours.
Things start off innocently enough, with me opening A8o in the CO. The small blind can't possibly fold his hand because he has chips in the pot already, the big blind calls, and we see a flop of:
855
This has to be good, right? They can't have 99+ because I'd have gotten 3-bet, and how often can they have a 5? IMR, I've got the nuts right? They check, I bet, the SB calls.
2 putting a flush draw with one of the 5s
He donks. I look at the board for a few seconds but quickly come to the conclusion that there is no way on God's green Earth he could play a 5 this badly. I raise. He thinks and calls. I don't remember the river, but it was something like a ten and he donked again. God's green Earth is not what it once was, my friends. I call, and he shows me 54s and makes some speech about "anybody else I raise again" or something that's supposed to make me feel better that he couldn't lay down freaking 5 high preflop. So that was a pretty nice little cooler, and it served to get me a little frustrated that my opponent played the hand so badly and I gave him the extra $80. Moving right along....
A decent prop opens UTG, and I 3-bet with AQs. We were only 6 handed or so at the moment, so this is pretty standard (at a full game I'd actually consider mucking, as the prop's range would be super snug). Our buddy MP (the other loose passive running like Jesus) calls 3 cold in the big blind and the prop calls, and for once I flop "good".
AK7cc
I even have a backdoor spade draw. MP checks, the prop bets, and I raise my nuts. MP calls two cold instantly (danger Will Robinson, Danger...he's loose passive, but at 40/80 that doesn't mean he's taking one off here with 98 or 44) and the prop calls. I figure the prop is drawing almost dead (he probably has 3 outs, either the jacks or tens) but I'm still a little leery of whatever MP is holding over there.
9c
Aiyah. MP turbo donks and the prop calls pretty quickly. I tank for what feels like a minute (during which time Nick, that freaking asshole, makes some speech about me being scared or something and in general making fun of the fact that a human being could have to actually think about a situation instead of just flopping the nuts every hand he plays) and decide I just can't fold. MP could be doing this with the last ace and a big club, and the pot has gotten to "out of hand" proportions (10 big bets already). I call.
Ah
Wow. Just wow. MP bets and makes some speech about hoping I don't have AK, the prop folds his AdTc (note the club draw) and I make a crying call. MP tables KK, and I run a recap in my brain of both how badly I just got coolered and how much money MP let me keep. In a hand in which he flopped a set of Kings and rivered a full house, MP managed to put in zero (that's right...zero) raises against not one but two opponents who made trip aces. One of his opponents even folded the river. He didn't 4-bet preflop, didn't raise the flop, then, after disguising the strength of his hand for 2 streets executed a donk of death to blow his entire cover on fourth street. Just wow.
The next hand's degree of difficulty is very low. A steaming player opens UTG and I call 3 ways in the bb with A7hh (again we're like 5 handed or something....note that despite being 5-6 handed all the pots are going off 3-4 ways). The board comes down 755 and I c/r him. He calls the flop and the turn 8 with KJo, and of course rivers a king. His call on the turn is pretty atrocious, given the pot size (only 6 big bets) and that in the absolute best case he has 6 outs once that turn comes (there is no hand in my range that does not have at least 2 pair once that 8 hits the felt) and is actually drawing dead an astonishing percentage of the time (he probably assumed that I wouldn't fast play a 5 or a full house). But anyway he rivers a king like it's his job and ship the $600 to him.
Our next hand is the capstone of the evening, after which I fell into a funk of mubsy thinking and general idiocy for the next 3 hours (honestly last night was the first time I've really, really needed to quit a game but couldn't as a prop). PW opened UTG (again, we're 5 maybe 6 handed) and Nick called them cold in the CO. MP 3-bets the button, the small blind somehow folds, and I cap pocket jacks in the BB. PW folds (good man), Nick and MP call, and we've got a 15 small bet pot on our hands in which I flop gin:
Jc 7h 6h
I bet, Nick calls, MP raises, I 3-bet, Nick caps, MP somehow folds (lol AK nh sir) and I call. This is a mistake, as I was allowed to 5-bet but didn't realize it. The turn brings:
Jc 7h 6h - 4s
And I donk. This was my plan the whole time, since I had been thinking I'd run into the 4 bet cap and couldn't 5 bet the flop. Anyway, Nick raises and I pause to consider the board. If he's got it, he's got it, and I 3-bet. He 4-bets and I call. The river Ac brings no help and I call his bet. He tables 85hh for the flopped OESFD and I long for the 22.5 big bets being pushed to him.
I never truly recovered from this hand, I'm ashamed to say, misplaying a couple others later in the evening due to having my brain all out of whack. I missed a raise with a set of 8s when nick said "If you raise I'll re-raise" then quietly to MP "See, he's scared" on a board of J95ss-8....He'd of course flopped 9s and 5s from the SB after I'd raised 88 preflop, and the thing is I knew he was telling the truth. If I'd raised him he was going to 3-bet, and if he'd had QT I'd have had to punch out and go home or risk going on suicide watch...so I just called him down and missed $160 in obvious value. Later I somehow folded 88 on a board of 542. I'm not sure if it was correct or not, as there had been an UTG raise from a tight player, so tight that I hadn't 3-bet my 8s from the small blind and instead made my one cold call per session, and there was a raise from Nick and my mind just screamed "zomg he has it" even though the board's freaking 5 high and I have a pair of 8s. The turn K gave me comfort, but the river 8 took it all away.
So that was my night in a nutshell. I fought on for 3 hours after this disaster, basically breaking even and eventually posting a 2 rack loss, which given the severity of the initial beatings was actually a pretty good result.
Last night's 40/80 game was a disaster. There is this guy named Nick (who hates me, possibly because I hate him, although it could go the other way around I'm not really sure) who is on a Lifetime Heater TM against me. Every time I play with him he wins 5+ racks. Last night was no exception, with him coloring up a rack of $10 chips into a $1000 yellow one literally every 45 minutes or so for 4.5 hours. The problem is that I don't think I'd realized the full extent of this until the middle of my session last night. I'd basically been treating this guy as a LAG, when in fact he's really just a loose passive who picks up a group 1 or 2 hand twice an orbit in a 6 handed game. For last night at least I'm not even exaggerating; he was probably raising preflop close to 30 percent of the time, and every single time he got to showdown he was turning over a hand that should have been in the top third of that range (basically I'm claiming he was getting a top 10 percent starter 3 times more often than he should have been, which is completely possible and a total mind fuck for assigning him hand ranges). The situation was complicated by another guy, whom I know to be loose and passive, basically doing the same thing on his immediate left. We've got two guys picking up monsters every hand, and somebody had to pay for, which is where I come in, as usual, blowing up almost 2 racks in the first 60 minutes of my session, then playing badly and breaking even for the next 3 hours.
Things start off innocently enough, with me opening A8o in the CO. The small blind can't possibly fold his hand because he has chips in the pot already, the big blind calls, and we see a flop of:
855
This has to be good, right? They can't have 99+ because I'd have gotten 3-bet, and how often can they have a 5? IMR, I've got the nuts right? They check, I bet, the SB calls.
2 putting a flush draw with one of the 5s
He donks. I look at the board for a few seconds but quickly come to the conclusion that there is no way on God's green Earth he could play a 5 this badly. I raise. He thinks and calls. I don't remember the river, but it was something like a ten and he donked again. God's green Earth is not what it once was, my friends. I call, and he shows me 54s and makes some speech about "anybody else I raise again" or something that's supposed to make me feel better that he couldn't lay down freaking 5 high preflop. So that was a pretty nice little cooler, and it served to get me a little frustrated that my opponent played the hand so badly and I gave him the extra $80. Moving right along....
A decent prop opens UTG, and I 3-bet with AQs. We were only 6 handed or so at the moment, so this is pretty standard (at a full game I'd actually consider mucking, as the prop's range would be super snug). Our buddy MP (the other loose passive running like Jesus) calls 3 cold in the big blind and the prop calls, and for once I flop "good".
AK7cc
I even have a backdoor spade draw. MP checks, the prop bets, and I raise my nuts. MP calls two cold instantly (danger Will Robinson, Danger...he's loose passive, but at 40/80 that doesn't mean he's taking one off here with 98 or 44) and the prop calls. I figure the prop is drawing almost dead (he probably has 3 outs, either the jacks or tens) but I'm still a little leery of whatever MP is holding over there.
9c
Aiyah. MP turbo donks and the prop calls pretty quickly. I tank for what feels like a minute (during which time Nick, that freaking asshole, makes some speech about me being scared or something and in general making fun of the fact that a human being could have to actually think about a situation instead of just flopping the nuts every hand he plays) and decide I just can't fold. MP could be doing this with the last ace and a big club, and the pot has gotten to "out of hand" proportions (10 big bets already). I call.
Ah
Wow. Just wow. MP bets and makes some speech about hoping I don't have AK, the prop folds his AdTc (note the club draw) and I make a crying call. MP tables KK, and I run a recap in my brain of both how badly I just got coolered and how much money MP let me keep. In a hand in which he flopped a set of Kings and rivered a full house, MP managed to put in zero (that's right...zero) raises against not one but two opponents who made trip aces. One of his opponents even folded the river. He didn't 4-bet preflop, didn't raise the flop, then, after disguising the strength of his hand for 2 streets executed a donk of death to blow his entire cover on fourth street. Just wow.
The next hand's degree of difficulty is very low. A steaming player opens UTG and I call 3 ways in the bb with A7hh (again we're like 5 handed or something....note that despite being 5-6 handed all the pots are going off 3-4 ways). The board comes down 755 and I c/r him. He calls the flop and the turn 8 with KJo, and of course rivers a king. His call on the turn is pretty atrocious, given the pot size (only 6 big bets) and that in the absolute best case he has 6 outs once that turn comes (there is no hand in my range that does not have at least 2 pair once that 8 hits the felt) and is actually drawing dead an astonishing percentage of the time (he probably assumed that I wouldn't fast play a 5 or a full house). But anyway he rivers a king like it's his job and ship the $600 to him.
Our next hand is the capstone of the evening, after which I fell into a funk of mubsy thinking and general idiocy for the next 3 hours (honestly last night was the first time I've really, really needed to quit a game but couldn't as a prop). PW opened UTG (again, we're 5 maybe 6 handed) and Nick called them cold in the CO. MP 3-bets the button, the small blind somehow folds, and I cap pocket jacks in the BB. PW folds (good man), Nick and MP call, and we've got a 15 small bet pot on our hands in which I flop gin:
Jc 7h 6h
I bet, Nick calls, MP raises, I 3-bet, Nick caps, MP somehow folds (lol AK nh sir) and I call. This is a mistake, as I was allowed to 5-bet but didn't realize it. The turn brings:
Jc 7h 6h - 4s
And I donk. This was my plan the whole time, since I had been thinking I'd run into the 4 bet cap and couldn't 5 bet the flop. Anyway, Nick raises and I pause to consider the board. If he's got it, he's got it, and I 3-bet. He 4-bets and I call. The river Ac brings no help and I call his bet. He tables 85hh for the flopped OESFD and I long for the 22.5 big bets being pushed to him.
I never truly recovered from this hand, I'm ashamed to say, misplaying a couple others later in the evening due to having my brain all out of whack. I missed a raise with a set of 8s when nick said "If you raise I'll re-raise" then quietly to MP "See, he's scared" on a board of J95ss-8....He'd of course flopped 9s and 5s from the SB after I'd raised 88 preflop, and the thing is I knew he was telling the truth. If I'd raised him he was going to 3-bet, and if he'd had QT I'd have had to punch out and go home or risk going on suicide watch...so I just called him down and missed $160 in obvious value. Later I somehow folded 88 on a board of 542. I'm not sure if it was correct or not, as there had been an UTG raise from a tight player, so tight that I hadn't 3-bet my 8s from the small blind and instead made my one cold call per session, and there was a raise from Nick and my mind just screamed "zomg he has it" even though the board's freaking 5 high and I have a pair of 8s. The turn K gave me comfort, but the river 8 took it all away.
So that was my night in a nutshell. I fought on for 3 hours after this disaster, basically breaking even and eventually posting a 2 rack loss, which given the severity of the initial beatings was actually a pretty good result.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Fun Stuff Happens When You Post Behind
When you enter a limit hold em game, you have to post a big blind. You can do this from any position, but in the Bay Area you have three logical choices:
1. Your natural big blind.
2. Between the small blind and the button (the button skips you next hand).
3. In the cutoff, to the right of, or behind, button.
I typically choose option (2), and try to avoid (3). The problem with posting behind is that you just sat down, aren't really in the flow of the game, and are putting yourself into a position from which it is often strategically correct to play very aggressively with sub-standard hands. For example, if the action folds to you preflop, it becomes correct to raise with literally any two cards. This increased aggression can lead to tilt when things go poorly, which is no way to start a session. For the record, I got this from Tommy Angelo's book, and I have become quite convinced it's solid advice.
There's a problem though. As a prop you sometimes don't have unlimited time to enter a game; if a customer shows up before you've posted in, the floor can (and rightly should) ask you to surrender your seat. So sometimes these days I find myself posting behind, which brings me to last night.
I am fortunate enough to get in a 20 game right at the start of my shift, and on top of that Pete is in the game, making a late night appearance in honor of the holiday weekend and my banishment to vampire land. I post in the cutoff of an 8 handed game to ensure this situation doesn't get fubar and am dealt pocket 5s.
Pete opens UTG and the action folds to me. 55 is not enough to 3-bet him under normal circumstances; Pete is snug up front, and his post flop skills leave little room for me to get in a hand behind his range, even with position. But the post....the 4 chips I already have in play swing this decision from a fold to a raise. Calling would be an option with a few other stragglers in between, but with just Pete in the pot a 3-bet is mandatory. Things don't go well, though. The blinds both call and Pete caps it. This is gonna be expensive.
A95r
And by expensive, I mean spectacular. The blinds check and Pete fires. I raise right away and the SB, Elvis (not of Oaks fame....the other Elvis) calls them cold. Pete thinks for a minute and just calls. To the turn.
A95r-7, putting 2 diamonds.
They check to me and I fire a shot with which I hope to take down the $440 pot. Instead Elvis calls and Pete raises. I tank for a second, partially for effect but also to consider my options, and then 3-bet. Elvis calls and Pete tanks before meekly tossing in 8 more chips. The pot has grown to 20 big bets, and I take a moment to relish all of Pete's dead money. His AK is likely drawing completely dead (unless he has the diamond varietal) and all I have left to do is dodge whatever bullshit draw Elvis is on (if he even has one and isn't drawing almost dead himself) and I'll be up over a rack on my first hand.
A95r-7d-3d
Elvis donks. Pete finds a fold with AKhh, and I pay off like a slot machine. Elvis rolls J8dd and as I reconstruct the action I realize the only hope I had to keep my $280 was to not post in the first place.
1. Your natural big blind.
2. Between the small blind and the button (the button skips you next hand).
3. In the cutoff, to the right of, or behind, button.
I typically choose option (2), and try to avoid (3). The problem with posting behind is that you just sat down, aren't really in the flow of the game, and are putting yourself into a position from which it is often strategically correct to play very aggressively with sub-standard hands. For example, if the action folds to you preflop, it becomes correct to raise with literally any two cards. This increased aggression can lead to tilt when things go poorly, which is no way to start a session. For the record, I got this from Tommy Angelo's book, and I have become quite convinced it's solid advice.
There's a problem though. As a prop you sometimes don't have unlimited time to enter a game; if a customer shows up before you've posted in, the floor can (and rightly should) ask you to surrender your seat. So sometimes these days I find myself posting behind, which brings me to last night.
I am fortunate enough to get in a 20 game right at the start of my shift, and on top of that Pete is in the game, making a late night appearance in honor of the holiday weekend and my banishment to vampire land. I post in the cutoff of an 8 handed game to ensure this situation doesn't get fubar and am dealt pocket 5s.
Pete opens UTG and the action folds to me. 55 is not enough to 3-bet him under normal circumstances; Pete is snug up front, and his post flop skills leave little room for me to get in a hand behind his range, even with position. But the post....the 4 chips I already have in play swing this decision from a fold to a raise. Calling would be an option with a few other stragglers in between, but with just Pete in the pot a 3-bet is mandatory. Things don't go well, though. The blinds both call and Pete caps it. This is gonna be expensive.
A95r
And by expensive, I mean spectacular. The blinds check and Pete fires. I raise right away and the SB, Elvis (not of Oaks fame....the other Elvis) calls them cold. Pete thinks for a minute and just calls. To the turn.
A95r-7, putting 2 diamonds.
They check to me and I fire a shot with which I hope to take down the $440 pot. Instead Elvis calls and Pete raises. I tank for a second, partially for effect but also to consider my options, and then 3-bet. Elvis calls and Pete tanks before meekly tossing in 8 more chips. The pot has grown to 20 big bets, and I take a moment to relish all of Pete's dead money. His AK is likely drawing completely dead (unless he has the diamond varietal) and all I have left to do is dodge whatever bullshit draw Elvis is on (if he even has one and isn't drawing almost dead himself) and I'll be up over a rack on my first hand.
A95r-7d-3d
Elvis donks. Pete finds a fold with AKhh, and I pay off like a slot machine. Elvis rolls J8dd and as I reconstruct the action I realize the only hope I had to keep my $280 was to not post in the first place.
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