Texas Holdem Poker
For the last month or so, bmy 6-handed limit game hasn't been up to standard. It seems that I've become weak passive after taking some rough beatings. This particular hand is a good example. What do you think of the way I played this hand and why?
***** Hand History for Game 653655552 *****
10/20 TexasHTGameTable (Limit) - Sun Jun 06 02:35:24 EDT 2004
Table Table 10751 (6 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1:
Seat 2:
Seat 3:
Seat 4:
Seat 5:
Seat 6: Me
Seat 6 post small blind (5)
seat 1 posts big blind (10)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to seat 6 [ 5h, 5s ]
Seat 2 (tight aggressive player who appear to be semi-tilted at this point) raises (20) to 20
seat 3 folds.
seat 4 folds.
seat 5 folds.
Seat 6 calls (15)
Seat 1 (superloose calling station) calls (10)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 8h, 8s, 9c ]
Seat 6 bets (10)
Seat 1 folds.
seat 2 raises (20) to 20
seat 6 calls (10)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 4h ]
seat 6 checks.
seat 2 bets (20)
seat 6 calls (20)
** Dealing River ** : [ 7d ]
Seat 6 checks.
Seat 2 checks.
** Summary **
Main Pot: $138 | Rake: $2
Board: [ 8h 8s 9c 4h 7d ]
Seat 2 $864, lost $60 [ Kd Ad ] [ a pair of eights -- Ad,Kd,9c,8h,8s ]
Seat 6 balance $1328, bet $60, collected $138, net +$78 [ 5h 5s ] [ two pairs, eights and fives -- 9c,8h,8s,5h,5s ]
I think you played the hand well.
The initial raise from Seat 2 wouldn't have phased me the least and I would have called. I would not have re-raised here because as you said, he is a tight player.
I liked your bet on the flop. Seat 2 is tight so he is probably holding overcards at this point. Plus, you are in the SB so everone must be concerned about that with the mediocre cards hitting the board. As soon as I saw his raise, I thought overcards, like AK, AQ, KQ, etc. I wasn't at all surprised when I looked at the end of the post and saw AK. Anyway, calling the raise was fine.
The check into the raiser on the turn was OK. I may have been more agressive here since another card out of the playing zone hit. I may have bet into him or check raised.
The check on the river is fine since the 7 hit. You can't discount the possibility of him playing JT. Although, with his PF raise, this does seem unlikely.
So, I think you played this one well.
Five others saw the flop, there was a pair on the board, and you won with a small pair without risking a bunch of money. Good job!! This was no place to try to run anyone out.
You said UTG was a possibly tilty TA, but did he always push his big cards on low-medium flops? What did he normally raise with UTG (any 2 broadways? or any broadway with an ace? only big pairs and big aces? The occasionally suited connector?) and did he push too far with his overcards often, as in this case. The tilty read would make me at least take my pair to showdown, because that definitely does not look like a helpful flop for an UTG raise with the slim possibility of pocket 8's or 9's but fearing him flopping a full house/quads is just looking for monsters under the bed. I also wouldn't fear the JT because most TA's would not raise UTG with a drawing hand (unless it was a super great table!) OR if they knew that the raise could get some people tied to the pot.
Flop: bet/call is good. I like to your lead into the aggressor play shorthanded because I can find out how much the original aggressor values his hand. It looks like a position/semi-bluff raise especially since the BB folded out to your bet. You gotta figure that he's going to raise to continue with his preflop aggression, so I can't respect that raise too much because it's almost expected and it would seem more out of place not to raise here.
Turn: This card has got to be a brick here, and I'm sure you both knew it. Maybe check-raise here and fold to a 3-bet. If he just calls your check/raise, then I'd lead out on the river. The check/call flop then check/raise turn sequence emulates a slowplayed monster and it's an effective play for occasional use against people who pay attention. The check-raise/3-bet fold gambit would cost you the same as check/call on the turn and river. Very few players will 3-bet a check-raise as a bluff unless they are hyperaggressive or upper-echelon players so you can figure that he does in fact have an overpair and its 3:1 in his favor of having a better pair than yours (3 underpairs to you and 9 overs).
River: Since you check/called his turn bet, checking and hoping for a free showdown was definitely the least risky play, and I'd probably call here also because the pot is huge and he might keep pushing his bluff. he knew he was beat though and checked it through (good play on his part) Question, what was your intentions after your check? Call him down if he bets or fold to his bet? He's been representing a big pair all along but since you said he's been kind of tilty then check/calling gives you the cheapest way of catching him being out of line.
Overall, I don't think you played the hand badly given the nature of your opponent. You may have missed a BB or two in there, but it's much easier to say that now after I've seen the hand's outcome. Check/call all the way, while seeming weak and passive, is how you catch him getting frisky and out of line here and is very useful for letting the tilters hang themselves out to dry.
Whenever I play 6max, I only play one table at a time so I can concentrate on my opponents. Dunno if you were multi-tabling here, but sticking with one table till you feel confidently that you are out of your slump may help. Till then, keep cracking away, I'm sure it just a matter of time. Also, the 2+2 shorthanded forums have a plethora of knowledgable players with a good signal-to-noise ratio.
Last night we had three players come and go at different times and each one clearly had their mind set on being the table bully.
I actually don't mind a bully because they allow me to sneak my better hands in unnoticed.
Eventually I nail em, but it's a difficult road getting there. I have to fold quite a few of those "Man.. just know I have it" hands. You know, those ones where you know he could be bluffing, but it's just not worth it to find out he if he'll luck in to it on river.
One particular bully won a hand against me when he first sat down. He posted a rather large bet on flop and I had to fold. He proceeded to play very aggressive every hand he was in and was clearly a bully. Noway he could have a hand worth what he bets every single time. Well, I waited and waited by staying out of pots he was in until I had premium starting hands. I also studied his play while waiting. He loved to bet the flop big to get as many folds as possible, but then he would check both turn and river against anyone who was still in. These were major signs of missed draws for sure. He clearly wasn't watching anyone at the table and didn't care who was playing so he would never notice me from anyone else.
I finally get QQ and called his raise. Flop is all rags with two hearts and he bets like a maniac again which has now become his tell tell sign that he's full of horse dung. He's most likely on a draw to a flush or straight. A straight wasn't very likely with this flop and I hold the Qh which is one of his outs. I call his bet and a Q hits on turn. He checks which has also become his tell that he screwed the pooch and missed his draw so far. I say a small prayer to the drawing gods to please give me a break here and went all in. Sure enough he calls and misses the river and he's toast.
Thank you thank you thank you!!!! About frickin time I win an all-in against a drawing hand.
Most of the time when I put somebody all-in with their flush or straight draw I get my butt handed to me by the river. I thought drawing hands were more like 35% chance, but against me they are around 90% chance.
Anway, this is how I deal with a bully.
Ok, I'm sure you've all seen him at one time or another. He is created during tournament play.
It's that one guy that calls everything, bets with nothing, and gets lucky and wins. In a few hands he has an enormous advantage in chips and can't be stopped.
I played this home game last night with 6 players and this one guy did not get a losing hand. He would stay in and catch backdoor flush draws, hit his gutshot straights in consecutive hands and worse yet, half the time he wouldn't even know he had it. He would just flip his cards up and say like, 'I was close' and then someone else would have to tell him he had a straight for the third hand in a row because his 9 5 would play with the K Q 6 7 8 out there. Well they goes my pocket rockets. Any raise you make into him before or after the flop he would call because he had won so many pots anyway. Even if you went all-in. Playing against him I had the most frustrating cold streak ever in poker. Once I finally floped top pair with K 7 2 showing on the board. He bets into me with 7 10 or something. Since he's been like this all night I figured I could just call and check raise on the turn but no, the turn come... 7 again.. Then he makes a larger bet... I couldn't believe I throw my hand away only to watch him out kick the other guys set. IT was SO frustrating! Yea, my buddy got taken out as well with ridiculus odds. My buddy holds A10s and the flop comes 10 10 5, he's all in.. the monster calls with 89o and gets two runners to make a straight to kill the set. Why!! Arghh!!
Honestly, the luckiest cards I've ever seen. How do you play against a guy like that? Yes, I know they usually build a big stack and give it all back by the end but it was short handed game and his friggin karma or chi was spot on. Ricockulous!
Ricockulous? Nice pun, never heard that one before...
Gotta punish him with your good hands and hope they hold up. You're looking for a spot to double through him. If he's going to call you anyway, only bet for value and not as a bluff. If he sucks out on you, then it's just his night for the deck to run him over. It's the magical thing known as variance and it what keeps the bad players coming back for more. He will remember the night that he could do no wrong and forget the other 25 nights where he busted out early and donated his money to everyone else. Sucks to be against it on that night, but overall it's good for the game because if your description is correct, you want his dead money there to play as often as possible.
Bluffing more is more proper in a shorthanded game (i.e. betting on nothing all night..) so in that aspect he was playing closer to correct than he intentionally tried. He caught lucky on his effective semi-bluffs and that shows the strength of the semi-bluff, regardless if he was *trying* to semibluff.
Anyone care to give me some tips...I am currently playing a heads up matches tourney on Pokerstars...I just made it to the last 8 players yet im not there how i want..In rd1 i raised preflop and got pushed all in..and i called with queens and they held up verse Big slick..Ironically..the identical thing happened in rd2...Then in rd3-- we had a see saw battle...eventually i picked up kq and i raised 2 bb..he pushed all in..which he had done lots to my raises..and to be honest i put him on a bluff this time..but i read him wrong and hr turned AQ making me a huge underdog..But when a king hit the flop i advanced..........Then just then in Round 4...I raised 3 BB with AK..very first hand........i get pushed all in ON FIRST HAND........i think about and call...he turns over AQ making me a huge fav and my hand holds up.....
Down to last 8 now and got a bit of a wait but to be truthful its not exactly how i wanted to get here..with premium all ins...just doesnt seem right..Is there some technic to winning in Heads up Matches..Or is it just about making the most of your great hMake the best off your premiums is very key, but you gotta be very tenacious also because you won't get very many premiums especially when someone else has a premium also. Don't give up much even if you have junk. You should be playing just about any two without a deuce or a trey in it. Preflop, you should be raising any face card and any pair and any suited connector 45 and above. On the flop, middle pair is very strong, top pair is near nuts and bottom pair isn't too shabby either. If you have a draw, bet it(but not all-in). You should be super-agressive, but be careful of getting yourself trapped.
Stay offensive and make your opponent react to your actions, not you reacting to your opponent. Bbe careful of being trapped, but not so careful as to constantly give up.
Hey all, I wanted to run this hand by everyone and get your impressions on how I played the hand as well as things to consider in this situation:
242 player multitable tourney down to 42 players...I am in the top 10 in chips, with a chip stack just under twice the average stack size. Top 30 are in the money, and the next step up is top 20, almost twice the money of the previous level...final table gets the real cash.
I am dealt pocket aces late in early position and limp. My reasoning for limping here was that I had not been getting many calls on my preflop raises, and I was looking to get max value for my hand. Just as I had hoped, the SB raises it 4x the BB. This would have been roughly 25% of my stack at the time. I just called, figuring that I could get an extra bet out of him if he caught some of the flop or if he thought that it missed me (I had position on him to make a raise on the flop). Flop came Q-J-low card...SB checks to me, and I make a sizeable bet, he raises all-in. I have him covered, and call, thinking he has A-Q or even K-K...of course, he shows me Q-Q for the set. Turn and river are no help, and I am now the shortstack. I bust out of the tourney a couple hands later when I go all-in due to the high blinds at this level of the tourney.
Here's my thinking...if I break this guy, I would have been in a strong second place...with so many people likely to just try and get in the money, and with more than 3x the stack of anyone else at my table, I figured I would be able to bully players on the bubble. Obviously, it didn't work out the way I'd hoped.
My question: Should I perhaps have popped him back preflop? He might have folded the queens if I had (since he may have realized that most people who limp-raise all-in tend to have A-A or K-K), thus giving me a nice pot that would have put me back in the top 6 for stacks. Even if he'd reraised me preflop, obviously I'd have had the best hand at that point (but still would have lost due to the flop).
Just my preference but I would've popped him back at that point. I probably would've tripled his bet...and he may have called anyway. In a situation like that, there's a good chance all the money is going to the middle. Going to be hard to avoid.
I don´t think he would have folded those QQs, unless of course he was Phil Helmuth and actually did have tears under his fine mirrored oakleys...
I am always amazed with what people go all-in pre-flop. anyway, whenever I limp with pocket As, I re-raise all-in, especially if I got the other guy covered.
I think you have misplayed the As post flop. I see that alot, check-call with pocket As, then calling the all-in on the flop when two facecards have fallen. If you are ready to call the all-in anyway, rather be the initiator than the caller, saving yourself at least a decent chance he makes the laydown. If you don´t plan on calling the all-in, respect the all-in and lay it down.
I think the guy who knocked me out of a Paradise $10 NL multi the other day gets the idiot of the week award.
It's only the 2nd level of the tournament and the blinds are 15/30. I still have about 1400 chips. I have this moron just barely covered. I too had picked up QQ. I'm in MP and it's folded to me. I raise it up to 150 and get three callers. The flop was x5x-with two clubs. Both of the x's were higher than 5, but they are of no matter. All rags, a great flop for QQ I think. Unless somebody slowplayed AA or KK (which has happened to me) I have the green light. I lead out for 500 and get one caller. The turn is another rag but it put a third club on the board. I bet 500 again, and again he calls. The river is the Kc. I'm getting the feeling I'm screwed, but I'm pot committed. If I check, I'm sure he's gonna bet, so I just move all in. He calls. I couldn't believe what this asshole showed me. He had the Ac5s and knocked me down to 90 chips by rivering the nut flush. Sure his pre-flop call was idiotic, but his call on the flop is what really takes the cake. This retard called down 1/3 of his stack with bottom pair/top kicker and a backdoor flush draw(2:1 pot odds on a 4:1 draw to hit two pair or trips). I mean you gotta wonder what these people are thinking, if they even think at all. The only correct thing this moron did, and I'm sure it was quite by accident was call my turn bet. With 14 outs (9 flush cards, 2 fives, and three aces) he was a 2.3:1 dog to beat my queens, and the pot was laying him slightly over 4:1.
Boy was I steamed, I was down to 90 chips and there were still over 300 players left in the tournament. I just typed "lucky" and I got this comment yet again- "It's your on fault stupid, you kept on betting." Do these people get these lines from some book or something? I had some other moron say almost the exact same thing when he rivered a two outer and beat my pocket kings. Excuse me? Since when is betting with the best hand stupid? And calling a huge bet with bottom pair is genius poker.
Very next hand I get 44, I'm so steamed, and at this point know I have no chance, I move all in and nearly the whole table calls. As luck would have it, Mr "any ace in a race" ended up winning this pot too and knocking me out in 331st.
