How I Won $500 Playing Poker Last Night and am Still Pissed!

[spain]

Slipped down to the Gold Strike in Tunica last night for a little $1/$2 NL. Bought in for $300 when the table opened. Grinded for about 3 or 4 hours and had run it up to abou $500 or so. EP I get 10 10. I just called the BB. As I got the hand I was thinking to myself, "I havent hit a set, a straight, a boat, or a flush all night so I am due". Several limpers to the flop. Flop comes 10 7 2 rainbow, giving me top set. Checks around to the button. He bets $20, which was sort of the standard continuation bet for an unraised pre-flop pot. I smooth call. Everybody else folds. Turn comes a blank, with no flushes possible and no straights. I check/call his $50 bet. This guy has played alot of pots and I have no idea what he has but obviously I am ahead. River comes a 7. Ive hit my boat and go immediately into the tank for a good minute or so. Finally I push out a red stack, praying that he hit trip 7's on the river. He immediately comes over the top of me all in for an additional $400. I call and take a nice pot. He mucked his hand but I assume he had trips.

 

A while later I am getting ready to leave. I decide to stay a few more hands until the button comes around. I look down to find bullets in MP. UTG raises to $17. UTG+1 calls. I re-raise to $65. Folds around and they both call me. Flop comes 10s 6s 8c. They both check. I bet $125 hoping to run out any flush draws and take down this pot. UTG folds. The other guy goes all in for an addional $350. I think he is either hit a set or is on a flush draw. Flush draw I am ahead, a set has me crushed. Too much money out there for me to let it go. I call. He flips over Ks Qs. He is drawing to the flush and hits the god dam thing on the river. I said nice hand, racked my chips and left. I left 1 f'n hand too late.

Edited June 15, 2007 by spain

[SheikYerbuti]

My wife and I have noticed a strange occurance. We play poker together, and when we're getting hungry or tired we turn to one another and decide on our last round of blinds. Invariably, one of us plays a pot for most (if not all) of our chips in the last round EVERY time. Since we've started keeping track it's been 1 winner and 2 losers. Needless to say, the dinner after the winner had much more pleasant conversation.

 

Many times on the last hand under the gun I look down at something like AJ or KQ and toss them in, muttering under my breath "Oh no, you're not getting me on the last hand THIS time". Twice I would have been roped into a big pot and lost.

 

BTW, I am in no way superstitious. . . .

[The Holy Roller]

On PokerStars in $1/2 NL. PP2's in mid position. I call and last position makes it $8. I wanted to fold but called anyway because I was having no luck and figured I was due. Flop comes Kc, 8c, 2d. I make it $25 and last man makes it $50. I just call because I know he's prolly flush chasing me and my luck has been so poor that I'm thinking just get out. But noooo, I call. Turn is Th. I check and the raiser makes it $75. "Fold you dumbass" I say to myself. Noooooo. I call. Flop is...7h. Now I'm thinking. Check and see what he's got? OK. He makes it $250. Athenate. Obviously no flush. Prolly KK. Dumbass me, I call.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He had Big Slick. I still have a hard-on.

[spain]

On PokerStars in $1/2 NL. PP2's in mid position. I call and last position makes it $8. I wanted to fold but called anyway because I was having no luck and figured I was due. Flop comes Kc, 8c, 2d. I make it $25 and last man makes it $50. I just call because I know he's prolly flush chasing me and my luck has been so poor that I'm thinking just get out. But noooo, I call. Turn is Th. I check and the raiser makes it $75. "Fold you dumbass" I say to myself. Noooooo. I call. Flop is...7h. Now I'm thinking. Check and see what he's got? OK. He makes it $250. Athenate. Obviously no flush. Prolly KK. Dumbass me, I call.

He had Big Slick. I still have a hard-on.

 

Nice win, but a mandatory and obvious call on the end there. What did you put him on? Certainly not a set over set situation. He raised pre-flop to $8. Depending on the player, this should narrow the range some. Flop comes and he raises you the minimum raise, only 2X your bet, what do you think now? I immediately put him on AK or KQ. He certainly wouldnt be drawing to anything if he is raising you in that spot. If he had bet out first, he could be building a pot for hitting his draw, but he probably isnt drawing if he raises there. So, we eliminate the flush draw and put him on a Big K. Good smooth call by you on the flop. On the turn your check call is good. You must know by now he isnt drawing to the flush because he would most definitely wanted to peal off a free card there if he was drawing. River is another blank, you check and he makes a pot sized bet. Obvious to me that he really doesnt want a call and is concerned that his TPTK is vulnerable. So, in that spot, you COULD have raised as I dont see that board as being dangerous to you the way he played the hand. Calling isnt horrible if he is a tricky player. If I its me, I would have gotten all of my money out there, but again, calling is probably just as good an option. How much $$ do you and he have behind?

 

Anybody else want to analyze the way this hand was played?

[Cyclones]

Nice win, but a mandatory and obvious call on the end there. What did you put him on? Certainly not a set over set situation. He raised pre-flop to $8. Depending on the player, this should narrow the range some. Flop comes and he raises you the minimum raise, only 2X your bet, what do you think now? I immediately put him on AK or KQ. He certainly wouldnt be drawing to anything if he is raising you in that spot. If he had bet out first, he could be building a pot for hitting his draw, but he probably isnt drawing if he raises there. So, we eliminate the flush draw and put him on a Big K. Good smooth call by you on the flop. On the turn your check call is good. You must know by now he isnt drawing to the flush because he would most definitely wanted to peal off a free card there if he was drawing. River is another blank, you check and he makes a pot sized bet. Obvious to me that he really doesnt want a call and is concerned that his TPTK is vulnerable. So, in that spot, you COULD have raised as I dont see that board as being dangerous to you the way he played the hand. Calling isnt horrible if he is a tricky player. If I its me, I would have gotten all of my money out there, but again, calling is probably just as good an option. How much $$ do you and he have behind?

 

Anybody else want to analyze the way this hand was played?

 

 

I'm not only calling, and certainly not "thinking of getting out" on the flop there. A raise in mandatory in that situation. Unless he has an over set you are ahead and should be pushing the action here (sorry Spain, I'm not smooth calling with bottom set with that flush draw out there.) IMHO you forced yourself into way too many tough decisions here and all were a direct consequence of the call on the flop. Mind you, you did make the correct decision every time you were faced with one. Great pot!

[spain]

I'm not only calling, and certainly not "thinking of getting out" on the flop there. A raise in mandatory in that situation. Unless he has an over set you are ahead and should be pushing the action here (sorry Spain, I'm not smooth calling with bottom set with that flush draw out there.) IMHO you forced yourself into way too many tough decisions here and all were a direct consequence of the call on the flop. Mind you, you did make the correct decision every time you were faced with one. Great pot!

 

I wont re-raise him on the flop because I want to milk this pot for all she is worth. A re-raise there, screams set or 2 pair, and he will be slowing way down. I dont want to scare him off. Sure, you are taking a chance that he could draw out on you. But when he raises me on the flop, I am pretty certain that he has a made hand and isnt drawing to the flush. If he isnt drawing to the flush, what can he catch to beat us? Not much as another K gives us a boat. I like the soft way he played this except I would have come over the top on the river.

[Cyclones]

I wont re-raise him on the flop because I want to milk this pot for all she is worth. A re-raise there, screams set or 2 pair, and he will be slowing way down. I dont want to scare him off. Sure, you are taking a chance that he could draw out on you. But when he raises me on the flop, I am pretty certain that he has a made hand and isnt drawing to the flush. If he isnt drawing to the flush, what can he catch to beat us? Not much as another K gives us a boat. I like the soft way he played this except I would have come over the top on the river.

 

 

Alot depends on the type of player. I'm more than happy to raise a leadout bet with a big flush draw.

[spain]

Alot depends on the type of player. I'm more than happy to raise a leadout bet with a big flush draw.

 

On the flop, Villian didnt lead out. He raised the leadout bet of Holy Roller. If villian was drawing it would make more sense for him to smooth call and see what happens. But he raised. Then on the turn, when Holy Roller checked it, Villian made an even larger bet. None of that sounds like a guy trying to draw cheaply. It smells like a Big K, especially in light of the pre-flop raise.

 

Now lets say on the flop, HR takes your advice, leads out and villian raises, then HR re-raises big. What if Villian comes back over the top all in? What are you going to do now? Now he could be drawing, OR it could be a set over set situation. With the 4XBB raise pre-flop, villian could conceivably be holding KK. And an all in there would dam sure make me worry about it. No need to put yourself out in the position yet. Depending on HR's loss tolerance, he might not want to call a $500 bet. No, we dont need to get all the money in now, lets keep the pot smallish. And we dont need to scare the fish off. I want to reel him in slowly and then harpoon his ass on the river. And since his betting tells me he has a made hand and isnt flushing, I want to let him keep betting for me until the river when I push it all out there and he is getting alot better odds to call.

 

caveat: this is all a matter of opinion and I dont think there is a real right or wrong way to play this game. But this is just how I would typically play it. However, if I think a player is on a draw, I will make it very expensive for him to draw. But just because a draw flush is on board, doesnt mean they are drawing. The way this hand was played told me that he wasnt drawing.

Edited June 15, 2007 by spain

[Easy n Dirty]

I don't see how you could know conclusively after his post-flop raise that he wasn't on a draw. Many players will raise in that spot in order to get a free card on the turn (which would have worked, as Holy Roller did go on to check the turn). Sure, once he bets the turn you can say with alot of confidence that he's not on a flush draw, but I don't see how you can feel that strongly about it before the turn action, if anything his min raise there is pretty consistent with someone who is on a draw in my experience.

 

Having said that, I'd probably play it pretty much the way Roller did, risking the flush in the interest of building a larger pot. Not sure I'd check the river though, I might bet out there as I think alot of players in villains position, with a strong K but having been called twice, might check the river, so I wanna' make sure I get something there.

[The Holy Roller]

Nice analysis by all. After the hand the Villian was pretty disappointed. He told me he thought I was on the flush draw and when it didn't hit he thought my check on the river was the sure sign, thus his big bet after my check. I originally put him on big K suited and also on the flush draw.

[Easy n Dirty]

Nice analysis by all. After the hand the Villian was pretty disappointed. He told me he thought I was on the flush draw and when it didn't hit he thought my check on the river was the sure sign, thus his big bet after my check. I originally put him on big K suited and also on the flush draw.

 

 

The villain's comments make no sense to me - if he thought you were on a flush draw and missed, then why the big bet on the river, which would simply produce a fold by you and no additional profit to him?

[The Holy Roller]

The villain's comments make no sense to me - if he thought you were on a flush draw and missed, then why the big bet on the river, which would simply produce a fold by you and no additional profit to him?

 

 

I didn't ask. I was too busy counting.

[spain]

The villain's comments make no sense to me - if he thought you were on a flush draw and missed, then why the big bet on the river, which would simply produce a fold by you and no additional profit to him?

 

Agreed. The only time he gets called with that river bet based on the way the hand was played, is if he is beat. The way Holy Roller played the hand, it looks like he could have been on a busted flush draw. If so, he will fold to any bet villian makes at the river. If not, villian is beat and losing alot of money for no reason. Holy Roller should have made at least a pot sized bet on the river. If your opponent knew what he was doing he would have checked it down on the river costing you bigtime.

[Cyclones]

On the flop, Villian didnt lead out. He raised the leadout bet of Holy Roller. If villian was drawing it would make more sense for him to smooth call and see what happens. But he raised. Then on the turn, when Holy Roller checked it, Villian made an even larger bet. None of that sounds like a guy trying to draw cheaply. It smells like a Big K, especially in light of the pre-flop raise.

 

Now lets say on the flop, HR takes your advice, leads out and villian raises, then HR re-raises big. What if Villian comes back over the top all in? What are you going to do now? Now he could be drawing, OR it could be a set over set situation. With the 4XBB raise pre-flop, villian could conceivably be holding KK. And an all in there would dam sure make me worry about it. No need to put yourself out in the position yet. Depending on HR's loss tolerance, he might not want to call a $500 bet. No, we dont need to get all the money in now, lets keep the pot smallish. And we dont need to scare the fish off. I want to reel him in slowly and then harpoon his ass on the river. And since his betting tells me he has a made hand and isnt flushing, I want to let him keep betting for me until the river when I push it all out there and he is getting alot better odds to call.

 

caveat: this is all a matter of opinion and I dont think there is a real right or wrong way to play this game. But this is just how I would typically play it. However, if I think a player is on a draw, I will make it very expensive for him to draw. But just because a draw flush is on board, doesnt mean they are drawing. The way this hand was played told me that he wasnt drawing.

 

 

Read my post spain, I said "raise a leadout bet."