First, here's a hand from a few days ago that I played like a weak tight nit. I'm not really sure what would have been a better line, as it was pretty clear the preflop raiser had me crushed. I might just be having a little results oriented thinking, since the two players showed down KJ of diamonds and AK of spades. Had I been more aggressive, barreling until the end, neither could possibly have called me on the river. Alas....
I spent today at Garden City, working on my renewed pledge to play as much 30/60 and 40/80 as possible. I played 3.5 hours in the 40/80 game, then moved down to 20/40 once the lineup wasn't to my liking (specifically two players who are just complete ass hats sat down and I decided I didn't need that shit in my life today...also, Stockton Thunder was on the prowl but not up on the 40/80 list, and the chance to sit with him in the 20 is something no money-loving, rational person could possibly refuse). My first two hands in the 40/80 were very strange, with me literally calling 9 times without raising and breaking exactly even before rake.
Hand 1
It's a brand new game and the button is 3 seats to my right. I find T9s UTG and limp. Frank the prop raises and we see the flop 4 ways for 8 small bets. Thus far I have called twice, the first one being one of those "you say tomato and tamahto" calls, the second being fine.
KQ4 with one heart
We all check to Frank who bets, and I am the lone caller. This call is questionably thin, and I probably wouldn't make it without the heart on board. My 4 jack outs are not to the nuts, but at 9:1 I couldn't resist. The turn is:
KQ4-Q with two hearts now
Well gosh gee willikers, now I have a real honest to goodness flush draw. I call Frank again, this time getting 6:1 and obviously correctly.
KQ4-Q-A with all three hearts that I need
Hmmmm....Should I donk? Getting raised sure would suck, and there's full houses all over the place....OK I check. Frank bets. I call. Frank rolls KK for a full house, against which I was drawing dead on the turn. Yikes.
Hand 2
Now I'm the big blind, trying to shrug off losing $280 in the my first 45 seconds at the table, and it folds to the button who open raises. I've played with this guy before, and to say that he is a LAG would be a bit of an understatement. He's literally opening like 50% of his hands here. OK, let's see, something easy to play would be nice to pick up...what have we here? A2o? Frack....This hand is as far from easy to play as you can get in this spot, at least for me. Basically there are tons of boards on which I'm gonna have to call all the way down with Ace-High, hoping to catch him barreling. Great. But I sure as hell can't fold, so I call. To the flop heads up:
T94
Remember that call down thing I just said? Well this board is shaping up like one. I check and call his bet. Then the turn is:
T94-6 with all four suits represented equally :)
Yikes. I check, hoping he'll check...but no, he bets like a good little LAG. I tank for a bit and consider mucking, then decide that I have to grit my teeth and call this thing down.
T94-6-3
I check, now actually hoping he'll bet. If he checks back, he probabaly has a better ace high and I've lost. But if he bets, his range will be polarized between good (paired) hands and bluffs (KQ, KJ, QJ, J8, Q8, etc, etc), some of which I will beat. He bets, and I call quickly. He says "you got it" and turns over QJ. I table my A2o like it's the nuts and puff my chest out a little. The table quickly confirms that I must be on some sort of tilt, and I bunker down for a $1000 win.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
A Long Post
So much has happened in the last few days that I'm forcing myself to try and write it all down before the little notes that I've taken on my phone are no longer effective at jogging my memory. The last three days have been very profitable, and would have been more so if I just had entirely avoided the 20/40 tables and stuck to the big games where they respect my raises. In a serious note, I'm a little concerned that I've stopped playing my A game at 20/40 a good portion of the time. I think that perhaps I'm not as interested in the game anymore, or that I've gotten to feeling "entitled" that I should win every time I play without putting forth much effort. This is something I need to address, but not really something that all of you really want to read about. On to the 3-casino lunacy that has been my last 60 hours of life.
Thursday was a Bay 101 day filled with the antics of my buddy Pete. In the morning I first was stuck at the 8/16 table (there was only one 20/40 and I was 4th up. Anticipating a 30 minute wait, I snagged a seat when they opened an 8/16 game). After basically folding every hand for 2 orbits and losing 32 dollars, I moved to the 20/40 game for 45 minutes. Some tilt inducing stuff happened, but I managed to only lose less than 200 dollars before being called for 40/80. I always put my name up for 40/80, but probably play less than half the time. The game has to look good, and I have to be feeling good, etc, etc. There is a rather long list of criteria, all of which were met, so I cozied up to the game, added on like $1300 from my pocket, and promptly got stuck 800 dollars in about 30 minutes. Then I played a couple of hands badly (equity wise, at least) against Chau, the prop player who came in 6th in the Shooting Star for some odd hundreds of thousands of dollars (in both hands I basically raised with a draw, allowing him to 3-bet, getting myself heads up against a far superior hand, but then made my nut hand and took all his money). The game got worse and after about 90 minutes I moved back to 20/40, up over a rack (~$1300), all of it from Chau. When I left he actually did the "try to get the fish to stay come on man it's a good game" act to which I responded "Yup, it's a good game 'cause I'm in it" while racking up.
So now I'm back at 20/40, comfortably up 4 figures for the day. Pete leaves to go back to work, and I continue to play. Nothing really interesting happens, and my stack practically does not fluctuate. I'm pretty much between even and up 500 for over 3 hours. Then Pete returns from a long hard "day" at the office and wanders to the bar, which goes a little like this:
In the words of Pete:
So yesterday I don't feel like working, so I head down to the local cardroom to make some gambool. There's a bit of a wait for 20 and 40, so I go to the bar and order up a glass of whisky. Glass of Booker's, tyvm. Bartender tells me, oh, you get a free chaser here at Bay101. Chaser? I don't need a chaser. She tells me "oh, well you can have anything you want. Juice, BEER, water, soda, whatever." ORLY? I can have some free beer too? "Yes", she says, and points to the tap where they have Fat Tire. Glass of whisky and a free half pint of beer? I'm freerolling at this point!
So I drink my whisky and bring the beer over where I get a seat in the 20 game. First hand I post in cutoff and get dealt A
5. Jesse defends his blind and c/c's twice and we chop on a J-8-6-Q-8 rainbow board against his A2o. Niiice...
Playing against Pete is really easy these days, because I've basically removed every line from my arsenel that involves "folding." You see, I simply amble towards show down, at a bare minimum calling every street and only risking a bet or raise if I can comfortably call a raise or re-raise or if I have something like Ten-High that really can't win a show down. You'll note in the hand above that, had I had any stones, I would have simply check/raised Pete on the turn. However, were he to 3-bet, I'd be obliged to call down, since I have Ace-High, which can beat lots of stuff with a queen and jack on board, like King-High for example.
So moving on, Pete is actually kinda drunk at this point but playing alright, and the following cluster fuck of a hand comes up. Again, in the words of Pete:
A few hands later, Jesse mucks in EP, EVERYONE calls to me in SB, I raizeiup with J
T, BB mucks, everyone calls. 7 players to the flop of: J
85. This looks like a decent flop for me, so I stick out $20 just in case someone nobody has anything. Chuck Thompson raises, Indian guy (Bolly) 3-bets, LAG Asian woman cold-calls, ATC (which is also exactly how he plays) cold-calls, I cap, everyone calls. Well now I reckon this pot is getting kind of big. We're now 5-way for 34 sb. Turn T. Hmm. I guess if I capped the flop, I better bet the turn just in case someone was raising a flush draw (I want to protect my hand you see). Chuck Thompson insta-raises again, Indian guy 3-bets again. Now the Asian LAG woman is thinking, thinking... she says "pot's too big!" and slams down 3 bets. ATC says "crap, this is a big pot but I can't call 3-bets" and mucks. We're now 4-way for a nice little 2 and a half racker (29 bb). I tank. In my inebriated state I'm pretty sure I have a good hand. I think I got at least one pair, right? Well, maybe the river will counterfeit someone's two pair, so I call and Chuck Thompson calls. River 7. I check because the board didn't pair, Chuck checks, Indian guy checks, Asian Lag woman bets triumphantly, I look at my hand and I decide pockets might be good and call, Chuck looks upset and mucks his JT. Indian guy looks at his hand and says "this can't be good" and mucks 55. Asian LAG shows me 9
6 and beat my big pair. ATC looks astonished and says "How can you call with that, Asian LAG? I had the same hand, but I can't call 3 bets!".
Watching this hand unfold was a thing of beauty (Pete showed it to me on the flop, so I knew exactxly what he had). There was actually some smoke coming out of his ears when it was 3 bets back to him on the turn, which caused me a bit of confusion. Then I realized he wasn't considering a fold....he was considering a cap for value. Had ATC called, I think he might have done it.
Anyway, eventually Pete leaves and as I'm planning my exit strategy, Willy the Whale flounders into the high-limit area. There aren't many players I'll stay an extra few hours for, but this guy makes the list. When he's eventually called I manage to finagle the seat changing at my table such that he's placed on my immediate right, giving me full Jesus seat privleges for the next 2.5 hours, during which I lose about 1000 American Dollars (I should have taken the hint on my very first hand, when my AJ flopped JT2 against Willy's 22). I go home after 9pm, having logged over 10 hours for the day, feeling like crap, but still up a few hundred thanks to my new buddy Chau.
And then there was Friday, one of those days on which I wonder why I ever thought of doing anything other than playing Texas Holdem. The day started innocently enough, with me taking care of some "life details" in the morning. Specifically, I arranged a trip to DC the weekend of May 16th (thanks to my friend Chris having a free plane ticket he needed to book and literally having so much travel on his calendar that he'd rather fly me there with it than go someplace else), and finalized my payments of taxes to "the man." This amounted to making margin calls on most accounts that I have (my pocket wad of 100s, my box at Bay 101, my Full Tilt account, etc, etc) over the past week, culminating in having over 25K in my Bank of America Checking Account, 22K of which now belongs to the executives at AIG.
I arrived at the Oaks at 1pm and was saddened to see that not only would I not make the main 30/60 game, but that the must move game might not even go. How could this be? It was Good Friday! Surely there must be people here to gamble? 30 minutes later we fired up the must move game, and I proceeded to run like the Jesus for the full 6 hours I played in the game, and also witness some of the most God awful limit texas holdem play I have ever seen.
Right out of the shoot I get 66 and raise with it after a limper or two. We see a flop 5 ways of:
653
The UTG limper donks into me, I raise, one of the blinds calls, and he calls. The turn brings:
653-5
And he donks again. LOL ok you has a 5, I get it. I can beat the 5 I raise. The blind folds, and the donker 3-bets me. LOL ok maybe you did not hear me, but I says I can beat the 5 I raise. He calls. The river doesn't save him (since he had only 1 out, this is not surprising) and he mucks his T5 (soooooted!) in disgust.
A few hands later I raise AA and get like 7 callers. I proceed to flop:
A44
And have to bet because well I mean I raised preflop I better bet. Since I have all the cards worth having and for once nobody flopped trips against my big pair, I don't get paid too well on this one. However, I did pocket the 6 big bets preflop, which ain't bad. Shortly thereafter I see a flop from the small blind with 63 soooted and make another full hours (my 3rd in 30 minutes). Then my AA holds up again (this time without the help of a 3rd ace), even though the top board cards pairs on the turn (T73-T). My two opponents put in 3 bets apiece on this flop, yet someone both could only call the turn and muck the river when I bet again. LOL, gutshotaments....
The glory continues on and on. I raise KT of spades, flop a gut shot and, with 10 big bets already in the pot, spike the nuts on the turn. I check/raise 3 people, getting 8 more bets total into the pot, and even get called in two spots on the river, dragging a ho-hum $1200 pot. I crack TT with KK by turning a set. Then the following hand just blows my mind:
Somebody raises, 1500 people call, and I cold-call 77 on the button. The flop comes down:
J84 with a flush draw and it checks to me on the button. 7 Ways. I am in awe of this occurence and decide "What the hell, I bet!". Like everybody calls. So OK, nobody's got a jack. But, honestly, where the hell am I here? The turn is:
J84-5 and no flush yet.
Again, like 5 people check to me, including the preflop raiser. I bet again. If nobody thinks they can win, I might as well try to get them all to fold. This time, only 3 people call. OK, that's too many, right? Surely somebody has an 8 and will call on the river...I wonder if I should bet, maybe he'll fold if he's the guy on my left gee hmm what should I do holy shit that's a 7!
J84-5-7
They all check to me again and now I bet confidently. Only one player calls and I table my hand. There is a general look of disapproval as I stack the chips.....
The day was not without WTF moments of failure, however. One gentleman in particular provided a tasty one early in my session. I raise the KK and he 3-bets me. Someone else came along for the ride and I capped it. They both called and the board came out:
AT8r
I bet and only the 3-better called. The turn was a picturesque:
AT8-K
And I led out again. This time he raised, and seemed a little concerned when I 3-bet before he'd finished getting his 12 chips into the pot. He called undeterred, with only 2 big bets behind, and we saw a river:
AT8-K-Q
I bet, and he raised all in. I spent 10 seconds trying to read the board, figuring out what had happened, and decided he could possibly have played TT this badly so what the hell I call. He rolls KJo and I actually burst out laughing. I feel bad, for a moment, then apologize and tell him nice hand. His idiocy, you see, is about to catch up to him.
I limp behind like 3 other limpers with 75cc and the villain from last hand raises OTB. We see the flop 7 ways:
Kh Qs 4c
Curses, I say! Foiled again. If only I could see one more card...wait, what's that? Everybody checked? All 7 of you? Even you, preflop raiser on the button? One time dealer!!!
Kh Qs 4c - 6c
The astute reader will note that I have "picked up" and "open ended straight flush draw" and can now afford to put practically infinite bets into this pot. Sadly the guy on my immediate right bets, so I can just call, and 3 more people follow suit, including the preflop raiser on the button (who so obviously has like 99-JJ it's astonishing). All that is left now is for me to spike the 8d on the river, giving me the stone cold nuts. I of course bet said nuts whence checked to, and the button donates 60 more dollars to see them. He flashes jacks in disgust and I just smile. That's a 14 big bet pot I had no business winning.
A few hands later the same villain calls me on the flop and turn on a board of:
88T-T
While I'm holding AK. The river is an 8 and I don't even bother to bet. We chop it up, as he has the same full house as me, although with a little more dubious QJo in the hole. On the flop, while calling my bet, he actually said to another player "Looking good so far" and was dead serious. More bad play ensued from other sources, like when I flopped Jacks and 3s on a board of J43, only to get raised on the river by a flopped set of 4s. The guy literally just called the flop (4 ways) and turn (heads up) in order to wait to raise the river. I couldn't believe it, but again just smiled, making a mental note of the $90 I got to keep.
A few more hands went off without a hitch after two players at the table bought rounds of drinks (first a shot of grey goose, then a double or "cup" of grey goose as round two). I rivered broadway with KQdd and cracked the aforementioned jokers two pair (this was a 3-bet 5 handed pot preflop I think). On my final hand of note for the day I held 33, limped in, and faced a raise from late position. One of the blinds called, and there were 2 other limpers between me and the preflop raiser. I actually said to myself "OK, once you flop the set, just donk, because that guy will raise with overs and you want to trap these other guys in". So then of course the flop came 432 and I donked right away, got raised on a turn K and won another biggish pot. Before losing $150 on my very last hand with AKcc against red aces (capped preflop, one bet on the flop, and then I just folded), my stack looked like this (green chips are $10, whites $100).
I cashed out 6 racks for the day, showing a total win of just a shade under $4000. Basically half of my profits for the entire year, so far, have come on 3 days (yesterday, and the two huge wins I booked at Ocean's 11). This is a little discouraging, but I suppose to be expected.
Today I have only one story worth telling, and I'll make it quick (I lost about 2 racks in the Gardeny City 20/40 game, after being up 1.5 racks 2.5 hours into a 4 hour session...blarg). I walk to the table with my empty seat and BA, a regular, tells me he's going to move into the empty 9 seat and that I'll have his 6 seat. He is currently playing the button and will move next hand. I wait for him to fold, then take his seat and pull out a stack of bills to buy in with. Before I even have chips I am dealt the 65 of clubs....The funny part of this story is that I basically have BA's hand right now. He wasn't dealt in (he is waiting for the button to pass seat 9 so he can come in for free, a practice known as dealing off), and had he not moved I would have waited one more hand to post. In short, he gave me his hand.
I check my option after ever player limps to me. Then the button raises and the small blind 3-bets. Now you'd think maybe somebody would fold, but we're at Garden City, and that's just not an option preflop. All 5 players call, and I call two more bets. In all 8 of us (everyone but the not dealt in BA) see the flop for 3 bets. Daaa rummmm rollllll paaaa lease.....
AT3ccc
I flop a flush. Just right out of the shoot, no questions asked, with BA's hand. This isn't a particularly good way to get paid, having 3 clubs on the board instantly, but it'll have to do. I bet every chance I get, my hand holds up, and after the hand my 1000 dollars (which were brought during the hand) have become 1536 dollars. I am happy, but over the next 4 hours and 25 minutes I lose 1400 dollars, which makes me less happy. You can't win 'em all, I suppose, but with just one or two of these 4K days a month, I think I'll win enough of 'em :)
Thursday was a Bay 101 day filled with the antics of my buddy Pete. In the morning I first was stuck at the 8/16 table (there was only one 20/40 and I was 4th up. Anticipating a 30 minute wait, I snagged a seat when they opened an 8/16 game). After basically folding every hand for 2 orbits and losing 32 dollars, I moved to the 20/40 game for 45 minutes. Some tilt inducing stuff happened, but I managed to only lose less than 200 dollars before being called for 40/80. I always put my name up for 40/80, but probably play less than half the time. The game has to look good, and I have to be feeling good, etc, etc. There is a rather long list of criteria, all of which were met, so I cozied up to the game, added on like $1300 from my pocket, and promptly got stuck 800 dollars in about 30 minutes. Then I played a couple of hands badly (equity wise, at least) against Chau, the prop player who came in 6th in the Shooting Star for some odd hundreds of thousands of dollars (in both hands I basically raised with a draw, allowing him to 3-bet, getting myself heads up against a far superior hand, but then made my nut hand and took all his money). The game got worse and after about 90 minutes I moved back to 20/40, up over a rack (~$1300), all of it from Chau. When I left he actually did the "try to get the fish to stay come on man it's a good game" act to which I responded "Yup, it's a good game 'cause I'm in it" while racking up.
So now I'm back at 20/40, comfortably up 4 figures for the day. Pete leaves to go back to work, and I continue to play. Nothing really interesting happens, and my stack practically does not fluctuate. I'm pretty much between even and up 500 for over 3 hours. Then Pete returns from a long hard "day" at the office and wanders to the bar, which goes a little like this:
In the words of Pete:
So yesterday I don't feel like working, so I head down to the local cardroom to make some gambool. There's a bit of a wait for 20 and 40, so I go to the bar and order up a glass of whisky. Glass of Booker's, tyvm. Bartender tells me, oh, you get a free chaser here at Bay101. Chaser? I don't need a chaser. She tells me "oh, well you can have anything you want. Juice, BEER, water, soda, whatever." ORLY? I can have some free beer too? "Yes", she says, and points to the tap where they have Fat Tire. Glass of whisky and a free half pint of beer? I'm freerolling at this point!
So I drink my whisky and bring the beer over where I get a seat in the 20 game. First hand I post in cutoff and get dealt A
5. Jesse defends his blind and c/c's twice and we chop on a J-8-6-Q-8 rainbow board against his A2o. Niiice...Playing against Pete is really easy these days, because I've basically removed every line from my arsenel that involves "folding." You see, I simply amble towards show down, at a bare minimum calling every street and only risking a bet or raise if I can comfortably call a raise or re-raise or if I have something like Ten-High that really can't win a show down. You'll note in the hand above that, had I had any stones, I would have simply check/raised Pete on the turn. However, were he to 3-bet, I'd be obliged to call down, since I have Ace-High, which can beat lots of stuff with a queen and jack on board, like King-High for example.
So moving on, Pete is actually kinda drunk at this point but playing alright, and the following cluster fuck of a hand comes up. Again, in the words of Pete:
A few hands later, Jesse mucks in EP, EVERYONE calls to me in SB, I raizeiup with J
T, BB mucks, everyone calls. 7 players to the flop of: J85. This looks like a decent flop for me, so I stick out $20 just in case someone nobody has anything. Chuck Thompson raises, Indian guy (Bolly) 3-bets, LAG Asian woman cold-calls, ATC (which is also exactly how he plays) cold-calls, I cap, everyone calls. Well now I reckon this pot is getting kind of big. We're now 5-way for 34 sb. Turn T. Hmm. I guess if I capped the flop, I better bet the turn just in case someone was raising a flush draw (I want to protect my hand you see). Chuck Thompson insta-raises again, Indian guy 3-bets again. Now the Asian LAG woman is thinking, thinking... she says "pot's too big!" and slams down 3 bets. ATC says "crap, this is a big pot but I can't call 3-bets" and mucks. We're now 4-way for a nice little 2 and a half racker (29 bb). I tank. In my inebriated state I'm pretty sure I have a good hand. I think I got at least one pair, right? Well, maybe the river will counterfeit someone's two pair, so I call and Chuck Thompson calls. River 7. I check because the board didn't pair, Chuck checks, Indian guy checks, Asian Lag woman bets triumphantly, I look at my hand and I decide pockets might be good and call, Chuck looks upset and mucks his JT. Indian guy looks at his hand and says "this can't be good" and mucks 55. Asian LAG shows me 96 and beat my big pair. ATC looks astonished and says "How can you call with that, Asian LAG? I had the same hand, but I can't call 3 bets!". Watching this hand unfold was a thing of beauty (Pete showed it to me on the flop, so I knew exactxly what he had). There was actually some smoke coming out of his ears when it was 3 bets back to him on the turn, which caused me a bit of confusion. Then I realized he wasn't considering a fold....he was considering a cap for value. Had ATC called, I think he might have done it.
Anyway, eventually Pete leaves and as I'm planning my exit strategy, Willy the Whale flounders into the high-limit area. There aren't many players I'll stay an extra few hours for, but this guy makes the list. When he's eventually called I manage to finagle the seat changing at my table such that he's placed on my immediate right, giving me full Jesus seat privleges for the next 2.5 hours, during which I lose about 1000 American Dollars (I should have taken the hint on my very first hand, when my AJ flopped JT2 against Willy's 22). I go home after 9pm, having logged over 10 hours for the day, feeling like crap, but still up a few hundred thanks to my new buddy Chau.
And then there was Friday, one of those days on which I wonder why I ever thought of doing anything other than playing Texas Holdem. The day started innocently enough, with me taking care of some "life details" in the morning. Specifically, I arranged a trip to DC the weekend of May 16th (thanks to my friend Chris having a free plane ticket he needed to book and literally having so much travel on his calendar that he'd rather fly me there with it than go someplace else), and finalized my payments of taxes to "the man." This amounted to making margin calls on most accounts that I have (my pocket wad of 100s, my box at Bay 101, my Full Tilt account, etc, etc) over the past week, culminating in having over 25K in my Bank of America Checking Account, 22K of which now belongs to the executives at AIG.
I arrived at the Oaks at 1pm and was saddened to see that not only would I not make the main 30/60 game, but that the must move game might not even go. How could this be? It was Good Friday! Surely there must be people here to gamble? 30 minutes later we fired up the must move game, and I proceeded to run like the Jesus for the full 6 hours I played in the game, and also witness some of the most God awful limit texas holdem play I have ever seen.
Right out of the shoot I get 66 and raise with it after a limper or two. We see a flop 5 ways of:
653
The UTG limper donks into me, I raise, one of the blinds calls, and he calls. The turn brings:
653-5
And he donks again. LOL ok you has a 5, I get it. I can beat the 5 I raise. The blind folds, and the donker 3-bets me. LOL ok maybe you did not hear me, but I says I can beat the 5 I raise. He calls. The river doesn't save him (since he had only 1 out, this is not surprising) and he mucks his T5 (soooooted!) in disgust.
A few hands later I raise AA and get like 7 callers. I proceed to flop:
A44
And have to bet because well I mean I raised preflop I better bet. Since I have all the cards worth having and for once nobody flopped trips against my big pair, I don't get paid too well on this one. However, I did pocket the 6 big bets preflop, which ain't bad. Shortly thereafter I see a flop from the small blind with 63 soooted and make another full hours (my 3rd in 30 minutes). Then my AA holds up again (this time without the help of a 3rd ace), even though the top board cards pairs on the turn (T73-T). My two opponents put in 3 bets apiece on this flop, yet someone both could only call the turn and muck the river when I bet again. LOL, gutshotaments....
The glory continues on and on. I raise KT of spades, flop a gut shot and, with 10 big bets already in the pot, spike the nuts on the turn. I check/raise 3 people, getting 8 more bets total into the pot, and even get called in two spots on the river, dragging a ho-hum $1200 pot. I crack TT with KK by turning a set. Then the following hand just blows my mind:
Somebody raises, 1500 people call, and I cold-call 77 on the button. The flop comes down:
J84 with a flush draw and it checks to me on the button. 7 Ways. I am in awe of this occurence and decide "What the hell, I bet!". Like everybody calls. So OK, nobody's got a jack. But, honestly, where the hell am I here? The turn is:
J84-5 and no flush yet.
Again, like 5 people check to me, including the preflop raiser. I bet again. If nobody thinks they can win, I might as well try to get them all to fold. This time, only 3 people call. OK, that's too many, right? Surely somebody has an 8 and will call on the river...I wonder if I should bet, maybe he'll fold if he's the guy on my left gee hmm what should I do holy shit that's a 7!
J84-5-7
They all check to me again and now I bet confidently. Only one player calls and I table my hand. There is a general look of disapproval as I stack the chips.....
The day was not without WTF moments of failure, however. One gentleman in particular provided a tasty one early in my session. I raise the KK and he 3-bets me. Someone else came along for the ride and I capped it. They both called and the board came out:
AT8r
I bet and only the 3-better called. The turn was a picturesque:
AT8-K
And I led out again. This time he raised, and seemed a little concerned when I 3-bet before he'd finished getting his 12 chips into the pot. He called undeterred, with only 2 big bets behind, and we saw a river:
AT8-K-Q
I bet, and he raised all in. I spent 10 seconds trying to read the board, figuring out what had happened, and decided he could possibly have played TT this badly so what the hell I call. He rolls KJo and I actually burst out laughing. I feel bad, for a moment, then apologize and tell him nice hand. His idiocy, you see, is about to catch up to him.
I limp behind like 3 other limpers with 75cc and the villain from last hand raises OTB. We see the flop 7 ways:
Kh Qs 4c
Curses, I say! Foiled again. If only I could see one more card...wait, what's that? Everybody checked? All 7 of you? Even you, preflop raiser on the button? One time dealer!!!
Kh Qs 4c - 6c
The astute reader will note that I have "picked up" and "open ended straight flush draw" and can now afford to put practically infinite bets into this pot. Sadly the guy on my immediate right bets, so I can just call, and 3 more people follow suit, including the preflop raiser on the button (who so obviously has like 99-JJ it's astonishing). All that is left now is for me to spike the 8d on the river, giving me the stone cold nuts. I of course bet said nuts whence checked to, and the button donates 60 more dollars to see them. He flashes jacks in disgust and I just smile. That's a 14 big bet pot I had no business winning.
A few hands later the same villain calls me on the flop and turn on a board of:
88T-T
While I'm holding AK. The river is an 8 and I don't even bother to bet. We chop it up, as he has the same full house as me, although with a little more dubious QJo in the hole. On the flop, while calling my bet, he actually said to another player "Looking good so far" and was dead serious. More bad play ensued from other sources, like when I flopped Jacks and 3s on a board of J43, only to get raised on the river by a flopped set of 4s. The guy literally just called the flop (4 ways) and turn (heads up) in order to wait to raise the river. I couldn't believe it, but again just smiled, making a mental note of the $90 I got to keep.
A few more hands went off without a hitch after two players at the table bought rounds of drinks (first a shot of grey goose, then a double or "cup" of grey goose as round two). I rivered broadway with KQdd and cracked the aforementioned jokers two pair (this was a 3-bet 5 handed pot preflop I think). On my final hand of note for the day I held 33, limped in, and faced a raise from late position. One of the blinds called, and there were 2 other limpers between me and the preflop raiser. I actually said to myself "OK, once you flop the set, just donk, because that guy will raise with overs and you want to trap these other guys in". So then of course the flop came 432 and I donked right away, got raised on a turn K and won another biggish pot. Before losing $150 on my very last hand with AKcc against red aces (capped preflop, one bet on the flop, and then I just folded), my stack looked like this (green chips are $10, whites $100).
I cashed out 6 racks for the day, showing a total win of just a shade under $4000. Basically half of my profits for the entire year, so far, have come on 3 days (yesterday, and the two huge wins I booked at Ocean's 11). This is a little discouraging, but I suppose to be expected.Today I have only one story worth telling, and I'll make it quick (I lost about 2 racks in the Gardeny City 20/40 game, after being up 1.5 racks 2.5 hours into a 4 hour session...blarg). I walk to the table with my empty seat and BA, a regular, tells me he's going to move into the empty 9 seat and that I'll have his 6 seat. He is currently playing the button and will move next hand. I wait for him to fold, then take his seat and pull out a stack of bills to buy in with. Before I even have chips I am dealt the 65 of clubs....The funny part of this story is that I basically have BA's hand right now. He wasn't dealt in (he is waiting for the button to pass seat 9 so he can come in for free, a practice known as dealing off), and had he not moved I would have waited one more hand to post. In short, he gave me his hand.
I check my option after ever player limps to me. Then the button raises and the small blind 3-bets. Now you'd think maybe somebody would fold, but we're at Garden City, and that's just not an option preflop. All 5 players call, and I call two more bets. In all 8 of us (everyone but the not dealt in BA) see the flop for 3 bets. Daaa rummmm rollllll paaaa lease.....
AT3ccc
I flop a flush. Just right out of the shoot, no questions asked, with BA's hand. This isn't a particularly good way to get paid, having 3 clubs on the board instantly, but it'll have to do. I bet every chance I get, my hand holds up, and after the hand my 1000 dollars (which were brought during the hand) have become 1536 dollars. I am happy, but over the next 4 hours and 25 minutes I lose 1400 dollars, which makes me less happy. You can't win 'em all, I suppose, but with just one or two of these 4K days a month, I think I'll win enough of 'em :)
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
And Then I Folded the Best Hand
Today was a Garden City day. I've been playing at Bay 101 quite a bit, and I decided it was time for a change of venue. Early returns in the 20/40 game were positive, and when they called me for 40/80 I could scarcely believe my eyes. The next two players on the list were awful, and the 8 handed game already had 3 huge fish. The other players in the game weren't exactly experts, so I had no choice but to leave a fantastic 20/40 game.
Then this happened....
Everyone calls around to the player in lowjack, who pretends like he's gonna raise but doesn't. The hijack does raise...he's a huge laggy fish, and the primary (of 4) reason I'm in the game. I look down and find A9 sooooted and call two bets cold. The button 3-bets, and again everyone calls...literally, every, single, player, calls. Nobody caps it (I considered it, for value) so we see the pot 9 ways for 3 bets each. The flop is:
A73 all clubs
Great. 7 players check to me and I fancy a bet. The button quickly raises, the blinds fold, UTG 3-bets, two more folds, and then two players call 3 bets cold. I'm left with no recourse but to fold. Everyone else calls.
The turn is an offsuit Jack. It checks through. I cry a little.
The river is a baby red card. It checks through. I cry a lot. The fish on my right wins the pot with KJ (and the jack of clubs). He promptly wins two more pots, racks up his $3000, and leaves the game. I go back to 20/40, feeling awful.
Then this happens....
In the previous hand, two awful players put in lots of action after the first had live straddled. They show down TT and AQ (for one pair and no pair) and the no pair man who did not straddle is pissed for some reason. So a 3rd bad player open limps, the steamer raises, and I call two bets cold with J9 of clubs, looking forward to standard fair Garden City 6 way action. Except everyone folds to the BB (who straddled last hand). He calls, UTG calls, and we get:
Td 9d 4c
BB donks. This means he has....two cards. Like really, he could have anything. The guy is beyond awful, as is described in the two plus two post. UTG folds, and the steamer raises...the guy he's steaming against. So I mean, he could really have a lot of stuff. I call the two bets, and the BB calls (as he always does, at least 3, maybe 5 times per hand). But what card do we get to see next? None other than:
Td 9d 4c - Ad
That's right. Supposing I can logically put one of my opponents on a flush draw and the other on overcards, I just went from the gold medal to the bronze. The BB donks again and steamer calls. I fold. The river brings:
Td 9d 4c - Ad - Js
And again it goes bet and call. BB proudly displays J8o for...a pair of Jacks. Steamer turns over QJs for...Kicker plays! Not only was my hand best on the river, but it was best when I folded it on the turn. Argh....
And then....
LV opens in early position. She's a solid player (who reads this blog) who really doesn't get out of line much (especially against me from what I've seen). I find QQ in the hole and 3-bet. Somebody runs out of chips calling all these bets (getting all in) and LV 4-bets. I cringe and call. The flop is:
AKX
Where X != Q. LV bets and I think for a minute trying to come up with some possible way I can call. There are two hearts out there...I have the Queen of hearts. And I do have a back door straight draw...lol ok fine. I fold my hand face up. LV collects the small side pot then turns over her set of Aces. Before I can even finish patting myself on the back the dealer burns and turns:
Q
Aha! I have saved even more money! Behold my awesomeness. The burn and turn again brings:
Q
That's right....running queens. 987 : 1. The table is generally amazed. I can only muster "What the...." and walk away from the table in confusion. I managed to make quad queens in a capped pot and not show down. Live poker is rigged....
Then this happened....
Everyone calls around to the player in lowjack, who pretends like he's gonna raise but doesn't. The hijack does raise...he's a huge laggy fish, and the primary (of 4) reason I'm in the game. I look down and find A9 sooooted and call two bets cold. The button 3-bets, and again everyone calls...literally, every, single, player, calls. Nobody caps it (I considered it, for value) so we see the pot 9 ways for 3 bets each. The flop is:
A73 all clubs
Great. 7 players check to me and I fancy a bet. The button quickly raises, the blinds fold, UTG 3-bets, two more folds, and then two players call 3 bets cold. I'm left with no recourse but to fold. Everyone else calls.
The turn is an offsuit Jack. It checks through. I cry a little.
The river is a baby red card. It checks through. I cry a lot. The fish on my right wins the pot with KJ (and the jack of clubs). He promptly wins two more pots, racks up his $3000, and leaves the game. I go back to 20/40, feeling awful.
Then this happens....
In the previous hand, two awful players put in lots of action after the first had live straddled. They show down TT and AQ (for one pair and no pair) and the no pair man who did not straddle is pissed for some reason. So a 3rd bad player open limps, the steamer raises, and I call two bets cold with J9 of clubs, looking forward to standard fair Garden City 6 way action. Except everyone folds to the BB (who straddled last hand). He calls, UTG calls, and we get:
Td 9d 4c
BB donks. This means he has....two cards. Like really, he could have anything. The guy is beyond awful, as is described in the two plus two post. UTG folds, and the steamer raises...the guy he's steaming against. So I mean, he could really have a lot of stuff. I call the two bets, and the BB calls (as he always does, at least 3, maybe 5 times per hand). But what card do we get to see next? None other than:
Td 9d 4c - Ad
That's right. Supposing I can logically put one of my opponents on a flush draw and the other on overcards, I just went from the gold medal to the bronze. The BB donks again and steamer calls. I fold. The river brings:
Td 9d 4c - Ad - Js
And again it goes bet and call. BB proudly displays J8o for...a pair of Jacks. Steamer turns over QJs for...Kicker plays! Not only was my hand best on the river, but it was best when I folded it on the turn. Argh....
And then....
LV opens in early position. She's a solid player (who reads this blog) who really doesn't get out of line much (especially against me from what I've seen). I find QQ in the hole and 3-bet. Somebody runs out of chips calling all these bets (getting all in) and LV 4-bets. I cringe and call. The flop is:
AKX
Where X != Q. LV bets and I think for a minute trying to come up with some possible way I can call. There are two hearts out there...I have the Queen of hearts. And I do have a back door straight draw...lol ok fine. I fold my hand face up. LV collects the small side pot then turns over her set of Aces. Before I can even finish patting myself on the back the dealer burns and turns:
Q
Aha! I have saved even more money! Behold my awesomeness. The burn and turn again brings:
Q
That's right....running queens. 987 : 1. The table is generally amazed. I can only muster "What the...." and walk away from the table in confusion. I managed to make quad queens in a capped pot and not show down. Live poker is rigged....
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Return of Neal
I haven't been writing much lately, probably because I've been getting bored and just felt like I had nothing to interesting to talk about. Well, the best cure for that, as far as I can tell, is a 9 hour session with Neal. Many of you probably remember my previous post about the man, the myth, the legend that is Neal. Well yesterday he was in rare form.
I showed up at Bay 101 at 10:30am and promptly dusted off ~2 racks in an excellent 20/40 game. Neal walked in and a new game was promptly started around him. Bolly beat me to the table change list, but I was 2nd up to take my shots at the White Whale. Around noon I got my seat, stuck $900, and was astonished to find the Jesus Seat vacant. The player who was currently all in apparently had asked for the seat, but he lost the pot and wandered off, steaming about something or other and mumbling "Gut shot....". I couldn't give this chance up, so I promptly posted my big blind like 3 seats left of the big blind, before anybody could lay claim to my seat. Once I had a hand, I was bunkered down for the long haul.
And what a long haul it was. The thing about The Neal Game is that basically everyone except the most seasoned players goes completely batshit crazy. Neal is an obnoxious SOB, and that alone is enough to put many players on a form of soft tilt. Combined with the attitude that "I've gotta gamble it up with him" and "If everyone else can play that trash, so can I" pretty soon you've got yourself 8 handed raised pots 3 times an orbit. A dash of "Jesse in the Jesus Seat" and "JS the lag is two seats left of that" and all of a sudden the game is just off the chain nuts. Players who normally play well (or at least straight forward and non-awfully) start calling two cold with Q8s and A7o.
So we're muddling along, with basically everyone winning except Neal and I. He eventually gets into the game for 7 racks, and I'm not far behind him after I make my 3rd buy of the day. At my peak I was stuck about 2300, but dedicated to play through and not let his antics get to me (fwiw, I think I did an excellent job). In hour 6 I saw one of the most improbable poker events of my life: consequetive straight flushes in heads up pots.
Hand 1:
A tight regular and Neal go 5 bets preflop (the cap is 4, mind you, but it's heads up), with Neal putting in the last raise. The board on the turn reads:
429hh-Ah
And Neal gets to bet/3-bet the sucker. He bets the river, fast grabs his chips back after getting called, proudly displayes 53hh for the steel wheel 5 high straight flush, and procedes to call JS a fag for good measure (even though JS wasn't even in the hand).
Hand 2:
On the very next hand....JS open raises from very early, and Bolly 3-bets him. Somehow Neal actually folds, and the flop goes off heads up. I forget the board, but on the turn Bolly has an 8-high straight flush, which he eventually displays proudly. JS comments on his 3-bet with 7-high, and is met only by Neal's astute "Shut up you faggot." JS's girlfriend giggles in such a way that seems to say....well, I don't know what it said. But she did actually laugh.
So we're all continuing down our path of mutually assured destruction, one hand after another with everyone flinging their own feces back and forth and me just trying not to get too much of it on myself. Then I start to win....first a little, then a lot. Then the following super stupendously awesome hand happens:
Bolly limps in the AntiChrist seat, Neal limps, and I raise A8 sooooooted. 2 other players call and we see the flop 5 ways:
K84 with two hearts
It checks to Neal who bets, and I raise quickly and in rhythm. Everyone mucks back to Bolly, who calls two cold like it's nothin'. Neal 3-bets and I call only since I have, you know, second pair. Bolly takes one more on the chin and we see a turn of
A of hearts
Aiyah. Now the pot is huge (~10 big bets) and I have Aces up. Bolly checks and Neal bets. I think for a minute about this predicament...sure Bolly probably has a flush, but I mean, it's freakin' NEAL. Bolly left the reservation a while back, and he could have damn near anything. And did I mention I have Aces up? Folding is not an option, but raising would be suicidal, so I just call. Bolly turbo-raises and Neal calls. Now I am 100 percent sure Bolly has a flush (aside: A young pro at the 40/80 game said as I was showing down my Kings full the other day "He has Kings there 112% of the time. He always has at least 2, and 12% of the time he has a 3rd one"), but since Neal only called I'm priced in to my 4 outter. Had he 3-bet, I'd have made "the read" and done "the math" and "folded" without a second thought. Here's where this shit gets funny....
Players have been dark betting today (that's betting a street before the dealer exposes it). For some reason, it's just the hip thing to do. On one hand JS managed to dark bet every street with TT on a board of J83-4-4 and get paid off the full 2.5 big bets post flop by Neal (who flopped second pair of 8s). Bolly's been in on the act, too, and so has Neal. So, returning to our hand, remember, the board reads:
K84hh-Ah
And Neal went batshit on the flop and Bolly has a flush with p=1. As the dealer is about to burn and turn Bolly dark bets the river...and Neal dark raises! As the dealer is cutting off the river card Neal is actually putting 16 chips into the pot...and then we see a gorgeous, beautiful, life-giving black Ace hit the felt. Before Bolly even knows what's happened I declare "3-bets" and pick up as many chips as I can with one hand and just put them in a stack in front of me without even counting them (they're coming back). Bolly folds his flush face up and Neal calls, fast-rolling the previous nut Queen High flush. My aces full is of course good and I drag in the monstrosity of a pot. For the next 5 minutes, JS and Neal discuss the various pros and cons of him not 3-betting the nuts on the turn and instead opting to dark raise the river. Neal is sure I would have called anyway. JS is sure (and right) that I wouldn't have. All I'm sure of is that I got out of dodge up $250 and happy as a clam.
I showed up at Bay 101 at 10:30am and promptly dusted off ~2 racks in an excellent 20/40 game. Neal walked in and a new game was promptly started around him. Bolly beat me to the table change list, but I was 2nd up to take my shots at the White Whale. Around noon I got my seat, stuck $900, and was astonished to find the Jesus Seat vacant. The player who was currently all in apparently had asked for the seat, but he lost the pot and wandered off, steaming about something or other and mumbling "Gut shot....". I couldn't give this chance up, so I promptly posted my big blind like 3 seats left of the big blind, before anybody could lay claim to my seat. Once I had a hand, I was bunkered down for the long haul.
And what a long haul it was. The thing about The Neal Game is that basically everyone except the most seasoned players goes completely batshit crazy. Neal is an obnoxious SOB, and that alone is enough to put many players on a form of soft tilt. Combined with the attitude that "I've gotta gamble it up with him" and "If everyone else can play that trash, so can I" pretty soon you've got yourself 8 handed raised pots 3 times an orbit. A dash of "Jesse in the Jesus Seat" and "JS the lag is two seats left of that" and all of a sudden the game is just off the chain nuts. Players who normally play well (or at least straight forward and non-awfully) start calling two cold with Q8s and A7o.
So we're muddling along, with basically everyone winning except Neal and I. He eventually gets into the game for 7 racks, and I'm not far behind him after I make my 3rd buy of the day. At my peak I was stuck about 2300, but dedicated to play through and not let his antics get to me (fwiw, I think I did an excellent job). In hour 6 I saw one of the most improbable poker events of my life: consequetive straight flushes in heads up pots.
Hand 1:
A tight regular and Neal go 5 bets preflop (the cap is 4, mind you, but it's heads up), with Neal putting in the last raise. The board on the turn reads:
429hh-Ah
And Neal gets to bet/3-bet the sucker. He bets the river, fast grabs his chips back after getting called, proudly displayes 53hh for the steel wheel 5 high straight flush, and procedes to call JS a fag for good measure (even though JS wasn't even in the hand).
Hand 2:
On the very next hand....JS open raises from very early, and Bolly 3-bets him. Somehow Neal actually folds, and the flop goes off heads up. I forget the board, but on the turn Bolly has an 8-high straight flush, which he eventually displays proudly. JS comments on his 3-bet with 7-high, and is met only by Neal's astute "Shut up you faggot." JS's girlfriend giggles in such a way that seems to say....well, I don't know what it said. But she did actually laugh.
So we're all continuing down our path of mutually assured destruction, one hand after another with everyone flinging their own feces back and forth and me just trying not to get too much of it on myself. Then I start to win....first a little, then a lot. Then the following super stupendously awesome hand happens:
Bolly limps in the AntiChrist seat, Neal limps, and I raise A8 sooooooted. 2 other players call and we see the flop 5 ways:
K84 with two hearts
It checks to Neal who bets, and I raise quickly and in rhythm. Everyone mucks back to Bolly, who calls two cold like it's nothin'. Neal 3-bets and I call only since I have, you know, second pair. Bolly takes one more on the chin and we see a turn of
A of hearts
Aiyah. Now the pot is huge (~10 big bets) and I have Aces up. Bolly checks and Neal bets. I think for a minute about this predicament...sure Bolly probably has a flush, but I mean, it's freakin' NEAL. Bolly left the reservation a while back, and he could have damn near anything. And did I mention I have Aces up? Folding is not an option, but raising would be suicidal, so I just call. Bolly turbo-raises and Neal calls. Now I am 100 percent sure Bolly has a flush (aside: A young pro at the 40/80 game said as I was showing down my Kings full the other day "He has Kings there 112% of the time. He always has at least 2, and 12% of the time he has a 3rd one"), but since Neal only called I'm priced in to my 4 outter. Had he 3-bet, I'd have made "the read" and done "the math" and "folded" without a second thought. Here's where this shit gets funny....
Players have been dark betting today (that's betting a street before the dealer exposes it). For some reason, it's just the hip thing to do. On one hand JS managed to dark bet every street with TT on a board of J83-4-4 and get paid off the full 2.5 big bets post flop by Neal (who flopped second pair of 8s). Bolly's been in on the act, too, and so has Neal. So, returning to our hand, remember, the board reads:
K84hh-Ah
And Neal went batshit on the flop and Bolly has a flush with p=1. As the dealer is about to burn and turn Bolly dark bets the river...and Neal dark raises! As the dealer is cutting off the river card Neal is actually putting 16 chips into the pot...and then we see a gorgeous, beautiful, life-giving black Ace hit the felt. Before Bolly even knows what's happened I declare "3-bets" and pick up as many chips as I can with one hand and just put them in a stack in front of me without even counting them (they're coming back). Bolly folds his flush face up and Neal calls, fast-rolling the previous nut Queen High flush. My aces full is of course good and I drag in the monstrosity of a pot. For the next 5 minutes, JS and Neal discuss the various pros and cons of him not 3-betting the nuts on the turn and instead opting to dark raise the river. Neal is sure I would have called anyway. JS is sure (and right) that I wouldn't have. All I'm sure of is that I got out of dodge up $250 and happy as a clam.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Two Hands With Pete
April started off well for me. I actually woke up "early" (at least by my standards) and was seated in a game at Bay 101 at 10:30. That's AM. I managed to play an 8.5 hour day, thanks mostly to the fact that Pete sat in my game for the first half of the day, giving me someone to bullshit with and keeping my mind focused on something other than the idiocy going on around me. I had a few rough patches:
I raise 99. Only the blind calls.
AK6
He bets. I raise cause he's full of shit. He 3-bets cause I'm full of shit. I fold cause I mean shit....
He tables T8o and there is a general bruh-haha at the table. It think a lot of the regulars like it when somebody takes a stand against me and kicks my ass because they secretly wish they did it themselves more often. Anyway. Our first hand is pretty funny, and also short and sweet. Pete open limps from the Low-Jack. For a quick review of position.....
We have here a 10 handed table (the ones I play at seat only 9). Alice and Bob are the blinds, and Carol is UTG (under the gun). As far as I'm concerned, only 4 other positions have names. Jim is OTB (on the button, or just the button), David is in the CO (cutoff), Sally is in the HJ (high jack), and Ted is the LJ (lo-jack). Generally speaking other positions can just be named by their number of spots left of UTG (UTG+1, +2, etc). So anyway Pete open limps where Ted is. This is something I never do. I will open limp only from the very early seats. Once I get within smelling distance of the button, if nobody has entered the pot, I'm coming in for a raise only. The possibility of stealing the blinds, or at least getting heads up with one of them, is just too compelling. Pete doesn't quite buy this hook, line and sinker, so sometimes he limps the low jack (and maybe even the hi jack). Anyway, to Pete's horror the 3 players behind him fold, the small blind folds, and little old me gets a free look at the flop in the big blind. I happen to be holding J5 offsuit, a hand I'd muck in a second had Pete raised. And then....
JJ5
I flop the stone cold nuts. Pete says, as the dealer is burning, "Just check and get it over with". I look at the flop, check, then raise after he bets. Sadly he calls only and folds on the turn. I show my hand, and once again there is a (smaller) bru-haha.
A while later these two awful fish limp and I elect the raise A9 offsuit in the high-jack. Pete calls in the big blind, and the flop comes down:
Q93 rainbow
Pete donks. He donks more than I do, which means he donks in places I don't think he should. So I put on my Pete cap and try to figure it out. I don't say anything yet, but about the only hands I personally would donk here would be JT and 33 (99 if he can have that, but a 3-bet preflop would be likely). Both the fish calls, thus eliminating the possibility of them having a single pair of queens, and I raise. Pete calls, and they both call. All of a sudden this pot is kind of large (8 big bets), and all I've got is position and second pair. Pete calling, by the way, is awesome, as it basically rules out him having anything that could possibly be beating me (the reason for donking with a set would be to get raised and then 3-bet).
Q93-K with a flush draw now
Pete re-donks, or as I often say double donks. Both the fish now fold (or maybe one of them folded the last street, I don't remember) and I actually say out loud "Man, he's got Jack-Ten." Pete, showman that he is, keeps a straight face and quietly waits. I decide I basically can't fold cause he always bluffs me off the best hand (I'm not sure how much of this I've written about on this blog vs two plus two vs just in emails to my friends, but Pete's gotten me to lay down a couple of winners in the last few weeks in some sizable pots) so I call. And then....
Q93-K-A
Ai Yah! I do believe I've got it! Unless he has Jack-Ten of course. Pete checks, and in the 3 seconds that follow I run through a hand from last week where I 3-bet Pete's CO open with 99. The board ran out:
652-4-7
And because I hate money I bet the river (you'll note I have the worst pocket pair at this point. Every other pocket pair beats me) and Pete check/raised my ass and because he always bluffs me off the best hand I called like a donkey and got shown 88. So anyway, back to the hand in question....
I check. Aces up, in position, on the river, and I check. Pete sheepishly tables Jack-Ten. I feel better about myself, at least for a while :)
I raise 99. Only the blind calls.
AK6
He bets. I raise cause he's full of shit. He 3-bets cause I'm full of shit. I fold cause I mean shit....
He tables T8o and there is a general bruh-haha at the table. It think a lot of the regulars like it when somebody takes a stand against me and kicks my ass because they secretly wish they did it themselves more often. Anyway. Our first hand is pretty funny, and also short and sweet. Pete open limps from the Low-Jack. For a quick review of position.....
We have here a 10 handed table (the ones I play at seat only 9). Alice and Bob are the blinds, and Carol is UTG (under the gun). As far as I'm concerned, only 4 other positions have names. Jim is OTB (on the button, or just the button), David is in the CO (cutoff), Sally is in the HJ (high jack), and Ted is the LJ (lo-jack). Generally speaking other positions can just be named by their number of spots left of UTG (UTG+1, +2, etc). So anyway Pete open limps where Ted is. This is something I never do. I will open limp only from the very early seats. Once I get within smelling distance of the button, if nobody has entered the pot, I'm coming in for a raise only. The possibility of stealing the blinds, or at least getting heads up with one of them, is just too compelling. Pete doesn't quite buy this hook, line and sinker, so sometimes he limps the low jack (and maybe even the hi jack). Anyway, to Pete's horror the 3 players behind him fold, the small blind folds, and little old me gets a free look at the flop in the big blind. I happen to be holding J5 offsuit, a hand I'd muck in a second had Pete raised. And then....JJ5
I flop the stone cold nuts. Pete says, as the dealer is burning, "Just check and get it over with". I look at the flop, check, then raise after he bets. Sadly he calls only and folds on the turn. I show my hand, and once again there is a (smaller) bru-haha.
A while later these two awful fish limp and I elect the raise A9 offsuit in the high-jack. Pete calls in the big blind, and the flop comes down:
Q93 rainbow
Pete donks. He donks more than I do, which means he donks in places I don't think he should. So I put on my Pete cap and try to figure it out. I don't say anything yet, but about the only hands I personally would donk here would be JT and 33 (99 if he can have that, but a 3-bet preflop would be likely). Both the fish calls, thus eliminating the possibility of them having a single pair of queens, and I raise. Pete calls, and they both call. All of a sudden this pot is kind of large (8 big bets), and all I've got is position and second pair. Pete calling, by the way, is awesome, as it basically rules out him having anything that could possibly be beating me (the reason for donking with a set would be to get raised and then 3-bet).
Q93-K with a flush draw now
Pete re-donks, or as I often say double donks. Both the fish now fold (or maybe one of them folded the last street, I don't remember) and I actually say out loud "Man, he's got Jack-Ten." Pete, showman that he is, keeps a straight face and quietly waits. I decide I basically can't fold cause he always bluffs me off the best hand (I'm not sure how much of this I've written about on this blog vs two plus two vs just in emails to my friends, but Pete's gotten me to lay down a couple of winners in the last few weeks in some sizable pots) so I call. And then....
Q93-K-A
Ai Yah! I do believe I've got it! Unless he has Jack-Ten of course. Pete checks, and in the 3 seconds that follow I run through a hand from last week where I 3-bet Pete's CO open with 99. The board ran out:
652-4-7
And because I hate money I bet the river (you'll note I have the worst pocket pair at this point. Every other pocket pair beats me) and Pete check/raised my ass and because he always bluffs me off the best hand I called like a donkey and got shown 88. So anyway, back to the hand in question....
I check. Aces up, in position, on the river, and I check. Pete sheepishly tables Jack-Ten. I feel better about myself, at least for a while :)
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