Texas Holdem Poker
I just got back from a nonprofitable (read: losing) trip to New Orleans...
I was itching to play some cards, so I headed over to Harrah's late one night...I went straight to the poker room, only to find TA-DA! a steakhouse in its stead. So I asked around and was pointed to the new prime location of the poker room...it's now located right in the middle of the casino, and they have plenty of tables. There was some stud, mostly hold'em, from 3-6 up to 10-20 and even an NL game.
Anyway, I sit down and make friendly with my table neighbors as I'm wont to do. It was fun playing 3-6 and drinking beers until the damn waitress went MIA for about 30 minutes. After asking several floor managers to send a girl over, none appeared. Then I saw the main floor guy and asked him to please send a girl over...he obnoxiously responded that a girl had just passed by, to which I belligerently responded, "You're crazy!" to which he again responded obnoxiously with "I'm crazy?!?! You're crazy!".
So, clearly, you can see where this night was headed.
I held my own at the 10-20 for a while until it was playing like a 3-6 game, then headed over to the NL table.
Second hand at the NL table...I push all my chips in on the turn with a pair of aces and mid-kicker, knowing it was the best hand at the moment. Guy who called my preflop and flop bets calls my all-in...pot is now over 1000 bones. River is an ace giving me trips, and our suckout friend the flush...
See boys, they'll defy the odds in an NL game just as easy as in a limit game. Tough lesson learned.
So I played some more 10-20, then decided to go back to the NL game. There was a side game to play while waiting for the main table. I clean up for a while, and get back what I'd lost from earlier. On the main table, I'm all-in w/ A-K against QQ preflop. Flop no good, turn no good, river is a lovely, beautiful K. I had my man tilted at that point. Unfortunately, it was now 5 a.m. the next morning at this point (damn time flies in a casino) and I decided to put an end to my marathon session...very much tired, drunk, and relieved of some cash.
Point of this rambling: Harrah's New Orleans has upgraded the poker room and there are plenty of fish (see me for example!) to be found there on any weekend night...
"I'm all-in w/ A-K against QQ preflop. Flop no good, turn no good, river is a lovely, beautiful K. I had my man tilted at that point."
I know it's a minor point but I never understand people going on tilt from this. You see it all the time though. They are a marginal favourite pre-flop and just because it's the river that does it seems to send them over the edge.
Unfortunate (especially if it knocks you out of a tournie) but it could have equally been the first card out. It is a bonus if you have someone getting upset with this though as they'd probably go into orbit with a proper bad beat. Just make sure the next hand you beat him with is an A2 vs an AK
Yeah, a few hands later I showed him the 3-9 I had raised preflop with...after I stole a pot from him. I was having fun with him at that point.
Has anyone ever seen this one before? I'm playing limit holdem, 3/6, online. I am in early position with AA. I raise preflop. The player two positions to my left reraises. Everyone else folds. I reraise him. So what does he do? He folds rather than calls!
Now keep in mind that this is online, I had only been at this table for a few minutes and never played this guy before, so it's not like he had any reason to think I would only reraise with rockets.
Someone told me this was a reasonable play for information, figuring the guy might have had AK. But in my opinion the pot odds could not justify what he was doing. There was already about $20 in the pot when he declined to call $3 and see the flop.
Anyone else find this play as strange as me?
He could have made a mistake, or thought that he was going to get more callers, but when you went over the top again he put you on a big hand and saw no potential for his hand. Maybe j-10 or somew thing like that.
One raise is suspicious... a re-raise is even more suspicous... but the re-raise is (as he puts it) 99.9% pure... (most likely pocket rockets)
it may seem strange to you that he laid it down with very little info about you... but the bottom line is that he was right... and even if he was wrong... that play will save him money in the long run at tough tables...
If I had any indication that my opponent was smart at all... and I was playing AK... I would fold to a re-re-raise... this play is exactly by the book... If I'm holding A-K, I re-raise a raiser... but if they play back at me... they likely have a very high pair... and I don't want to go into it with only one live card...
if he had pocket Kings.. then it's a much tougher laydown... so my guess is that isn't what he had...
it's also possible that he had A-Q or A-J and was measuring you... getting some information for the cost of one bet... if you had just called... he plays the hand knowing that he likely has the best hand... but he wanted to find out if you were a weak raiser...
The fold is absolutely terrible - if you are sure he has AA then you call knowing that there are a fair number of flops that you could outplay him on... whether you have a better hand or not. The fact you aren't sure, as well as the pot odds being so good, mandates a call.
If i had QQ, and i 'know' he has AA, i'm calling there. I know the implied odds are there to catch that set...
I was playing 2/4 on a loose passive table. On average, 7 people see the flop and 8 of 10 flops are unraised.
I picked up T9c from middle position and called BB. The flop came T94 rainbow. I bet. Button raised. I reraised. Button capped. The guy has a tell and I absolutely knew he wanted me to call. Could I actually be behind? The only way I could be behind is TT, 99, or 44. 2 of those choices were unlikely since I was holding T9. Even if the guy had 44, I was still behind so I slowed down.
I saw the hand to the end checking and just calling. I put the guy on 44 at best and hoped to draw out another T or 9. I also thought there was a possibility he was playing T9, AT or AA just betting the overpair. I wouldn't have put a great player on either of those last 2 hands, but when you see the kinds of hands these guys play, it's entirely possible.
Anyway, you probably guessed it. He held TT and I felt foolish. I knew he wasn't bluffing but I let hope convince me he might be capping with less than top 2 pair. I should have known he had to have at least 2 pair and T4 or 94 aren't typical starting hands. If he had at least 2 pair, either we had the same hand or he did pick up trips. When should I have folded?
In my situation, once raised the very first time should I have folded, called, or reraised?
After he reraised me, should I have called?
Should I have folded or played it out on the turn and river?
On a slightly related note, I know how to compute pot odds and implied odds. But only in relation to the odds of hitting my hand. How do you compute the pot odds in terms of size of pot relative to the odds of your hand winning? So in this case, since the pot was large, was it worth sticking around for a few more bets hoping he over played a weak hand or should I just face it that he had my top 2 pair beaten and fold?
Without number crunching, if you make yourself a 2-1 underdog after the betting flurry on the flop, then checking and calling heads up is well within pot odds with all those preflop callers.
I view pot odds as getting in the way of rational thought sometimes. You may have the odds to call with top two based upon the spectrum of hands he could be holding, but don't let the math take you off your read that it is more than statistically likely that you are drawing near-dead to TT or to 4 outs if he has 44. Under that mode of analysis, your pot odds vanish.
You've gotta pay off with top two and hope he's overplaying top top or QJ or JJ or you drawout. If you had A10, you could call his flop raise, bet out on the turn and fold to a raise. These hands aren't that important unless you are overplaying. You played it ok.
Thanks guys. That makes me feel better and I needed that. I just got back from a short session today and I had these catastrophies.
1) I flopped sets twice (once A's) only to lose each one to a straight. The straights didn't hit until the river on either hand but I called both despite being sure I was beaten. What's the matter with me?
2) I had KK and reraised a guy who reraised me back (preflop). Three hearts fell on the flop and the guy kept betting out. I figured him for AA and probably an Ah. Since I didn't have a single heart and since I put him on at least AA and possibly a flush draw, I folded when he bet on the turn. He turned over TT and took the pot.
3) I found out that my seat won a $15,000 jackpot last night about 15 minutes after I left.
