I usually spend the time in this blog analyzing hands that either myself or others were in and trying to figure out if they could have been played any better. In this case, I have to take a little bit of time to go over three hands that I played last night that made the difference between going home a big loser (which I would have been had I not made these plays) and going home a small winner.
I was playing $1/$2 No Limit at Mandalay Bay with Happy Donkey (who continued his world domination by winning another $800 last night.) The first hand in question was against a new player who had just sat down at the table. I had a J 5 off suit in the big blind and saw the flop in an unraised pot. The flop came down Q 5 2 rainbow. I checked and the new player bet out $15 from middle position as the second to last player to act. The button and small blind folded and I called. At that point, I called for the express purpose of putting in a bluff on the turn. On the turn (which was a 6) I checked, and he bet $25. I raised to $65 and he laid it down. One of the reasons that I was so happy with this play is that my read on him was truly a "pure" read. There was nothing abnormal about his betting pattern, I had never played with him before, and he had just sat down. It was a pure read that I didn't feel that he had a queen. So that was kind of cool.
The next hand was even better. I was dealt pocket Kings in my $4 straddle. There had been four limpers so I raised to $21. Three limpers called and the BB mucked. The flop came about the worst possible scenario for Kings... A J 7 ALL Hearts. I did not have the King of Hearts. I checked, one limper checked behind me, and Villain bet $50. The other limper mucked. At this point, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do, I wasn't sure what he had, all I had to go on was that he had called me down a few hands ago and paid me off when I slowplayed top pair. So he might be out for revenge. I smooth called the flop and the other player mucked.
I was watching him for a tell and I noticed that he was staring pretty intently at the board as the turn was going to come off. (Staring at the board can often mean that someone is on a draw...but be careful with this, some people use it as a reverse tell.) I decided that I thought he was on a one card heart draw and made up my mind to bet if no heart came on the turn. The turn came a black nine and I pushed all in for about $200. He insta-mucked. I showed Happy Donkey my hand and as a result was called to show the whole table, which was fine, I was pretty stoked.
The last hand was a little stranger. Again, I was straddling and the pot was raised to $15 pre-flop by an English fellow from the cut-off. I called with an A 5 Diamonds and the Villain from last hand called. The flop came Q 5 3 ALL Spades. I checked, Villain checked, and the British guy looked at Villain and said, "You check?" Villain said "yes" and British guy then said "Check." The dealer started to burn and turn and the English guy plopped $35 out in the middle. Villain immediately objected, since English guy had already checked, and I agreed. The two of them started to get into it so floor was called. They made the correct decision that his check had to stand.
The turn then came the 2 of spades, bringing a one card spade flush. I checked, Villain immediately checked, and an obviously flustered Englishman checked behind us. The river came a Jack of Diamonds. I checked again and Villain bet out $40. Six months ago, this would have been an insta-muck for me, but I have since started to try to act on my reads more often, because they tend to be right. So I went into the tank and talked the hand out. I believed that if he had had a queen he would have bet the flop. I also felt that if he had had a spade, he would have bet the turn. So I reasoned that unless the Jack had "accidentally" hit him on the river, I might have him beat. I also considered the general weirdness that had surrounded the hand and the argument and thought that he might be trying to take advantage of the situation. Finally, I looked at him to try to pick up a tell one way or the other and he would not make eye contact and instead kept staring at the felt in front of him. I called and he threw his hand away face down. I showed my "hero call" and received the requisite "ooohs," "aaahhs," and "great calls" from the rest of the table.
I wanted to share those hands because I thought that they provided some worthy material, and if I pat myself on the back a little in the process...so be it. Everyone needs a good pat now and again!
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3 comments:
Nice blog, good to hear your perspective. I dont understand why your constantly straddling though. Care to enlighten ?
Good question. Straddles are generally viewed as the worst bet in poker right? I don't view straddling as a way for me to make money directly (as in on that particular hand)but rather as a way to loosen up the game. Certainly there are specific strategies that you can use to make money from the straddle position when you get certain types of hands (in fact that would be a good topic for a future blog,) but my primary reason for doing it is to loosen up games that typically play too tight. Also, when you get the whole table to straddle in a $1/$2 game, it starts to play more like a $2/$5 game and a $2/$5 game starts to play more like a $5/$10 game. This can be an advantage if you are comfortable with the higher stakes because many players will not be and uncomfortable can equal bad play. I hope this answers your question.
Seems like you never give anybody credit for a queen when they first sit down, eh?
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