Highlights

Last night was probably the most fun I’ve ever had at the Hustler. As I mentioned in my review of the card club, I have never found the place all that enjoyable. I will note that the drink waitresses have gotten hotter since the first time I went. But that’s beside the point. I ended up at a table full of good-natured guys mostly in their 20s to early 30s. None were drunk or belligerent [that is, no players like ME the last time I went … belligerent if not drunk … :-)]. And best of all, most of them weren’t all that great at cards.

I want to talk about a few of the more interesting hands I played last night. Billy and I haven’t done too much of that lately, mainly because we haven’t been playing that much poker. So I think now’s a good time to get back to that kind of thing. These hands are No Limit Hold ‘Em, with a buy-in of $50 and blinds of $1 and $2.
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The first major hand I was involved in showed how rusty I was. I picked up K-Q of clubs in the big blind. Five other players limped in including the small blind, and I decided to check it. With so many opponents, I didn’t want to get too involved just in case I was dominated. Plus, I was a bit afraid of a limp re-raise. The flop came Q-Q-x and I literally kicked myself. Mistake #1. Everyone probably would have called a small raise of say $4, so my conservatism had just cost me $20. The small blind checked, I checked, and it was checked around. I kicked myself again – should have made a small bet there that would have gotten called given the pot size. Mistake #2.

The turn was a blank, and the small blind bet $5 into a pot of $9 ($12 minus the rake). I immediately popped it up to $15, and watched the rest of the table fold back to the small blind (including a guy with a queen – he showed later). In hindsight I should have flat called and tried to get more players to stick around. I don’t know what I was afraid of, as the board presented no straight or flush possibilities. The small blind just called. I kicked myself yet again; this was Mistake #3. Clearly I’d been away from the game too long. On the river the small blind checked, I bet $15, and he went into the think tank. After a minute or two he folded, and told his buddy he was probably good as he didn’t put me on the Queen. So the guy didn’t believe my bet – maybe he would have called for less. Mistake #4. I took down an okay pot, but it probably should have been bigger.

I realized I would have to find a way to better capitalize on those monster hands if I was going to survive. It really stung that I didn't get paid off by a guy with a Queen and another guy who didn't believe me. Not my best work at all.
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The next hand of interest was a few hands later. The chick under the gun live-straddled the big blind, making it $4 to go. The player after her folded, and I looked down at pocket 6s. I knew she hadn’t looked at her cards yet, so I wanted to send her a message that I had a hand. I made it $12, and everyone folded to the button, who pushed for $24. The blinds folded, and the Straddler called all in (still without looking) for her last $14. The hand was played out, and the button turned out to have high-low and missed completely. But the Straddler hit running clubs on the turn and river to give her a flush, and took down the main pot with 5-2 suited. Well Billy, you’ll be happy to know that I didn’t berate her at all, didn’t even get upset. I shrugged and gobbled up the sidepot, told her “Nice hand,” and played on. She responded by asking me to hand her the rack behind me, so she could take off. I responded, “What, I’m supposed to help you hit and run on me?” Still, I smiled and handed her the rack, and watched my chips walk away. So Billy, I think I scored a point in our debate. I think this goes to show that being nice to suckout artists does not keep them in the game. ;-)
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Not too much later, the luck swung back my way. I picked up A-7 of spades on the button. To this point, I had been folding hands like this when it was raised. But the raise wasn’t too large (only to $6), and I was in position. I made the call, as did the big blind, so it was three-handed going to the flop. The flop was 5d-4d-2s. The big blind checked, and the original raiser bet $10. In my mind, there was about a 70% chance that this was simply a continuation bluff, and about a 30% chance that the guy had an overpair. I went with the continuation bet scenario. I figured if this were the case, I was probably dominated by a bigger Ace. But with a strong raise, I might be able to get him to lay his semi-bluff down. And if he didn’t lay it down, well … I had outs. I made it $30 of the $42 I had left in my stack. The big blind folded, and the raiser thought about it for half a minute before putting me all in. I winced and called.

He turned over pocket Kings, which was actually a bit of a relief to me. With two cards to come, I wasn't in all that bad of shape. This way, I could hit either an Ace for a bigger pair (3 outs), or a three for a wheel straight (4 outs). I also had backdoor flush possibilities, which I count as maybe 0.5 outs. So with 7.5 outs twice, I figured myself maybe 30% to win the hand. For some reason, I had a feeling that the 3 would hit, and it did on the turn. I doubled up – a big turning point for me as it was the only time in the session that my entire stack was at risk. That’s how I prefer to play.

The dealer almost gave the other guy the pot! She mucked my cards and started pushing the chips towards him, and I had to yell “Hey!” like five times before she realized what was going on. The guy assured me he wouldn’t have taken the money.

Sure, he wouldn’t.
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A few rounds of blinds later, I am heads up against the same dude again. This time, I’m holding pocket 10s in position, and the flop comes Jack high. The guy makes a solid bet of about half the pot, and I call. The turn is another Jack, and he freezes for a second before firing another bet of about half the pot. I know exactly what he has now. I smile at him and say, “You have pocket Queens, don’t you? I’m all in.” My push quadruples his bet and a call would put him all in for about another $50.

He’s completely shocked that I have read his hand perfectly. I can see the gears in his head start to turnin’. This is why I love playing against Level 2 players. They’re notorious for thinking themselves out of winning hands. He mulls it over, and his thoughts are so clear he might as well be speaking them aloud: “If he knows I have pocket Queens, then he wouldn't push with anything less than trip Jacks. No way he’s that crazy.” The guy folds the Queens face up, shaking his head in disbelief. I flash him my cockiest half-smile, and say "You're only telling me what I already know."

That kind of hand will do wonders for the ego.
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The last highlight was actually a series of hands. A new guy came to the table, and I could tell he was an action player. His first hand he live-straddled! A little later, we were heads up on the turn. He had bet on the flop but checked the turn. I was holding Ace-King offsuit, and the turn was a third flush card giving me top draw and overcards. Because he had bet the flop and checked the turn, I put him on either a bluff or a weak hand. I put him all in (the pot was fairly big by now) and he called, showing me pocket Kings (which were an overpair to the board) and the second nut flush draw. The river gave me the flush, and I busted him.

He shook his head, stood up and walked away. I thought he was done for the night, but a few hands later he came back with another $50 buy-in. I welcomed him with open arms. The first hand he decided to play, I again found myself holding A-K off. I raised to $10 preflop under the gun, and he was the only caller from the small blind. The flop was 9-high and suited, giving me the nut flush draw again and overcards. He bet $10 into me, and I flat called. The turn was a small blank. He checked to me, and I remembered the last hand where he bet the flop and checked the turn only to reveal an overpair. I decided to take the free card. The river gave me the flush again. The guy checked to me, and I made a bet of $10, which was small given the pot size but I didn’t think he would call much more. He surprised me by pushing for his last $30, and I of course called. He showed me pocket Jacks (again, an overpair to the board) with the Jack-high flush.

This time he left for good.

Unfortunately.
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I ended the night up $260, earning the full $150 I needed plus a little extra. Some of it was pure chance, and some was skill. There were some other big hands in terms of the pot size, but those were not as interesting. Either I lost big pots by misreading my opponents' strength, or won big ones by doing the opposite. Basic poker.

I can't wait til I get another crack at the tables, to collect a few more chips and a few more stories to tell.