One more for the road

I had AQo raised a very tight woman at this 10 20 game when she limped in EP. The button cold called behind me as did the bb.

(The button and I had it in for each other, we had been going to war all night at 5-10 and 10-20. I told myself that he was a "Showdown Monkey" He wasn't folding anything that had showdown value. At one poin he had c/r the turn with AK high and then check called my river bluff with the same Ace high, I had a weaker ace high of course).

Flop Qs Jd 4d. I had the Ad which helps me a bit.

She led into me and I raised (not enthusiastic about TPTK here, but this is a big pot). Showdown Monkey called 2 cold, bb folded, she called. I put her on KQ exactly.

Turn Kh. She again leads into me again. sigh I called, SM raised and we both called. I resigned myself to check/call mode because I really had no idea of his range, could be the nuts or total crap.

River 10c. She checked. I checked, ready to over-call. He bet, she called, I was about to call before I noticed that I had the nuts

Go Figure DMW!!!

I raised, he called, she folded.

Post Mortem.

Showdown Monkey had 10-9 off suit. So he turned the nuts and I rivered him.

The woman claimed that she had flopped a set of Js. No, I don't know that she wasn't lying but it would be a strange one to tell that would not benefite her a bit. She certainly did not keep secrets about what she folded, and was quite a chatterbox in her last hour.

I know that playing a JJJ this way may not make sense to us*, but I assure you that if you played with her it would be understandable. Many daytime regulars habitually fear the worst and will go into check/call mode when someone raises them. This is what I did with my top pair, even after it turned into the nuts!

Again, this is the same lineup where twice set-over-set failed to result in any aggression on the river due to some mild coordination.

*us: assuming that we are players who watch tv, read poker books and internet forums such as twoplustwo and rgp.

Must slowplay sets!!??

I was in the a tight-passive daytime 10/20 limit he game at Foxwoods as in the worst hand nominee below. This was several hours before the J9 hand, the table was much calmer. Except myself who was tilty and frustrated.

Two tight players limp from MP. I look down at 77 and raise from the CO. bb and limpers call. (8 sbs).

Flop 7h 4d Ad. They check, I bet and only first limper calls. He is generally more aggeressive than the average daytime regular so I had hoped for a c/r.

Turn As. Check, I bet, He called.

River Ah. Board is now A A A 7 4. He checks. Suddenly I realized I might as well be holding 72 off-suit. If he was hanging tough with a hand like JJ, I am crushed.

So I tabled my pocket sevens. He chuckled and said "Wow, I thought I was going to trap you," flashed me his 44 and mucked them.

Discussion: I guess that is why they slowplay sets... Interestingly this man had been on a losing end of set-over-set (222 vs KKK I think) an hour earlier with another tight daytime regular (I should just call them dinosaurs). That hand had the players bet/raise/3bet/call the turn. The river went check/check as a dangerous flush card appeared :> All in all he had lost with a set or trips six times that afternoon and the game had only been going on for about 4 hours. He maintained his composure, and I wish that I could do so like that too.

he checks,

Worst Hand Nominee

EDIT: I had been awake for 28 hours including 4 hours driving and 12 hours of poker when this hand was played.

This won't be the absolute worst but I surely screwed this one up.

10-20 Limit hold'em.

A tight player raised utg, I called in middle position with Jc9c. only the bb called too.
totally unjustified


Flop As 10c 9h. UTG bet, I raised dubious attempt at free card play here. bb folded and utg 3-bet me. I called.

Turn: As 10c 9h , 4 h. He bet and I called this was a fine time to fold.

River: As 10c 9h , 4 h, Jh. He bet, I decided to raise, having come this far and made two pair, I might as well win or lose the maximum with it. As I was tossing it in, the green $25 chip I had picked up along with 3 reds, slipped out of my fingers and fell back into my stack. The 3 reds landed across the line, meaning a call.

The dealer and utg gave me strange look, wondering why I hadn't finished the call. I tossed one more $5 chip in as though I had always meant to call. UTG had AQo and my two pair was good.

The only thing that I did right was for the rest of the afternoon, I did not try the free card raise unless I actually had enough equity to get three-bet.

Trapped him into being the favorite

Pokerstove Says

Board: Jc Ts 7s
Dead:
equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 42.810% 42.36% 00.45% 9225 99.00 { KsJs }
Hand 1: 57.190% 56.74% 00.45% 12357 99.00 { TT+, 77 }

I had KJs and limped utg. UTG+1 raised to $10 and got at least two cold call, the bb and I called too. The flop comes J s s meaning I "smoked the flop" with top pair and K high flush draw.

BB donks 10$ I call, utg raises to 110$ I had about 165 left and everyone folded to me. I shoved, he called, I got there.

He had just been bb before and he tilt showed his pocket Kings!! So I was behind. After he raised the flop that much I have to know that he has at least an overpair* so I am the underdog. And he happened to have the one over pair that I am worst against. Though I guess that's better than a set...


* (it doesn't 'feel' like AJ or KJ but I guess I could put that in his range, which gives me another 5%)

Must it Always Be There? 1/2 bbv

I was getting ready to leave last night at 3:29am. The new Dealer stepped behind the existing one. 5 people limp in and I look at KK in the small blind. I raised to 15 and 3 people called, including the straightforward woman in the big blind.

Flop was A 6 7. Yuck.

I bet 40 and the bb and button called. Turn was a red Q and I check folded to her 40$ bet.


Discussion:
I wonder if I even needed to do the standard hopeless continuation bet. Into 3 people that might just be giving money away.

Also I am on an uncanny run of overcards. I have seen a lot of KK-JJ in nl cash games that run into one single over card on the board.

20-40 early AM. I get 97 in the Hellojack and raise. CO calls, sb 3 bets, bb caps. We call. 16 small bets.

SB sucks and plays 80% of his starting hands, but I don't know it yet. The only hand I played with him, he got a set against my aces up and milked me for 3 bbs.

BB is woman who put in 3 big bets to show down Ace high last time we played.

Flop 458 The preflop 3-bettor and capper check to me. My jaw bounces off of my chip stack. I was so stunned I decided to do something novel, take the free card. CO obliges.

Turn 5 shucks. sb bets, we all call. 12 bets

River 2 sb bets, bb folds (no ace!?) and I cackle while counting out my raise. Just kidding!

I fold and CO folds too.

Why do they do this?

I was at a fairly tight 1-2nl table. They are all pretty tight comapred to last year, but this was a Saturday night.

I had 88 in middle position and made it ten to go. 3 players called. This was one of the larger pf pots. The flop came Kc 9c 8h. The bb donked 10$ into me. One player folded. I raised to $30, the other guy folded and then the bb folded.

Why did he lead for ten? My raise didn't really give him any information. He might be trying to tease in a draw but he was getting fine pot odds to call the extra 20 and did not. If he would have check-raised like a normal person I would have made much more.

I was the favorite?

I was playing 1/2 at Foxwoods and there was an internet whipper snapper running over the table, as usual. I haven't figured out what to do with them yet. Such as with this hand.

I had red queens on the button and around 200$. Internet kid have over 1200.

Utg opens for 15, Internet hotshot calls. I called.

Flop J 8 3 all hearts. Utg leads for 40 and Internet goes all in.

I called pretty quickly. I did not put him a flush here since I think he would be trying to extract more chips. UTG folded.

Internet kid asked me if I flopped the flush as the turn came Ac, 2 of blank. He refused to show his hand until I told him that I just had Queens, after which he showed 8s3s. This slowroll drama is becoming pretty dang common at 1/2.

I thought I was a bit behind but the pot odds warranted a call although I still have to think about what utg might have. I was suprised when I stoved it and found out that red QQ is 51% to win over bottom two pair on a J 8 3 all heart board. So I was a slight favorite and of course the pot odds make the call a good one.

I'll clean up the pokerstove if no one minds.

Board: Jh 8h 3h
Hand 0: 48 % { 8s3s }
Hand 1: 51% { QdQh }

I am still not sure how to account for utg in that situation as I had really no specific information. That was why I did not rereaise pf. I don't know how to intepret a shove all in from either of them. That and I am a real weak tight wuss.

It Wasn't A Bad Beat. 1-2

1-2 is the most varied game ever. On its face, it is the beginner's game, the small stakes TV game. And yet we have pots that go over $1,000 like this one that I didn't make my flush in.

So there is no small stakes no limit live. I was in a 1,000$ pot last night at Foxwoods 1/2.

Me: AJs
Slowroller 33
Shorty: alleged QQ
Top pair monkey 109
Drunk big stack optomitrist Q9

Preflop Six in for 7$ (pot=42$) Board; 963

Hand 0: { QQ } 04.45%
Hand 1: { 3d3h} 67.476%
Hand 2: { AsJs } 25.641%
Hand 3: { Td9d } 2.02%
Hand 4: { Qs9s } 00.00%

The shortstack queeens went all in for 50 on the flop. We called, (190$) The 333 c/r and made it 125 total. We called the extra 75$. (592$)

Turn A hearts.

The set went all in on the turn for his last 105. We called (1002$). The lovely ace allowed me to pretend that I was in great shape. We called merrily along. I had about 110 left to collect from the Q9s, (and probably the top pair monkey too) if the flush came.

River: Brick of clubs. The set-rooler was nice enough to ask "Does anyone have the ace?"
I flashed my A over and he proudly rolled his set.

I felt a little bad for for the the Q9s optimist (I mucked my other card so he didn't notice I had a bigger draw). How often do you flop TP+flush draw drawing dead? He was certainly the action man, but both he and the set roller took about 1k out of the game so I feel better.

The set man bet 2/3 of his stack on the flop and just had to save that 105 for the the turn because good players always slowplay sets while still keeping it obvious with a flop check-raise.

I haven't examined it piece by piece but it sure looks like I am getting good odds to draw. How often do I get to play a 5 way pot where two of us have over 93% equity? Makes me think I need to stop playing the smaller suited cards so much. I would have gone all in with the Q9s on the flop while drawing dead if I had held it.