Weekly poker log Mar 7

My full weekly poker log is at www.CanadianPoker.com. This is a couple of things that I thought were of most interest to this group.

Poker Summit: At the beginning of the week the Canadian Annual Poker Summit was cancelled. Doh! I was scheduled to speak about tournament poker and be the lunchtime speaker in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver on consecutive weekend in March/April. I was really looking forward to these days. Why was the event cancelled? Hmmm…


I am told that the Toronto date was well subscribed, but that Alberta was soft. This seems probable since the Alberta events were both scheduled for the Easter weekend – never a good idea to conflict with God for He is a jealous God.



No worries, I thought. I immediately booked to play in the Regina tournament on March 18 and 19. I love the Regina tournaments and I was getting excited to fly the Team Canuck Poker colors for the first time.



Then, I got a call from a Toronto company considering taking over and holding the Toronto event. I told them I would be more than willing to take part at my originally agreed fee. They are currently gauging interest. Anyone on this list who is interested should go to http://www.thepokersummit.com more information and to express interest. They will be making a decision about the Toronto date by Tuesday afternoon.



Pattern recognition: I have seen it theorized that Gretzky was as good at hockey as he was because he was able to see patterns that others were not – perhaps at a subconscious level. While most players shoulder check to see if there is a trailer, Gretzky knows that there is a trailer because of the appearance of the crowd that he can see in front of him.



A lot of reading one’s opponent in poker is pattern recognition – particularly, betting patterns. One need not worry about the little skilled opponents, but one must not fall prey to patterns when against skilled players. They will see the pattern and know how to exploit it. Zig and zag. But sometimes, zig and then zig again.



Patterns threw me for a loop at the local tournament this past week. I had gotten down to a single $25 chip and bounced back to a stack of $1500. There was an early limper. I was on the button with A-Qs. I was going to limp in, but I heard a little voice say “lower your variance” and so I raised. Both blinds called and the limper re-raised (it was a limit tournament). I called. This is a frequent play these days with A-A or K-K, and I thought that was possible. However, I also thought that this player might have any number of different hands, including smaller pair. I called. The flop was A-K-x. Good flop. The limper bet. I thought he would bet out with any of his hands in this circumstances so I raised to define my hand. He called. Good. I think my ace is best. Turn was a ten. Now, he bet out. This patter did not make sense to me. I did not think he would have flat called my raise on the flop with A-A or K-K. And, I did not think that he would have raised pre-flop with Q-J. So, a combination of “I might have the best hand” coupled with “I have a gutshot” caused me to call the turn. River was a queen giving me two pair and he bet again. Sigh… call… lose to A-K. This hand REALLY bothered me. I should have been able to get away from the hand with less of a loss. But, his little hitch move on the flop/turn worked and I paid him off. It is not a betting pattern that one sees very often and it threw me off the scent. Good play from my opponent and bad play from me.

Comments

  • That stutter step move is actually quite a nice one by your apponent. I've had it used with devistating affect by other players and used it myself. Especially heads-up in a limit game with a big PP like Aces or Kings. It keeps giving your opponent this great false strength of hope, because you're allowing them to do most of the heavy lifting. What's more interesting is how tight a box did your opponent have you in, that on a board with AKQT on it, he could confidently bet out into you on the river not fearing you having a straight
  • I was so short chipped on the river that I could not even cover a single bet. So, betting out on his part is a natural no matter what box he has me in. If he checks and I bet, he calls. By betting he busts me when I do not have a straight.
  • I was so short chipped on the river that I could not even cover a single bet. So, betting out on his part is a natural no matter what box he has me in. If he checks and I bet, he calls. By betting he busts me when I do not have a straight.

    I didn't realize you were short stacked in that spot, it just seemed like for him a check call would have been a better option, if you had more bullets left to fire, with that specific board.
  • I don't see where you can get away from the AQs hand, or even save any bets along the way. I think I would have played it the same, and possibly even been more reckless than you and raised (all-in) on the turn.

    Why? Basically the same reason your opponent bet the river: I would plan on calling the river whatever card comes (including a Q, completing the plausible draw). In case my hand is good and my opponent is drawing, I want max chips from him.* If I turn out to be the one who's behind & drawing on the turn, I lose all my chips no matter what (unless I suckout).

    You're either being too hard on yourself, or I'm really out to lunch on what was "wrong" the way you played this hand. Please advise. Over.

    ScottyZ

    *If he folds on the turn, this is an insanely good result, though this is not the play I'd expect from an opponent who is awake.
  • I probably wasn't thorough enough with my notes. I was getting all sorts of other clues as to the strength of his hand... BIG adrenalin reaction. Classic instance of "knowing" I was beat and still calling. Worse, because I eliminated myself from the tournament.
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