This Game is All Skill

The last three days have been good. Sunday and Monday I played at Bay 101, and today I changed things up and hung out with the Garden City crowd. I put in 21.5 hours of 20/40 and won handily all three days (~600, ~900, and ~400). Monday, specifically, was a humorous day, as I was reminded that as much as you study and concentrate and focus and try to play well, sometimes you simply get lucky.

Hand 1:

Pete is running like ass. When he picks up for the day he'll be down 2.5 racks in under 2 hours of play. Every other hand he's in the pot betting and raising only to get shown some monster on the river...so I figured why not put a wicked beat on him, am I right?

Folds to Pete and he raises. At the time I thought he was in middle position, but in actuality he was pretty darn close to the button (perhaps two seats over in the hi jack). The button cold calls, the small blind follows suit, and I behold red fives and chuck in one more bet from the big blind. Pete notes that someone who had cards left did in fact fold, which is positive.

4 players, 8 small bets

422

As far as flops for pocket fives go, this one ain't bad. I elect to "check and see" after the small blind checks. Pete bets, and both the button and small blind call him. Not the time to get frisky, in my opinion, so I just call and see what develops.

4 players, 6 big bets

422-A (with all four suits on board)

Kaplowy! The small blind checks and I check, planning to fold. Pete bets, and for some reason I just know to a moral certainty that he has an Ace. I can't always put my finger on where reads like this come from, but when I get them they are almost always right. The button folds, but the small blind calls and I...suddenly realize there are 8 big bets in the pot. How many outs do I have? Well, the 5s sure look good...that'd be 5s full, for the 3rd nut (behind AA and 22). And the 3s...those are pretty darn good too, making a wheel (5 high straight). So let's see here, that's 6 outs, 6 outs wins about 1/8th of the time, which means there should be 7 bets in the pot....and my implied odds on the river are surely positive.....well gee willikers I guess I have a call. After spending 15 seconds doing this math, which I'm sure Pete can tell is not an act, I call.

3 players, 9 big bets

422-A-3

Sadly, since I spent 15 seconds figuring out if I needed to call, I haven't really decided what to do when I nut the sucker. The small blind checks, and I hastily decide to check, aiming for a soul crushing check/raise. Pete checks behind like the ninja that he is, and I fastroll my 5s. He folds his ace face up (he later admits to have had A7....theres the whole "I thought he was in middle position but actually he was in late position" thing that I foreshadowed a while ago coming back to bite me in the ass) and I have never been more disappointed to suck out. In hind sight, I can't really fault the check/raise play. Had Pete had a "real" ace he'd have bet, but given that he had the second worst kicker possible (he only beats A6), his check is pretty obvious. Alas....

A while later I have changed tables, taking advantage of my insider information that Hank will be picking up in an orbit or two. I post behind the button and find a real beaut when nobody raises in front of me....73 of hearts. I of course check and we see the flop 6 ways. It is:

Q78 with one heart

Hank donks, Crazy Russian Guy (CRG) calls, I call, somebody else calls, I don't really know. Lots of bets go in but there is no raise.

K of hearts

Well gee, I have a heart draw and a pair. Hank checks, CRG bets, I call, and I think Hank is the only other caller. The pot is now "kinda" big, maybe 8-9 big bets.

9 of hearts

Yahtzee! Runner runner flush. Now's the funny part. Hank checks, and CRG bets again. I think for like maybe 2 or 3 tenths of a second and then raise it. I figure I'm getting one more bet here, and I'd rather it come from CRG than Hank. Besides, Hank probably has air, or some close cousin of air. But wait....Hank goes into the tank. He's thinking. The gears are turning, and I see a little waft of smoke coming out of his left ear. Hank knows I'm good enough to pop this river with just two pair. Hell, maybe even one pair. CRG is awful, and I posted in...I can have any two cards preflop. The pot is big, I could be making a play! He calls two cold! Aiyah!!!! Now CRG starts talking, saying "two pair no good?" and the like. My mind is screaming "of course two pair is no fucking good you idiot" but my mouth manages to stay shut. As he's calling I say "No, Hank has a straight I think...I have a shitty little flush" and table my garbage hand. I drag the now sizable pot, with CRG flashing Q7o for a flopped two pair. Were he not retarded, Hank would have dragged this (admittedly much smaller) pot with his rivered straight (65). Bad beating of good friend #2 for the day, and it's not yet 3pm.

A while later, after Hank picks up, I find the mighty Q3 offsuit in the big blind. There has been a limp, a raise, and 4 cold calls to me. That's right, I'm getting 13:1 with only one player left to act behind me. I call....

Q63

The small blind checks, I check, limper checks, the preflop raiser (PFR) bets, some people call, I raise, he 3-bets, some more calls, I cap, some more bets go in. The pot...is...huge....

The turn and river bring neither a pair on board, nor a straight into being, nor a flush, nor really anything interesting at all. I get called on the river by only PFR, who shows AQs before mucking in disgust. The guy on my right (who actually isn't playing, but is sitting next to his girlfriend who is playing by literally pulling up a 10th chair to the table) declares "This game is all skill" while I'm stacking the 2 rack pot.