My favorite poker game to play in was this past weekend and I got to bring my buddy Danny out with me for his second time. He did better than I, winning $140 for the evening’s effort, and it was because of a loaned $100 from Danny that I was able to turn a profit.
I had planned on taking $200 with me but ended up having an extra hundred in my wallet when I went to the game. Even with three $100 buy-ins I could not do anything productive and was sitting on the couch watching preseason football after a couple of hours.
My first buy-in was spent little by little until I made an all-in stab at a pot with second highest pair on the river only to be slow-rolled by a new player holding a straight. I had a momentary burst of anger that was directed toward the kid when he claimed he didn’t have “a” nine to give him a straight but then flipped over a pair of nines.
I regretted my outburst later, not because he didn’t deserve it, which he did, but because he truly had no clue that the sort of thing he did was frowned upon. He barely had a clue as to what hands beat what and his $300 was spent rather quickly to learn the game of Texas Hold’em. While I never directly apologized to the young man, I was joking about it shortly afterward and during the brief time he spent with us I was very nice toward him about when it was his turn and what his options were.
My second $100 was nearly all spent on pocket aces after a flop of Q-8-6 with two clubs. I raised it pre-flop to $8 and got two callers. Jared bet $15 after the flop, I raised it another $30, and Jared re-raised me to what would be all-in. I didn’t think I was up against a set, so that left a crazy two pair that Jared is capable of playing out of boredom or a flush draw. One of my aces was a club, so that took out the possibility of Jared holding A-X of clubs. I should have let the pair go but figured even if I was beat by 8-6 then I could get lucky and hit either an ace, queen, or second pair with whatever card came on the turn, as long as it didn’t make Jared’s hand better.
After calling I found out I was up against two pair, but it was against a Q-8. The turn was a club giving me many more outs, but none of them came and I was re-buying again.
My final buy-in went like the first one with a little here and a little there being divided up among many pre-flop and flop bets that never resulted in improvement. I finally gave it all away when I held pocket sixes and a flop of 5-4-4 was the opportunity I was looking for to steal a pot from the guy who had raised it pre-flop. Unfortunately he was not holding two overcards, but instead had pocket kings. I lost that hand and was sent to the couch of shame waiting on Danny to finish up.
About 15 minutes later Danny saw me sitting on the couch and offered to lend me another $100. I jumped at the opportunity hoping to win some of my money back. I would have been happy recovering half of the $300 I had lost.
Not only was I able to recoup my original three buy-ins, but I ended up profiting $15. I started with my fourth buy-in by losing about $30 of it the same way I had lost most of my money, which was seeing flops go nowhere and chipping away at it $2, $5, and $8 at a time. I finally started winning some pots and never looked back.
There was no individual hand that won me a ton of money. Instead, it really was winning a medium-sized pot one at a time until I eventually had $400 in front of me.
The final hand I won was a bluff against the host, Jason. The flop came A-K-K and everyone checked it. The turn was a three and again people checked it. I was in late position and decided to see if I could win with a bet. I put in about half the pot and was called by Jason only. The river was an eight, giving a board of A-K-K-3-8. I held 10-9. I was first to act and knew I could only win with a bet. I led out with a $20 bet and Jason contemplated for at least a minute. He finally showed the eight in his hand and folded. I asked if he wanted to see and after he confirmed that he did want to know what I held I showed the bluff.
I cashed out two hands later with $415, giving me a $15 profit on the night. My hourly rate was $3 as we were there for five hours.
For 2011 I have won $595 and played for nearly 40 hours. My hourly rate is $14.97.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
WinStar (August 16)
Spent my evening up at WinStar last night and while it was mostly uneventful, excluding the very first hand I sat down to play, the trip was slightly profitable.
Prior to ever getting my chips from the cage I was dealt pocket kings and had bet and re-raised all but $26 of my stack when the red and blue clay coins finally made it to my table. My opponent folded on the turn allowing me to start off with about $100 more than when I had sat down after only one hand.
Like I said earlier, the rest of the game was pretty boring from the card’s point of view. I had a good time with the people who were seated around the table, apart from a 15-minute window where two regulars were biding their time until a satellite tournament started by raising and re-raising one another to the point that the rest of us were sidelined as spectators.
I made one bad fold with middle two pair, but it was very early in the night and I was up against two opponents who had called on the river. I was willing to let this one go and save some money in order to have a little extra information and money for later. Had the second player not called and it was heads-up I probably would have called, both because I would have been more confident in my hand and it would have been the only way to see the guy’s hole cards. It turned out both guys were overplaying their top pair.
I ended up winning $60 for the evening after playing for five-and-a-half hours. This equates to $10.91 an hour. For 2011, I have won $580 and made an hourly rate of $16.69 after playing for nearly 35 hours total.
On a side note, I saw this story today on MSN.com about the upcoming demolition of a brand new hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. If you are interested, this link will take you to the article.
Prior to ever getting my chips from the cage I was dealt pocket kings and had bet and re-raised all but $26 of my stack when the red and blue clay coins finally made it to my table. My opponent folded on the turn allowing me to start off with about $100 more than when I had sat down after only one hand.
Like I said earlier, the rest of the game was pretty boring from the card’s point of view. I had a good time with the people who were seated around the table, apart from a 15-minute window where two regulars were biding their time until a satellite tournament started by raising and re-raising one another to the point that the rest of us were sidelined as spectators.
I made one bad fold with middle two pair, but it was very early in the night and I was up against two opponents who had called on the river. I was willing to let this one go and save some money in order to have a little extra information and money for later. Had the second player not called and it was heads-up I probably would have called, both because I would have been more confident in my hand and it would have been the only way to see the guy’s hole cards. It turned out both guys were overplaying their top pair.
I ended up winning $60 for the evening after playing for five-and-a-half hours. This equates to $10.91 an hour. For 2011, I have won $580 and made an hourly rate of $16.69 after playing for nearly 35 hours total.
On a side note, I saw this story today on MSN.com about the upcoming demolition of a brand new hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. If you are interested, this link will take you to the article.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Weatherford (July 16)
A triumphant return was made to poker this past weekend as I made it out to the monthly $1-2 Weatherford game where I’ve logged in some great wins in the past two years, but have not been able to attend for about five months.
Saturday night’s results were pleasing, winning $225 on the night. I started off slow, having to re-buy for $100 early in the night. For about the first three hours I was either working my way back to the black or hovering a little above even. But things eventually clicked and significant pots began coming my way.
Two hands of consequence are worth talking about. The first involved the second time I was dealt pocket aces. My first hand of the top pocket pair resulted in a win of about $60 when nearly the entire table called my pre-flop raise in the small blind of $12 but then folded to my continuation bet on the flop. The second time I held aces was a bit more suspenseful.
Again in a blind situation, I made a re-raise to $22 pre-flop after Jason, who was sitting three to my left, initially raised it to $7. Those who called the $7 also called the $22 and we went to the flop with five players and $110 in the pot.
The flop was A-9-4 with two clubs. Neither of my aces were a club. I flopped top set with a potential flush draw out there. At this point in the night I had $235 in front of me, after the $22 pre-flop bet. With four opponents in the hand I should have feared a flush draw, but I was willing to play things a little risky having the best possible hand at the moment. I figured somebody probably had the remaining ace for top pair and I wanted to make a bet that looked like I held kings or queens. So I led out with a $40 bet.
The size of that bet compared to the pot is small and was intended to look like I was making a continuation bet with what I feared was no longer the best hand. Jason was next to act. He pondered things for about 30 seconds and then said he was going to raise. At this point I was screaming joyous noises in my head. He waited another 30 seconds to figure out what he wanted to raise and finally decided on a minimum amount raise.
Normally the minimum raise is a scary thing because from amateur players it screams big hand, but I currently had the best hand possible so I wasn’t too worried about him beating me at the moment. Another option that can be concluded from a minimum raise is that a person is trying to set up a check-check on the turn for a free card in case they are on a flush draw. However, Jason isn’t the kind of player who makes that small of a raise on a draw. If he raises a draw it is a raise to end the hand right then or to build a huge pot for later if he hits the draw. The raise he made did not lead me to think I should be worried and depending on what took place with the other three players in the hand I felt like I was in full control of what would take place on the turn and river.
The next three players all folded and it was back to me. I made it look as though I was contemplating what to do, even though I knew full well the play I had in mind, and finally smooth called the $40. There is now $270 in the pot. I have $155 left in front of me.
My choice to not re-raise on the flop was that I didn’t want to scare Jason away. He had raised pre-flop, and raised me on the flop. I wanted him to believe he had me beat but I was refusing to lay down a big hand.
The turn was a non-club seven. The community cards were A-9-4-7. There is still the threat of a club flush, but I didn’t believe Jason to have that hand and was very confident in that my three aces were the best now and would likely be the best after the river.
The next stage in my plan was making a bet relatively small in size both in relation to the pot and the size of my stack. With $155 in my possession and $270 in the middle, I elected to go with $60. The size of this bet is supposed to say, “I think I have the best hand but am not sure and would like to lose as little as possible leaving myself with something should I be wrong.” Apparently it worked.
Following what felt like 30 minutes, but was in reality probably only three, Jason uttered both the sweetest and most devastating words you can hear at the poker table: "I’m all in." Normally I try to give it about two seconds before calling when I have the nuts, but I was so excited I likely insta-called, showing my top set. Jason was at a loss for words and finally stated it didn’t really matter what came on the river as I had the best hand. He never showed what he had and I never asked.
This pot put me at $580 for the night on a $200 buy-in. So you might be wondering what happened that I ended my playing at $425, and the answer to that would be Jay happened.
The last hand of the night, although I didn’t know it was going to be the last hand at the time, was five-handed and I was dealt 9-2 of spades. I raised in late position to $8. Along with Jay, one other player called and we had a $25 pot.
The flop was J-6-2 with two spades. I flopped bottom pair and a flush draw. Jay led out and bet $15. The next player folded. I implemented the “minimum raise to get a free card on the turn” tactic. Making it $30 total, Jay raised me another $50, making the bet $80. I instantly called, showing I would not be backed down. The pot was at $185.
The turn was a red queen, showing a board of J-6-2-Q with two spades. I needed to improve, preferably with a two or a spade. Jay led out with a $50. I hesitated a bit, only pondering whether I wanted to try and push here but ultimately decided on calling and seeing whether I could improve. The pot now had $285 in it.
The river card, which I can’t recall exactly what it was, did not help, giving me neither a nine, two, nor a spade. Jay made another $50 bet and was left with a little less than $100 total. I contemplated whether or not I could push him off his hand for the remainder of his stack. Eventually I decided it was probably not going to work and his bet was for value. I folded, showing my little pair and busted flush draw. Jay flipped up a jack and six for what was top two pair on the flop.
I left for the night after five hours $225 richer, giving me a $45 hourly rate. For the year, I have won $520 and am earning $17.78 an hour.
Saturday night’s results were pleasing, winning $225 on the night. I started off slow, having to re-buy for $100 early in the night. For about the first three hours I was either working my way back to the black or hovering a little above even. But things eventually clicked and significant pots began coming my way.
Two hands of consequence are worth talking about. The first involved the second time I was dealt pocket aces. My first hand of the top pocket pair resulted in a win of about $60 when nearly the entire table called my pre-flop raise in the small blind of $12 but then folded to my continuation bet on the flop. The second time I held aces was a bit more suspenseful.
Again in a blind situation, I made a re-raise to $22 pre-flop after Jason, who was sitting three to my left, initially raised it to $7. Those who called the $7 also called the $22 and we went to the flop with five players and $110 in the pot.
The flop was A-9-4 with two clubs. Neither of my aces were a club. I flopped top set with a potential flush draw out there. At this point in the night I had $235 in front of me, after the $22 pre-flop bet. With four opponents in the hand I should have feared a flush draw, but I was willing to play things a little risky having the best possible hand at the moment. I figured somebody probably had the remaining ace for top pair and I wanted to make a bet that looked like I held kings or queens. So I led out with a $40 bet.
The size of that bet compared to the pot is small and was intended to look like I was making a continuation bet with what I feared was no longer the best hand. Jason was next to act. He pondered things for about 30 seconds and then said he was going to raise. At this point I was screaming joyous noises in my head. He waited another 30 seconds to figure out what he wanted to raise and finally decided on a minimum amount raise.
Normally the minimum raise is a scary thing because from amateur players it screams big hand, but I currently had the best hand possible so I wasn’t too worried about him beating me at the moment. Another option that can be concluded from a minimum raise is that a person is trying to set up a check-check on the turn for a free card in case they are on a flush draw. However, Jason isn’t the kind of player who makes that small of a raise on a draw. If he raises a draw it is a raise to end the hand right then or to build a huge pot for later if he hits the draw. The raise he made did not lead me to think I should be worried and depending on what took place with the other three players in the hand I felt like I was in full control of what would take place on the turn and river.
The next three players all folded and it was back to me. I made it look as though I was contemplating what to do, even though I knew full well the play I had in mind, and finally smooth called the $40. There is now $270 in the pot. I have $155 left in front of me.
My choice to not re-raise on the flop was that I didn’t want to scare Jason away. He had raised pre-flop, and raised me on the flop. I wanted him to believe he had me beat but I was refusing to lay down a big hand.
The turn was a non-club seven. The community cards were A-9-4-7. There is still the threat of a club flush, but I didn’t believe Jason to have that hand and was very confident in that my three aces were the best now and would likely be the best after the river.
The next stage in my plan was making a bet relatively small in size both in relation to the pot and the size of my stack. With $155 in my possession and $270 in the middle, I elected to go with $60. The size of this bet is supposed to say, “I think I have the best hand but am not sure and would like to lose as little as possible leaving myself with something should I be wrong.” Apparently it worked.
Following what felt like 30 minutes, but was in reality probably only three, Jason uttered both the sweetest and most devastating words you can hear at the poker table: "I’m all in." Normally I try to give it about two seconds before calling when I have the nuts, but I was so excited I likely insta-called, showing my top set. Jason was at a loss for words and finally stated it didn’t really matter what came on the river as I had the best hand. He never showed what he had and I never asked.
This pot put me at $580 for the night on a $200 buy-in. So you might be wondering what happened that I ended my playing at $425, and the answer to that would be Jay happened.
The last hand of the night, although I didn’t know it was going to be the last hand at the time, was five-handed and I was dealt 9-2 of spades. I raised in late position to $8. Along with Jay, one other player called and we had a $25 pot.
The flop was J-6-2 with two spades. I flopped bottom pair and a flush draw. Jay led out and bet $15. The next player folded. I implemented the “minimum raise to get a free card on the turn” tactic. Making it $30 total, Jay raised me another $50, making the bet $80. I instantly called, showing I would not be backed down. The pot was at $185.
The turn was a red queen, showing a board of J-6-2-Q with two spades. I needed to improve, preferably with a two or a spade. Jay led out with a $50. I hesitated a bit, only pondering whether I wanted to try and push here but ultimately decided on calling and seeing whether I could improve. The pot now had $285 in it.
The river card, which I can’t recall exactly what it was, did not help, giving me neither a nine, two, nor a spade. Jay made another $50 bet and was left with a little less than $100 total. I contemplated whether or not I could push him off his hand for the remainder of his stack. Eventually I decided it was probably not going to work and his bet was for value. I folded, showing my little pair and busted flush draw. Jay flipped up a jack and six for what was top two pair on the flop.
I left for the night after five hours $225 richer, giving me a $45 hourly rate. For the year, I have won $520 and am earning $17.78 an hour.
Friday, February 25, 2011
WinStar (February 24)
Unfortunately playing my longest session in 2011 of seven-and-a-half hours did not equate to large winnings at WinStar World Casino Thursday night. The taxing, late-night game resulted in a $100 loss for the evening with a few moments of noteworth discussion.
About five hands into the night I was in late position and held A-Q suited on a straddled hand, which means the player to the immediate left of the big blind made a blind raise to $4 and would have last action. I raised it pre-flop to $16 after having two other people call the $4 bet prior to my action. The blinds and straddler folded and both of the limpers already in for a quarter of the amount completed the raise and we went to the flop with $50 in the pot.
The flop came out A-Q-7 with two hearts. I did not hold any hearts. Both players checked to me. I now hold top two pair and love my situation, but since I didn’t want to give anyone looking for a flush or inside straight draw the chance to complete their hand I elected to bet a smallish amount. I bet $20. The first player who checked took little time, but didn’t rush it, to raise the bet by $30, making it $50 to go. The next player called the $50. It was now to me and it is $30 to call with $170 in the pot.
Obviously I am going to play the hand out since it is such a small amount to call compared to what I could win should I have the best at the end. However, the problem lies in figuring out whether I should make a move now to protect my hand against any draw and win what is available or play it out and risk more to win more. I contemplated the idea that somebody was holding a set of sevens, as anyone with pocket aces or queens likely would have raised before it ever got to me pre-flop so therefore I can rule those hands out, but a quick glance at both men’s stacks showed about $80 for each of them and so even if someone is holding trip sevens it is likely going to all go in the middle by the end anyway.
I mistakenly, in my opinion, decided to push all-in instead of waiting until the turn to see what happened. I consider it a mistake to have pushed then because by raising the bet again I am forcing anyone with a made hand worse than mine to fold and those with better hands or draws are likely going to call for the rest of their stack with two cards to come in order to see if they hit the flush or straight. With $170 in the pot already, my $30 call and another $80 raise put the pot at $280 and it is $80 to call. This means the other two players are looking at 3.5-1 odds on their call (4.5-1 for the second guy if the first player calls) with no more action to go and two cards to come. With a bet, check-raise, and call, these guys are either gamblers willing to risk their money without regret, they have made hands that are worth all this money flying around the table, or one characteristic goes with each player.
Had I simply called the $30, seen whether a third heart came on the turn to complete the flush that I had put one of the players on drawing for, and then decided my necessary action with the advantage of acting last I might have saved myself a little money, but in all likelihood I would have called an all-in bet on the turn as the check-raiser did have pocket sevens for bottom set and eventually won the hand. The other guy also called my all-in raise with something he never showed but it couldn’t beat either of our hands. The turn and river were both twos, giving the first guy a full house of sevens over twos, besting my two pair.
Again, the reason I feel it was a mistake to move all-in on the flop was had I waited to the turn I would have cut the number of chances for drawing hands to hit for the amount of money that was bet in half. Let us pretend the guy with sevens wasn’t in the hand and I was really up against a guy who held two hearts. If I bet everything on the flop he will justify a call by saying it is really only $40 for each card to come. But by waiting until after the turn card comes out and seeing that I am still safe with no heart being shown, that $80 bet is the full price with only one card to come now. Sure, you could make an argument that by not re-raising on the flop I am giving my opponent a free chance to make his flush, but if the heart does come and I truly believe he has the flush then I can get away from it for $80 less than I would have or gamble for boating up with an ace or queen on the river depending on his action. Every poker hand is a different scenario, even if some are similar to ones in the past, as each hand will have something different from the previous situation like a different opponent, various chip counts, opposite positions at the table than earlier. All of these characteristics have to be considered when in the middle of a hand and you can’t play each hand the same as the last one. That is what makes the game of poker such a complex game to master, along with the fact that luck is a component.
After losing about $140 of my initial $180 buy-in I added an additional $140 to my stack, putting me in for a total of $320. You already know since I lost $100 for the trip I was only able to get back to $220, but my low point after the re-buy was $45 and I was able to double that up and then keep increasing my stack until I decided after more than seven hours of playing a hundred lost was okay.
The biggest contributing hand after my re-buy that put me down to under $100 was when I held pocket tens and called down a guy who had pocket jacks. In my defense, there was never a card above an eight on the board. Had I raised my opponent at some point I might have been able to push him off his overpair, but I was still reeling a bit from the A-Q loss early in the night and didn’t want to go out after only an hour or so of playing.
I was able to win some large pots with a flush when holding A-6 suited, twice hitting a pair of aces while holding A-K, and having trip threes when my hole cards were 3-4 suited.
The most disappointing hand for the night was a fold I made that in 99 out of 100 situations would be the correct one, but I had a read on a guy and didn’t follow through with it. The player to my immediate right had his girlfriend sitting behind him, so after a hand was over he would either show a card to the entire table in order for us to see how great of a player he was or he would show enough of his cards at the end of the hand for the girlfriend to see, resulting in my own observation of his hands. What I gathered from him was if he was betting, he was behind. It was that simple. He always bet draws, always bet complete bluffs, always bet bottom pair and second pair. It was only when he had top pair or higher that he would check it in hopes somebody would bet for him. If his flop bet was met with resistance he would slow down on the turn and then again resume betting the river if he didn’t have the best hand. There were several times he checked the winning hand only to be checked back to and miss out on a bet that surely would have been called, and likewise he had numerous moments of being called and not even showing his hand as he knew it was not any good.
With this information I had already made some smart decisions against him in calling hands I knew were winners and folding ones I knew were second best. I was feeling good about myself when it came to playing this guy. However, on a hand that had me holding middle pair on the flop and now fourth-highest pair after the river, I folded to a bet of $15, with about $40 in the pot prior to that bet, thinking I was no good. I rushed the decision and had I thought about his prior actions, which were betting on the flop, checking the turn when I called, and betting on the river, I would have come to the conclusion that my pair of eights was good. After the fold he flipped up pocket sevens, confirming my better hand was indeed the winner. I didn’t show any emotion that I was hurt by my incorrect play because I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, but in reality that hand, despite the pot being relatively small to others I lost throughout the night, was the most disheartening because I didn’t take my time to evaluate the situation and my opponent to the fullest.
For the year I have won $295 and played for 24.25 hours, resulting in an unacceptable $12.16 hourly rate. My wife made it abundantly clear that the WinStar trips are going to be put on hold for a while with baby Jackson’s birth coming upon us quickly. That dream of winning $5,000 playing poker is probably not going to be reached, but I’m not giving up complete hope just yet.
About five hands into the night I was in late position and held A-Q suited on a straddled hand, which means the player to the immediate left of the big blind made a blind raise to $4 and would have last action. I raised it pre-flop to $16 after having two other people call the $4 bet prior to my action. The blinds and straddler folded and both of the limpers already in for a quarter of the amount completed the raise and we went to the flop with $50 in the pot.
The flop came out A-Q-7 with two hearts. I did not hold any hearts. Both players checked to me. I now hold top two pair and love my situation, but since I didn’t want to give anyone looking for a flush or inside straight draw the chance to complete their hand I elected to bet a smallish amount. I bet $20. The first player who checked took little time, but didn’t rush it, to raise the bet by $30, making it $50 to go. The next player called the $50. It was now to me and it is $30 to call with $170 in the pot.
Obviously I am going to play the hand out since it is such a small amount to call compared to what I could win should I have the best at the end. However, the problem lies in figuring out whether I should make a move now to protect my hand against any draw and win what is available or play it out and risk more to win more. I contemplated the idea that somebody was holding a set of sevens, as anyone with pocket aces or queens likely would have raised before it ever got to me pre-flop so therefore I can rule those hands out, but a quick glance at both men’s stacks showed about $80 for each of them and so even if someone is holding trip sevens it is likely going to all go in the middle by the end anyway.
I mistakenly, in my opinion, decided to push all-in instead of waiting until the turn to see what happened. I consider it a mistake to have pushed then because by raising the bet again I am forcing anyone with a made hand worse than mine to fold and those with better hands or draws are likely going to call for the rest of their stack with two cards to come in order to see if they hit the flush or straight. With $170 in the pot already, my $30 call and another $80 raise put the pot at $280 and it is $80 to call. This means the other two players are looking at 3.5-1 odds on their call (4.5-1 for the second guy if the first player calls) with no more action to go and two cards to come. With a bet, check-raise, and call, these guys are either gamblers willing to risk their money without regret, they have made hands that are worth all this money flying around the table, or one characteristic goes with each player.
Had I simply called the $30, seen whether a third heart came on the turn to complete the flush that I had put one of the players on drawing for, and then decided my necessary action with the advantage of acting last I might have saved myself a little money, but in all likelihood I would have called an all-in bet on the turn as the check-raiser did have pocket sevens for bottom set and eventually won the hand. The other guy also called my all-in raise with something he never showed but it couldn’t beat either of our hands. The turn and river were both twos, giving the first guy a full house of sevens over twos, besting my two pair.
Again, the reason I feel it was a mistake to move all-in on the flop was had I waited to the turn I would have cut the number of chances for drawing hands to hit for the amount of money that was bet in half. Let us pretend the guy with sevens wasn’t in the hand and I was really up against a guy who held two hearts. If I bet everything on the flop he will justify a call by saying it is really only $40 for each card to come. But by waiting until after the turn card comes out and seeing that I am still safe with no heart being shown, that $80 bet is the full price with only one card to come now. Sure, you could make an argument that by not re-raising on the flop I am giving my opponent a free chance to make his flush, but if the heart does come and I truly believe he has the flush then I can get away from it for $80 less than I would have or gamble for boating up with an ace or queen on the river depending on his action. Every poker hand is a different scenario, even if some are similar to ones in the past, as each hand will have something different from the previous situation like a different opponent, various chip counts, opposite positions at the table than earlier. All of these characteristics have to be considered when in the middle of a hand and you can’t play each hand the same as the last one. That is what makes the game of poker such a complex game to master, along with the fact that luck is a component.
After losing about $140 of my initial $180 buy-in I added an additional $140 to my stack, putting me in for a total of $320. You already know since I lost $100 for the trip I was only able to get back to $220, but my low point after the re-buy was $45 and I was able to double that up and then keep increasing my stack until I decided after more than seven hours of playing a hundred lost was okay.
The biggest contributing hand after my re-buy that put me down to under $100 was when I held pocket tens and called down a guy who had pocket jacks. In my defense, there was never a card above an eight on the board. Had I raised my opponent at some point I might have been able to push him off his overpair, but I was still reeling a bit from the A-Q loss early in the night and didn’t want to go out after only an hour or so of playing.
I was able to win some large pots with a flush when holding A-6 suited, twice hitting a pair of aces while holding A-K, and having trip threes when my hole cards were 3-4 suited.
The most disappointing hand for the night was a fold I made that in 99 out of 100 situations would be the correct one, but I had a read on a guy and didn’t follow through with it. The player to my immediate right had his girlfriend sitting behind him, so after a hand was over he would either show a card to the entire table in order for us to see how great of a player he was or he would show enough of his cards at the end of the hand for the girlfriend to see, resulting in my own observation of his hands. What I gathered from him was if he was betting, he was behind. It was that simple. He always bet draws, always bet complete bluffs, always bet bottom pair and second pair. It was only when he had top pair or higher that he would check it in hopes somebody would bet for him. If his flop bet was met with resistance he would slow down on the turn and then again resume betting the river if he didn’t have the best hand. There were several times he checked the winning hand only to be checked back to and miss out on a bet that surely would have been called, and likewise he had numerous moments of being called and not even showing his hand as he knew it was not any good.
With this information I had already made some smart decisions against him in calling hands I knew were winners and folding ones I knew were second best. I was feeling good about myself when it came to playing this guy. However, on a hand that had me holding middle pair on the flop and now fourth-highest pair after the river, I folded to a bet of $15, with about $40 in the pot prior to that bet, thinking I was no good. I rushed the decision and had I thought about his prior actions, which were betting on the flop, checking the turn when I called, and betting on the river, I would have come to the conclusion that my pair of eights was good. After the fold he flipped up pocket sevens, confirming my better hand was indeed the winner. I didn’t show any emotion that I was hurt by my incorrect play because I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, but in reality that hand, despite the pot being relatively small to others I lost throughout the night, was the most disheartening because I didn’t take my time to evaluate the situation and my opponent to the fullest.
For the year I have won $295 and played for 24.25 hours, resulting in an unacceptable $12.16 hourly rate. My wife made it abundantly clear that the WinStar trips are going to be put on hold for a while with baby Jackson’s birth coming upon us quickly. That dream of winning $5,000 playing poker is probably not going to be reached, but I’m not giving up complete hope just yet.
Monday, January 31, 2011
WinStar (January 29)
On the drive up to WinStar this weekend I decided I would try something new. Normally I wait to look at my hole cards until the action is on me. This gives me a good idea of what hands I have to hold to either call or raise the bet, depending on the action prior to getting to me. I wanted to switch things up a bit so I could know what I hold as the action went around the table and I could formulate a plan as things progressed before it ever gets to my turn. This plan lasted all of about three hands.
I stuck it out for a few rounds, but I just didn’t like this way of doing things. There were one or two hands that I couldn’t remember which suit went with which number. When the action started two or one person to my right and I was looking at my hand that wasn’t worth calling, I didn’t like being in the position of having to put my card protector down for a split second before folding after the guy on my right, simply to not give away what I was going to do and give the player on my right any sort of edge. Comparing the two methods of when to look at my cards, I simply prefer to wait until it is my turn before ever knowing what I hold, and that is the way I will do things from now on.
In regard to my play, after five-and-a-half hours of play I lost $200. I got decent cards throughout the night, hitting quads twice, but the hands I won weren’t enough to cancel out the hands I lost. I would get up, lose a hand that put me back at even, lose a few more hands to put me down, win and be even again, win some more and be in the black, lose a few that put me down for the night, and eventually I couldn’t ever get back to even or better.
Two hands that really hurt me included flopping two pair against a guy who flopped a better two pair. Where I went wrong with the second hand was calling a guy down who held ace-king and not raising him on the turn when I was pretty confident he didn’t have anything better than my medium pocket pair. Sure enough he hit a king on the river and won the hand. Had I trusted my judgment and made my bet on the turn he would have folded and I would have taken down the pot.
My final hand was also a soul crusher. I held pocket sevens and flopped a full house. By the river I raised all in and was called by a guy holding pocket queens. The only problem was he hit a queen on the river for a higher full house. I doubt I could have ever gotten the guy out since his pocket pair was higher than any card on the board, but, honestly, why would I have wanted him to fold. I had a dominating hand and don’t regret slow-playing it. It was just bad luck.
For the year I have won $395 after 16.75 hours of playing, equating to $23.58 an hour.
I stuck it out for a few rounds, but I just didn’t like this way of doing things. There were one or two hands that I couldn’t remember which suit went with which number. When the action started two or one person to my right and I was looking at my hand that wasn’t worth calling, I didn’t like being in the position of having to put my card protector down for a split second before folding after the guy on my right, simply to not give away what I was going to do and give the player on my right any sort of edge. Comparing the two methods of when to look at my cards, I simply prefer to wait until it is my turn before ever knowing what I hold, and that is the way I will do things from now on.
In regard to my play, after five-and-a-half hours of play I lost $200. I got decent cards throughout the night, hitting quads twice, but the hands I won weren’t enough to cancel out the hands I lost. I would get up, lose a hand that put me back at even, lose a few more hands to put me down, win and be even again, win some more and be in the black, lose a few that put me down for the night, and eventually I couldn’t ever get back to even or better.
Two hands that really hurt me included flopping two pair against a guy who flopped a better two pair. Where I went wrong with the second hand was calling a guy down who held ace-king and not raising him on the turn when I was pretty confident he didn’t have anything better than my medium pocket pair. Sure enough he hit a king on the river and won the hand. Had I trusted my judgment and made my bet on the turn he would have folded and I would have taken down the pot.
My final hand was also a soul crusher. I held pocket sevens and flopped a full house. By the river I raised all in and was called by a guy holding pocket queens. The only problem was he hit a queen on the river for a higher full house. I doubt I could have ever gotten the guy out since his pocket pair was higher than any card on the board, but, honestly, why would I have wanted him to fold. I had a dominating hand and don’t regret slow-playing it. It was just bad luck.
For the year I have won $395 after 16.75 hours of playing, equating to $23.58 an hour.
Friday, January 21, 2011
To Max Buy-in Or Not To Max Buy-in
While this blog has steadily been a place to post my poker exploits at different cash games during the past year, I would like to step out of my comfort zone a little bit and discuss buy-in strategy.
I stumbled upon a forum discussion a few weeks back about the perspective of buying into a game with less than the maximum allowable amount. For the most part everyone was against such a thing and shunned those who thought otherwise. The two most common viewpoints were that not buying in with the full amount meant you were either too scared to lose the money and therefore shouldn’t be playing at the dollar level you have chosen or having less than the maximum would cost you money when you came to an all-in moment during the game. There is certainly some validity to these arguments, but I just don’t think that it can apply to every person in every game that chooses to gamble for an amount less than the maximum allowed.
Take for example the Weatherford game I participate in once a month. Among those who manage the $1-2 Hold’em game, they have never stated that a maximum or minimum amount is required to get in the game, however, 95 percent of the players put up $100 each time chips are needed. There is one guy who buys-in for $200 at the beginning of the night, but he is the only one who prefers that option. To start with $100 at a $1-2 game in most casinos you are getting into the game for the minimum amount allowed and most everyone who does so is marked among the others at the table as a potential ATM. Yet, in Weatherford this is the norm.
Players who adhere to the principle of maximum buy-ins would frown upon not putting down more than everyone else at the table because it limits the amount of bullying you could do toward the other players. I disagree with this notion because an all-in from your $100 is the same as $200 or even $500 when your opponent has only $100. With everyone holding the same amount of money there is no strategic advantage or disadvantage with having more money.
One could argue that should you lose the all-in hand with a $100 buy-in you are now broke whereas having $200 is going to keep you afloat with $100. My line of reasoning against that mentality is if you are someone who wants to have more than everyone at the table anyway, you are going to put in another $100 when you have $100 in order to get back to the $200 mark. Either way you are spending the $100 again.
Let’s take a look at normal circumstances, such as a casino, where $200 is the maximum and $100 is the minimum. Regarding the “too scared to play at this level” mentality, in most cases the $1-2 no-limit game is the lowest stakes available. If a college kid comes to play at the casino and only wants to spend two or three hundred for the night, such was the case many times in my collegiate poker career, in my opinion it is perfectly acceptable to have multiple buy-ins of the minimum to make his or her experience last longer should the worst happen. If the casino offered $0.50-1 stakes and the max buy-in was $100, then maybe the college kids and similar types of players would be content to expose more of their bankroll at that level, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are scared to lose the money. It simply could be they want the experience to last longer.
Looking at the other dominant belief about minimum buy-ins is missing out on lost money in an all-in situation. Some people’s style of play, like my own, is not necessarily to rush into an all-in situation. They way many folks talk about poker is they are constantly hoping for all-in moments, ignoring the strategy of winning numerous small- and medium-sized pots to build a bankroll. It is as if in these players’ minds, the only way to win money at Texas Hold’em is to push all-in and get lucky. Is television to blame for this line of thinking when the majority of tournaments seen for poker are final tables that have become an all-in free-for-all extravaganza? Thanks World Poker Tour.
By starting with an amount of money less than the maximum, who is to say that when an all-in moment comes around you have not already been playing for several hours and have taken down multiple pots that helped put your chip stack at more than a majority of your table opponents.
I personally do not buy-in for the minimum amount, excluding the Weatherford game, because I do feel hampered by being effectively short-stacked with only $100 at a $1-2 game, but I don’t necessarily buy in for the full $200 every time either. Sometimes I get in for $150 and other times I put down $180. But I certainly wouldn’t berate someone for believing that a minimum buy-in wasn’t the way to go in certain situations. It is your money. Do what you desire with it.
I stumbled upon a forum discussion a few weeks back about the perspective of buying into a game with less than the maximum allowable amount. For the most part everyone was against such a thing and shunned those who thought otherwise. The two most common viewpoints were that not buying in with the full amount meant you were either too scared to lose the money and therefore shouldn’t be playing at the dollar level you have chosen or having less than the maximum would cost you money when you came to an all-in moment during the game. There is certainly some validity to these arguments, but I just don’t think that it can apply to every person in every game that chooses to gamble for an amount less than the maximum allowed.
Take for example the Weatherford game I participate in once a month. Among those who manage the $1-2 Hold’em game, they have never stated that a maximum or minimum amount is required to get in the game, however, 95 percent of the players put up $100 each time chips are needed. There is one guy who buys-in for $200 at the beginning of the night, but he is the only one who prefers that option. To start with $100 at a $1-2 game in most casinos you are getting into the game for the minimum amount allowed and most everyone who does so is marked among the others at the table as a potential ATM. Yet, in Weatherford this is the norm.
Players who adhere to the principle of maximum buy-ins would frown upon not putting down more than everyone else at the table because it limits the amount of bullying you could do toward the other players. I disagree with this notion because an all-in from your $100 is the same as $200 or even $500 when your opponent has only $100. With everyone holding the same amount of money there is no strategic advantage or disadvantage with having more money.
One could argue that should you lose the all-in hand with a $100 buy-in you are now broke whereas having $200 is going to keep you afloat with $100. My line of reasoning against that mentality is if you are someone who wants to have more than everyone at the table anyway, you are going to put in another $100 when you have $100 in order to get back to the $200 mark. Either way you are spending the $100 again.
Let’s take a look at normal circumstances, such as a casino, where $200 is the maximum and $100 is the minimum. Regarding the “too scared to play at this level” mentality, in most cases the $1-2 no-limit game is the lowest stakes available. If a college kid comes to play at the casino and only wants to spend two or three hundred for the night, such was the case many times in my collegiate poker career, in my opinion it is perfectly acceptable to have multiple buy-ins of the minimum to make his or her experience last longer should the worst happen. If the casino offered $0.50-1 stakes and the max buy-in was $100, then maybe the college kids and similar types of players would be content to expose more of their bankroll at that level, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are scared to lose the money. It simply could be they want the experience to last longer.
Looking at the other dominant belief about minimum buy-ins is missing out on lost money in an all-in situation. Some people’s style of play, like my own, is not necessarily to rush into an all-in situation. They way many folks talk about poker is they are constantly hoping for all-in moments, ignoring the strategy of winning numerous small- and medium-sized pots to build a bankroll. It is as if in these players’ minds, the only way to win money at Texas Hold’em is to push all-in and get lucky. Is television to blame for this line of thinking when the majority of tournaments seen for poker are final tables that have become an all-in free-for-all extravaganza? Thanks World Poker Tour.
By starting with an amount of money less than the maximum, who is to say that when an all-in moment comes around you have not already been playing for several hours and have taken down multiple pots that helped put your chip stack at more than a majority of your table opponents.
I personally do not buy-in for the minimum amount, excluding the Weatherford game, because I do feel hampered by being effectively short-stacked with only $100 at a $1-2 game, but I don’t necessarily buy in for the full $200 every time either. Sometimes I get in for $150 and other times I put down $180. But I certainly wouldn’t berate someone for believing that a minimum buy-in wasn’t the way to go in certain situations. It is your money. Do what you desire with it.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
WinStar (January 10)
A last-minute trip to WinStar was made yesterday evening that netted me an additional $265 for my poker bankroll. Although I am not the biggest fan of special promotions that casinos offer like Aces Cracked, it was because of the 10 p.m. Splash Pot that was the key reason for my financial gain.
At the time of the promo where $100 was placed in the pot prior to the players receiving their cards, I had lost $200, re-bought for $150 more, and currently had $290 in front of me. Fully expecting to fold the hand as splash pots become a game of pre-flop chicken in order to see who is willing to risk the most money to win the $100 offered by the casino, I was surprised to find pocket eights as my hole cards. Knowing a raise would do absolutely nothing to thin the field and with $100 already at stake, I simply called from early position and decided to see what happened after me. I was astounded even more when no one raised it, but what did not surprise me at all was no one folded either. We went to a flop with nine players in the hand and $115 at stake.
The flop was 8-6-4 rainbow and I was third to act. It checked to me and I led out with a $7 bet. Immediately after making the bet I played it off as that I forgot the extra $100 was in the pot, since it a plaque that says “Splash Pot” on it and not actual chips. The bet was simply to disguise the strength of my hand as nobody is going to expect a player who is holding top set to bet such a little amount. If a person is holding a set they are either going to check it or bet a large amount in order to not let someone draw out on them. I elected to fly in the face of danger and make a tiny bet that only built up the pot a little more. I got four callers and we went to a turn with $150 in the pot.
The turn was a four, giving me a full house and the second nuts. Since I am not worried about being drawn out on and only fearing pocket fours, which is unlikely, I checked it as did everyone else.
The river was a nine, now giving me the third best hand, but I am still confident it is the best hand among the five of us. I elect to bet another small amount hoping they think I am just trying to buy the pot without risking too much of my money but large enough to be scary. I lead out with a $40 bet. After two folds a pleasant fellow calls my bet and it gets to the player on the button. He makes a minimum raise and it is now $80 to play. A small fraction of shock goes through me that I am looking at the guy who is holding four fours, but I push that aside and decide to re-raise him another $40. A minimum raise was made in the hope I could get the middle guy to call both bets instead of bumping it up another $60-100 and isolating it to the guy on the button only. Alas, the middle guy didn’t call the $80 and it was back to the button man, who called my raise and showed 10-7 for a straight.
So in hindsight I probably should have bumped it up another $60 or $80 and I would have made a little more than raising the minimum, but I ended up going from down $65 at the start of the hand to up $235.
The hand that crippled me with my first buy-in of $200 was when I held A-10 and went up against A-Q. My opponent, who was the pleasant fellow I tried to get a call from with the minimum re-raise on my splash pot hand later in the evening, flopped two pair and I rivered a smaller two pair. He got about $80 off me from that hand.
Overall I was happy with my play for the night, minus the previously mentioned two pair vs. two pair hand and the way I went out with my first buy-in when I made a disgusted “I don’t care at this point; let’s start over” move. I have three hands worth discussing, two of which are for strategy purposes and dissection.
We will begin with a hand I was happy with what took place as a read I made early in the night prevented me from losing a great deal of money. I had not been at the table for more than 20 minutes and was still feeling everyone out. I was dealt A-Q offsuit in early-to-middle position and decided to not raise with it. Under normal circumstances I might, but I wanted to see how things were progressing at this table before I dove in completely. About three calls after me brought it back around to the big blind, who raised it to $15 total. It was back on me. Although I hadn’t been there for long and didn’t have much of a read on anyone quite yet I didn’t have a good feeling about this particular hand. I opted to fold as I had an odd hunch I was way behind against the big blind. I can’t put my finger on exactly what he did or said or any special way he was acting, but it just wasn’t a good spot to call.
It turns out I was right in my feeling and the big blind had pocket aces. To make matters worse, I would have flopped a queen for top pair and likely lost some good money on that hand.
The first hand we will break down bit by bit was when I was in the big blind. Following a single caller from middle position the small blind raised it to $18 total. I looked down and saw a pair of queens. Usually I would be overjoyed to be in this situation with a pair of queens and I would normally put in a re-raise. I had the chips in my hand to do so and was merely deciding on an amount, but something was nagging at me about the player who was on my right and had made the raise. He was a nice guy, but didn’t play a ton of hands and I couldn’t recall him making a raise at all prior to this hand, which we had been playing for about three hours together by this point.
To call the small blind a tight player wasn’t entirely accurate, but he certainly did play it safe when it came to hand selection. Deciding it might be safer to only call the bet, see if it gets heads-up between us, and gauge where I would be after the flop came out I put out my $18 and was a little let down when the other gentleman also called. We went to the flop with $54 in the pot.
The flop was 10-10-9, all black. The small blind didn’t take much time to put out a bet of $20. I determined that I could find out how strong his hand was or whether somebody was holding a ten by making a raise now. I put out $40, only raising the minimum of $20. Mr. Pleasant again let me down by calling the $40 and the small blind called the extra $20. What this all meant for me was that unless a jack or queen came on the turn I was shutting things down. I am obviously beat and would not be putting any more money in the middle without a better hand than what I currently was holding.
The turn was a black ace, creating two clubs and two spades on a board of 10-10-9-A. The small blind, with $174 in the pot, bet $20. The pot odds were not there to make a profitable call since I now needed a queen and a queen alone to win, so I folded.
The guy behind me ended up calling and when the queen did not come on the river and the small blind showed pocket kings after the hand was over I was proud of myself that I made the best decisions to lose as little as possible. Had I re-raised pre-flop I would have most likely faced a raise myself from the small blind and it could have gotten really bad after that flop of all unders. By simply calling pre-flop and raising the minimum on the flop I kept the pot small and was able to get away from it once I knew where I stood.
The final hand to chat about was a pretty straight-forward hand, but it got several of us talking about it afterward. I limped in for $2 from middle position with pocket fours. A player two to my left went all in for $28 total. It folded around to me. I eventually made the call, but made it clear I was not happy doing so. It ended up the guy had A-10 of hearts and made a flush, while I did not improve.
Following the hand two players at the table said how with pocket fours that was an automatic call. I disagreed with them and explained that you are risking nearly $30 to be a slight favorite. While that isn’t a lot of money at risk, it isn’t a lot to win either. Unless you get extremely lucky to be up against pocket twos or threes, you aren’t going to be more than a 51% favorite to win the hand. I stated how with nothing behind the guy to win should you hit a set the risk did not outweigh the reward.
Now understand me, if this were a tournament then things would be different. I had about $250 in front of me at the time of this hand and if it were $28 to call in a tournament and knock the player out, getting us one step closer to the money or higher up in the money, then I would be willing to call with my fours more quickly. Yet, since it is a cash game and the only thing I am gaining from a call that has me as a slight favorite or a huge underdog is $28, I don’t think it is an automatic call. I’m curious to know what you think.
I played for four hours last night and won $265, netting me $66.25 an hour. For the year thus far I have profited $595, am making $52.89 an hour after a little more than 11 hours of play, and have nearly $900 in my poker bankroll. Poker in 2011 is going pretty well as of now. Hopefully it continues to do so.
At the time of the promo where $100 was placed in the pot prior to the players receiving their cards, I had lost $200, re-bought for $150 more, and currently had $290 in front of me. Fully expecting to fold the hand as splash pots become a game of pre-flop chicken in order to see who is willing to risk the most money to win the $100 offered by the casino, I was surprised to find pocket eights as my hole cards. Knowing a raise would do absolutely nothing to thin the field and with $100 already at stake, I simply called from early position and decided to see what happened after me. I was astounded even more when no one raised it, but what did not surprise me at all was no one folded either. We went to a flop with nine players in the hand and $115 at stake.
The flop was 8-6-4 rainbow and I was third to act. It checked to me and I led out with a $7 bet. Immediately after making the bet I played it off as that I forgot the extra $100 was in the pot, since it a plaque that says “Splash Pot” on it and not actual chips. The bet was simply to disguise the strength of my hand as nobody is going to expect a player who is holding top set to bet such a little amount. If a person is holding a set they are either going to check it or bet a large amount in order to not let someone draw out on them. I elected to fly in the face of danger and make a tiny bet that only built up the pot a little more. I got four callers and we went to a turn with $150 in the pot.
The turn was a four, giving me a full house and the second nuts. Since I am not worried about being drawn out on and only fearing pocket fours, which is unlikely, I checked it as did everyone else.
The river was a nine, now giving me the third best hand, but I am still confident it is the best hand among the five of us. I elect to bet another small amount hoping they think I am just trying to buy the pot without risking too much of my money but large enough to be scary. I lead out with a $40 bet. After two folds a pleasant fellow calls my bet and it gets to the player on the button. He makes a minimum raise and it is now $80 to play. A small fraction of shock goes through me that I am looking at the guy who is holding four fours, but I push that aside and decide to re-raise him another $40. A minimum raise was made in the hope I could get the middle guy to call both bets instead of bumping it up another $60-100 and isolating it to the guy on the button only. Alas, the middle guy didn’t call the $80 and it was back to the button man, who called my raise and showed 10-7 for a straight.
So in hindsight I probably should have bumped it up another $60 or $80 and I would have made a little more than raising the minimum, but I ended up going from down $65 at the start of the hand to up $235.
The hand that crippled me with my first buy-in of $200 was when I held A-10 and went up against A-Q. My opponent, who was the pleasant fellow I tried to get a call from with the minimum re-raise on my splash pot hand later in the evening, flopped two pair and I rivered a smaller two pair. He got about $80 off me from that hand.
Overall I was happy with my play for the night, minus the previously mentioned two pair vs. two pair hand and the way I went out with my first buy-in when I made a disgusted “I don’t care at this point; let’s start over” move. I have three hands worth discussing, two of which are for strategy purposes and dissection.
We will begin with a hand I was happy with what took place as a read I made early in the night prevented me from losing a great deal of money. I had not been at the table for more than 20 minutes and was still feeling everyone out. I was dealt A-Q offsuit in early-to-middle position and decided to not raise with it. Under normal circumstances I might, but I wanted to see how things were progressing at this table before I dove in completely. About three calls after me brought it back around to the big blind, who raised it to $15 total. It was back on me. Although I hadn’t been there for long and didn’t have much of a read on anyone quite yet I didn’t have a good feeling about this particular hand. I opted to fold as I had an odd hunch I was way behind against the big blind. I can’t put my finger on exactly what he did or said or any special way he was acting, but it just wasn’t a good spot to call.
It turns out I was right in my feeling and the big blind had pocket aces. To make matters worse, I would have flopped a queen for top pair and likely lost some good money on that hand.
The first hand we will break down bit by bit was when I was in the big blind. Following a single caller from middle position the small blind raised it to $18 total. I looked down and saw a pair of queens. Usually I would be overjoyed to be in this situation with a pair of queens and I would normally put in a re-raise. I had the chips in my hand to do so and was merely deciding on an amount, but something was nagging at me about the player who was on my right and had made the raise. He was a nice guy, but didn’t play a ton of hands and I couldn’t recall him making a raise at all prior to this hand, which we had been playing for about three hours together by this point.
To call the small blind a tight player wasn’t entirely accurate, but he certainly did play it safe when it came to hand selection. Deciding it might be safer to only call the bet, see if it gets heads-up between us, and gauge where I would be after the flop came out I put out my $18 and was a little let down when the other gentleman also called. We went to the flop with $54 in the pot.
The flop was 10-10-9, all black. The small blind didn’t take much time to put out a bet of $20. I determined that I could find out how strong his hand was or whether somebody was holding a ten by making a raise now. I put out $40, only raising the minimum of $20. Mr. Pleasant again let me down by calling the $40 and the small blind called the extra $20. What this all meant for me was that unless a jack or queen came on the turn I was shutting things down. I am obviously beat and would not be putting any more money in the middle without a better hand than what I currently was holding.
The turn was a black ace, creating two clubs and two spades on a board of 10-10-9-A. The small blind, with $174 in the pot, bet $20. The pot odds were not there to make a profitable call since I now needed a queen and a queen alone to win, so I folded.
The guy behind me ended up calling and when the queen did not come on the river and the small blind showed pocket kings after the hand was over I was proud of myself that I made the best decisions to lose as little as possible. Had I re-raised pre-flop I would have most likely faced a raise myself from the small blind and it could have gotten really bad after that flop of all unders. By simply calling pre-flop and raising the minimum on the flop I kept the pot small and was able to get away from it once I knew where I stood.
The final hand to chat about was a pretty straight-forward hand, but it got several of us talking about it afterward. I limped in for $2 from middle position with pocket fours. A player two to my left went all in for $28 total. It folded around to me. I eventually made the call, but made it clear I was not happy doing so. It ended up the guy had A-10 of hearts and made a flush, while I did not improve.
Following the hand two players at the table said how with pocket fours that was an automatic call. I disagreed with them and explained that you are risking nearly $30 to be a slight favorite. While that isn’t a lot of money at risk, it isn’t a lot to win either. Unless you get extremely lucky to be up against pocket twos or threes, you aren’t going to be more than a 51% favorite to win the hand. I stated how with nothing behind the guy to win should you hit a set the risk did not outweigh the reward.
Now understand me, if this were a tournament then things would be different. I had about $250 in front of me at the time of this hand and if it were $28 to call in a tournament and knock the player out, getting us one step closer to the money or higher up in the money, then I would be willing to call with my fours more quickly. Yet, since it is a cash game and the only thing I am gaining from a call that has me as a slight favorite or a huge underdog is $28, I don’t think it is an automatic call. I’m curious to know what you think.
I played for four hours last night and won $265, netting me $66.25 an hour. For the year thus far I have profited $595, am making $52.89 an hour after a little more than 11 hours of play, and have nearly $900 in my poker bankroll. Poker in 2011 is going pretty well as of now. Hopefully it continues to do so.
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