Hey Look AT ME!!!

2-5 nl Hold'em. I am about to leave with my 600$ but the dealer agrees to give us one more hand. I put out a straddle utg. Three limps and a LAG raises to 30$. The bb calls, I call on the straddle with 66. The limpers call.

Six to the flop, 180$.

Flop: 5 6 7 rainbow. As soon as I saw the flop I started thinking; When I stack off to 89, do I pay time and keep playing?

Then something happend. The big blind said "all in". I asked for a count and it was 370$.

Huh?

As we remembered in our last episode, bets that don't make sense are likely to be bluffs. Caveat: nothing makes sense to me.

The only clue was that he was a new big blind from the guy who had left an hour before. I hadn't seen him play a single hand yet. I thought 'my gosh, I hadn't even realized that he was here.'

I didn't think he would make this play with an overpair. That leaves other sets, 2 pairs, and straights. The sets are a wash since I have the middle one.

I eventually held up the 666 for the 3 spectators behind me who weren't in the game. If I am going to fold a set I want some credit dang it. Shouldn't have advertised that I am easy to move off to those LAGtards. I folded. The others folded. The PFR folded A7o face up. The big blind showed us 34s for the bottom str8.

What got me off was the enormous overbet. If he goes for a c/r or even a normal sized bet, the rest of my money goes in. I really don't know a way of not being trapped if he bets semi-normally because I will be way commited by the time I figure out what is going on.

Does the Story Ever Add Up?

Dan Harrington said one of the ways you sniff out a bluff is if the story does not add up. I think I know what that means, except that so many people play deceptively that I don't think the story is supposed to add up.

One of the few games where I thought it might was last night at the Mohegan Sun 2-5 nl game.
I thought this game was the most straight forward that I had ever seen and fairly weak. There were maybe two people at the table who would raise without a big pair or AK. Many people would limp in with say, an A8o and then make small bets if they flopped top pair. It was as though everyone was new.

The downside was that they didn't want to call many raises pf. They were content to fold when they missed the flop so I wasn't sure how to stack anyone.

I raised two EP limpers with KJs to 20$, I had about 300 and the medium stack between the two of them. If I had overlimped, a 7 way unraised pot was likely and I didn't want that. Everyone folded and they both called.
Pot=65$

Flop: K 3 4 rainbow, with one of my suit.

They check to me and I bet 30$ into the 65. Then came the suprise, the first limper check-raised all in. The other guy folded. It was 82 more over my 30.

I often stare blankly at my opponent trying to get a tell and figure out what the heck the odds were, 99% of the time I forget the pot size and have to reconstruct it, poor. 125$ after he calls my raise plus 82 = 207$, costing 80$ to call. 2.5:1.

He was staying still like a statue and giving a statue like stair, not even moving his unlit cigarette. What kind of hands beat me?

AK and KQ: Would he have limped/called with those in early position? Maybe, the table was weak like that.

A set: Possible, but would he try to not really slow play and get it all at once instead of letting me bet again? I don't know, I haven't played with him before.

Raggedy 2 pair: the least likely, although they were limping some trash, but not calling raises with as bad as K4.

AA? I guess you can play aces that way.

What do I beat? K10, the weaker Kings are less likely. Some other pair and he isn't putting me on a hand that can has a K?

what's my point? His story makes no sense to me, I didn't know what he had. Even if we assume that he is playing straightforwardly like Harrington does, nothing really adds up. Unfortunately the hands that beat me are less unlikely than what I beat, but the pot odds aren't bad and there will be no more betting. So when in doubt, I called.

Results. Turn Ace river 2. he tables A-5 off-suit and his str8 wins. Makes sense doesn't it?

I folded on the flop

20/40 Limit Hold'em at Foxwoods. Sunday night, not too many regulars at the table. Several gamblers at the table and it is playing loose and aggressive.

limp, limp, MP raises, cc, cc, cut-off 3-bets. I call 3 bets cold with A6s from the button and I am proud of it, sb calls, bb caps. All call.

9 to flop. 36 sbs. I like Foxwoods.

Flop: 3d 4c Qh sb checks, big blind bets, all call to cut-off who raises. I fold. everyone else calls.

Dealer says "Eight players" table is like WTF, who folded? Everyone sneers at me.

36 bets pf, 16 on the turn. Expressed odds are assumed to be 52:2. I have no hand, no draw, no outs except running 5-7?

Tough laydown. I must be a pretty tight player.

Results. Turn came Ah and was checked around River black 9 and the pot was one by a nit's A9 s in diamonds.