Brags and Beats from Vegas
Quickly jotting down a few hands here before I forget the details:
Brags:
1. One of my better calls. Fairly new to the 2 5 table (30/45mins) I have JTo in the cutoff of a full table. Player 3 to my right who has been raising quite a bit but doesn't seem to know how to play poker very well makes it 20 and I call. Button makes it 60 and we both call. Pot 180. Flop J24 rainbow checked to the button who instashoves 400+ and i have him covered. Folded to me and I tank for 5+mins. I never take this long for a decision and usually I am of the mentality of not playing big pots in this spot in a fairly soft game, but I actually thought I should make this guy squirm a bit and see what I can pick up on him. I noticed a few things that led me to believe he had air and after calling clock on myself made the call with 20 seconds left and took it down vs AQ unimproved by the river. What a great feeling. Probably my favourite hand of the trip and one of my favourite hands ever.
2. One of my biggest pots. 2 5 PLO I have K997hhh on the button playing 5 or 6 handed in a straddled pot. Flop J86 rainbow 3 ways. EP bets 30-40 and I call because he is the worst player at the table and will call down huge bets with the second best hand. SB comes along as well. Turn is the gin card for me, the 5 of hearts. I have the stone cold nut straight with 3 heart blockers and a redraw to the second nut flush. EP bets I pot for $500ish (numbers not exact anymore) and to my shock the sb calls me and leaves only $100 back (always makes me lol) (older british player who seemed pretty solid up until I saw this play -- nice guy who plays alot in London, has played big tournies, etc I later learned from playing with him all week). And...of course the EP guy calls all in for $500 more. River bricks and I bet $100 into $1600+ pot and British guy open mucks JJ for his last $100. EP was overcalling with one out to win with 6647 -- sucker straight and bottom set. Later learned he was in for $5k + that night. One of the worst PLO players i have come aross.
3. Tilting Tourney Pros without them even being in a hand. (See earlier post here: http://www.pokerforum.ca/f7/how-tilt-tourney-pro-cash-game-venetian-18492/).
4. Life tilting a tilting player at 5 10 NLH 4 and 5 handed. I sit down with $800 after a horrific 12-13h session of 2 5 PLO. I am in the mentality of playing Laggy 5 handed and they aren`t chopping blinds which is great. I switch my game up tonnes depending on what I see at the table, so I will adjust if needed. I pick up/make some pretty big hands for shorthanded play. Open raising with 76cc and turning 2 pair, hitting top pair with KT, bluffing a bunch of small pots. Player 2 to my right who I initially pegged as competent within 10 mins of play was now pegged as tilting having called-off a 4 bet all in vs KK and a 2bet all in vs a shortstacked AA. Dealers for this game were rotating here after the omaha down so would occasionally start dealing out a 3rd card and have a misdeal. In this hand we are 4 handed an tilty is utg, my sb. I have J9dd, sweet hand at anytime, but even moreso 4 handed. So dealer pitches me and bb a third card and i am ready to redeal, but UTG protests a bit too much as the cards were quickly replaced on the deck in order, so we play on. He obv has some kind of hand and he limps utg (hadn't seen him open limp yet). I call bb calls we see the flop of K9x with one diamond 3 ways. I bet out 30, BB folds and UTG goes 70 and I call. Turn K95xdd I check call 60-70 and river brings the pretty 8d. I donk out $300 and he calls and is now on life tilt. GG AK or better, lol.
Beats (I'll stick to holdem as in PLO I just had too many to decifer anymore and noone really cares about PLO on here anyhow):
1. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZOMG!!!. Had played about 3 orbits at this table and my mission on this trip was initially to play TAG poker. I was playing pretty tight. I had been running bad for 3 weeks prior to Vegas and in the short term wanted to crush the variance in my game down as much as possible. I have QQ in the sb. It comes 20 to me 2-3 ways and I go 80 and get one caller. I have 500 behind, pot is 180. I don't have a great read on this player but I know from a few things I've seen that he isn't great -- I am never folding an overpair to him, ever, ever, ever for $500. Flop is JT5ss. I bet 120, he raises to 250 and I think and talk a bit to try and induce a call then I push my stack and he calls. I had been running so badly prior to this trip and I put him on a set of 5s or a flush draw, I couldn't really tell from what he was doing which is strange for me to have zero read on the situation. Anyhow, turn is a spade and I figure I'm done for. I don't even see the river as I'm looking at him turn over 66 and I'm thinking HUHHHHH? Of course, I then look at the board and the river spiked a 6 for his set. He lost his 2k stack over the next couple of hours, but unfortunately none to me. 92% no good.
2. Same day more puking. Tight lady (heyooooo!) at a new table. I limp 99 utg and it's 5 ways after a small LP raise. Pot 75-100. Flop 962dd and I check through, guy on my left bets 20 (nice bet), lady calls and I call. Pot 135-160. Turn J962dd and it's time to get it in if I can. I am playing $600 effective stack behind with this lady. I bet 80, fold and she raises to 200 and I shove 600 and she instacalls. River diamond and I don't even have to see her hand, KJdd. Puke. 86% no good.
Variance:
1. Winning from behind!!! (sorry, only happened once). Playing against the worst player at the table in this hand. He will stack with top pair nut low kicker. He is bad. He will never get bluffed out of a pot, ever. He has a piece of the flop, so he is seeing the river at all costs to make sure you have a hand. I wants to play a huge pot with him. AA in my BB 3-4 players at $15 to me and this guy is UTG in seat 1. I have $500 or so recently rebuying and chipping down slowly after losing the 66 hand. Pretty easy stack size, actually perfect, to play AA vs this guy. I have not played a hand in an hour. This is painful for me. I can't play TAG forever, but this was the only profitable strategy at this table and it was my mission statement for the trip afterall. How the eff am I supposed to get action on AA when I haven't played past the flop in over an hour? Oh yeah, seat 1. I make it 120. He calls and it's hu to the J52 flop and I shove 380-400 into a $250 pot. Well, river pairs the turn and my AA sucks out on his J5. Sometimes I like the baby jesus, the poker version.
Poker has been insane for me lately. Probably the most volatile month I can recall in years of play. I think I'm even for the first time this month and I don't even know how that is possible. I'm really getting tired of throwing-up in my mouth.
Brags:
1. One of my better calls. Fairly new to the 2 5 table (30/45mins) I have JTo in the cutoff of a full table. Player 3 to my right who has been raising quite a bit but doesn't seem to know how to play poker very well makes it 20 and I call. Button makes it 60 and we both call. Pot 180. Flop J24 rainbow checked to the button who instashoves 400+ and i have him covered. Folded to me and I tank for 5+mins. I never take this long for a decision and usually I am of the mentality of not playing big pots in this spot in a fairly soft game, but I actually thought I should make this guy squirm a bit and see what I can pick up on him. I noticed a few things that led me to believe he had air and after calling clock on myself made the call with 20 seconds left and took it down vs AQ unimproved by the river. What a great feeling. Probably my favourite hand of the trip and one of my favourite hands ever.
2. One of my biggest pots. 2 5 PLO I have K997hhh on the button playing 5 or 6 handed in a straddled pot. Flop J86 rainbow 3 ways. EP bets 30-40 and I call because he is the worst player at the table and will call down huge bets with the second best hand. SB comes along as well. Turn is the gin card for me, the 5 of hearts. I have the stone cold nut straight with 3 heart blockers and a redraw to the second nut flush. EP bets I pot for $500ish (numbers not exact anymore) and to my shock the sb calls me and leaves only $100 back (always makes me lol) (older british player who seemed pretty solid up until I saw this play -- nice guy who plays alot in London, has played big tournies, etc I later learned from playing with him all week). And...of course the EP guy calls all in for $500 more. River bricks and I bet $100 into $1600+ pot and British guy open mucks JJ for his last $100. EP was overcalling with one out to win with 6647 -- sucker straight and bottom set. Later learned he was in for $5k + that night. One of the worst PLO players i have come aross.
3. Tilting Tourney Pros without them even being in a hand. (See earlier post here: http://www.pokerforum.ca/f7/how-tilt-tourney-pro-cash-game-venetian-18492/).
4. Life tilting a tilting player at 5 10 NLH 4 and 5 handed. I sit down with $800 after a horrific 12-13h session of 2 5 PLO. I am in the mentality of playing Laggy 5 handed and they aren`t chopping blinds which is great. I switch my game up tonnes depending on what I see at the table, so I will adjust if needed. I pick up/make some pretty big hands for shorthanded play. Open raising with 76cc and turning 2 pair, hitting top pair with KT, bluffing a bunch of small pots. Player 2 to my right who I initially pegged as competent within 10 mins of play was now pegged as tilting having called-off a 4 bet all in vs KK and a 2bet all in vs a shortstacked AA. Dealers for this game were rotating here after the omaha down so would occasionally start dealing out a 3rd card and have a misdeal. In this hand we are 4 handed an tilty is utg, my sb. I have J9dd, sweet hand at anytime, but even moreso 4 handed. So dealer pitches me and bb a third card and i am ready to redeal, but UTG protests a bit too much as the cards were quickly replaced on the deck in order, so we play on. He obv has some kind of hand and he limps utg (hadn't seen him open limp yet). I call bb calls we see the flop of K9x with one diamond 3 ways. I bet out 30, BB folds and UTG goes 70 and I call. Turn K95xdd I check call 60-70 and river brings the pretty 8d. I donk out $300 and he calls and is now on life tilt. GG AK or better, lol.
Beats (I'll stick to holdem as in PLO I just had too many to decifer anymore and noone really cares about PLO on here anyhow):
1. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZOMG!!!. Had played about 3 orbits at this table and my mission on this trip was initially to play TAG poker. I was playing pretty tight. I had been running bad for 3 weeks prior to Vegas and in the short term wanted to crush the variance in my game down as much as possible. I have QQ in the sb. It comes 20 to me 2-3 ways and I go 80 and get one caller. I have 500 behind, pot is 180. I don't have a great read on this player but I know from a few things I've seen that he isn't great -- I am never folding an overpair to him, ever, ever, ever for $500. Flop is JT5ss. I bet 120, he raises to 250 and I think and talk a bit to try and induce a call then I push my stack and he calls. I had been running so badly prior to this trip and I put him on a set of 5s or a flush draw, I couldn't really tell from what he was doing which is strange for me to have zero read on the situation. Anyhow, turn is a spade and I figure I'm done for. I don't even see the river as I'm looking at him turn over 66 and I'm thinking HUHHHHH? Of course, I then look at the board and the river spiked a 6 for his set. He lost his 2k stack over the next couple of hours, but unfortunately none to me. 92% no good.
2. Same day more puking. Tight lady (heyooooo!) at a new table. I limp 99 utg and it's 5 ways after a small LP raise. Pot 75-100. Flop 962dd and I check through, guy on my left bets 20 (nice bet), lady calls and I call. Pot 135-160. Turn J962dd and it's time to get it in if I can. I am playing $600 effective stack behind with this lady. I bet 80, fold and she raises to 200 and I shove 600 and she instacalls. River diamond and I don't even have to see her hand, KJdd. Puke. 86% no good.
Variance:
1. Winning from behind!!! (sorry, only happened once). Playing against the worst player at the table in this hand. He will stack with top pair nut low kicker. He is bad. He will never get bluffed out of a pot, ever. He has a piece of the flop, so he is seeing the river at all costs to make sure you have a hand. I wants to play a huge pot with him. AA in my BB 3-4 players at $15 to me and this guy is UTG in seat 1. I have $500 or so recently rebuying and chipping down slowly after losing the 66 hand. Pretty easy stack size, actually perfect, to play AA vs this guy. I have not played a hand in an hour. This is painful for me. I can't play TAG forever, but this was the only profitable strategy at this table and it was my mission statement for the trip afterall. How the eff am I supposed to get action on AA when I haven't played past the flop in over an hour? Oh yeah, seat 1. I make it 120. He calls and it's hu to the J52 flop and I shove 380-400 into a $250 pot. Well, river pairs the turn and my AA sucks out on his J5. Sometimes I like the baby jesus, the poker version.
Poker has been insane for me lately. Probably the most volatile month I can recall in years of play. I think I'm even for the first time this month and I don't even know how that is possible. I'm really getting tired of throwing-up in my mouth.
Comments
Not in holdem, no. Sometimes in PLO, but it's a highly volatile game.
I mean, how can I avoid the variance this month when I get called by 66 on a JT5 flop for stacks?
Beats Hand #2 - why did you wait until the turn to raise? don't you want to try and get more money in the pot with these drawing hands? obviously your odds improve by the turn but I'm surprised you wouldn't re-raise on the flop.
Sounds like the trip will be a success whatever happens.
1. Playing live poker for me is not playing abc online poker (or abc live poker for that matter). If you want to profit as much as possible you have to find spots like this to get your money in. I play a laggy style at times and this induces plays like this at the table where i can pick off a bluff. I am not sitting there and waiting for a set or a flush, etc. to get my money in the middle like so many players. Note, I did not shove, I called. My hand does not have value to bet, but has value to call a huge overbet in this spot when combined with the opponent, his playing style and some strong physical tells that he revealed while I made him sit there for 5 mins pondering a call.
2. This varies. In this spot I decided to play a bit slow due to other factors at the table including my table image and mostly the image of the woman in the hand who I wanted to stack. I have no problem getting it all in on the turn where I am a huge favourite against every hand calling me in that spot. Sometimes I would try and get it in on the flop, but I felt I'd make the most money on the turn in this case and I was correct as I got her entire stack in the middle with only 1 card to come.