Played a bit yesterday and things went relatively well pain/concentration-wise. Decided to give it another go today.

Playing on lots of pain killers, muscle relaxers and some good 'ol THC.

Feel relaxed and focused, and think I'm playing pretty damn well. Tho of course that could be the drugs talking.

I finally see a surgeon on Monday.

You should play drugged up more often. You're harder to read.

Only posting this cause I promised a player at the table. Nothing he hasn't already figured for himself I'm sure.

I straddle.

UTG calls. MP Makes IT 35. HJ, CO, button call.

I look down at J 3

I'm not someone who believes in "defending the straddle," so I call only to punish myself for being a dumbass who straddled. I play good, and am a sucker for reverse implied odds, but I just have a strong feeling the flop with come 333 this time. It hadn't for awhile, and It's simple math... It was due.

UTG calls. Sucker.

6 players see a flop of:

8 9 T

Checked to raiser, a tight solid player. He makes it 125 with about $240 behind.

Folded to me. I figure him to be strong, likely an overpair based on experience.

I opt to flat, hoping to either bring utg along for the ride or do a stop and go and shove on most cards regardless if I hit.

Turn J

I stick to the plan and shove. Opponent tanks for awhile. Says he knows he's best but has a set.

FML. Was hoping for an overpair and not a set (LDO). Have a feeling he's gonna call. I opt to show the J to muddle things a bit further in his mind. Almost positive he is calling at this point at grasping at straws.

Even if I'm behind I have outs etc. Tank tank tank finally he folds.

Don't show him but promise I'd do a write-up.

So uhh, blame it on the drugs? If it makes ya feel any better I'm almost positive the river was gonna be a spade.

I think I may. The pain also works well to mask my tellbaggery.


Also: my reads have been spot on tonight. Feel like poker Jesus!

Dealt A K in cutoff.

UTG raised 15. Solid player who has been running like Jesus and has around 3k makes it 60. I opt to flat with about 1200 behind. I have position and to this point have been controlling the action as I want it to happen. Sometimes I raise here if course but this time I don't feel like playing an inflated pot that limits me on later streets, and don't feel like folding to a 5b.

Flop T 5 3

He bets 145. I know he is strong but I think I can float and run him over. Something about how he bet made me think he wanted this hand over with. I discount AA KK and sets for most part. Obviously part of his range but not too worried.

I call and plan to steal on turn (or hit one of my overcards).

Turn 8

I'm a sucker for a good semi bluff! Except...

He leads out 350.

WTF? I'm ready to abandon ship but I just get sense he isn't comfortable with his hand.

I ask him if he has queens. I hem haw count out 350. I have about 700 behind. I STILL have fold equity.

All common sense says abandon ship but I opt to go with my gut, give the old "if it's time to go home, it's time to go home" speach, and shove.

And he calls. **** me.

He flips A A I get up to go and then.

A beautiful 6 hits the river.

Wrong play, right time.

Sometimes, it pays to be a Spewtard. Literally.

This should read he says he know' she is beat, not best. Damn autocorrect.

Couple of typos in the above posts that may make it harder to read. If anyone has questions, just ask.

If the end justifies the means, I'm glad I folded my set and worked my remaining $240 back up to $1160. I still needed to dodge 15 outs and even if I win, who knows if I still end up as good. Very well played on your part though, medication or not.

June-July so far. Hurt myself right at the peak of the chart. Looks like I suck at "playing through the pain." At least I was able to save those trapped orphans and puppies from the fire.



Conclusion: I'm a wuss.

This was one of the more interesting hands I played this year. Because it is so player-specific, I didn't really think I would be able to write it up, or if it would even be worth it. Eventually, figured I would give it a shot:

2/5/500 My first day back after hiatus. Local whale had recently sat and in about 25 minutes added $3k to the table, so overall we were fairly Deepstacked.

I have $1.6k. Villain around $1.1k. I know villain very well. He is an aggressive player far better than people give him credit for.

He is a good hand and situation reader. And during this exchange I fully believe he knows what I am holding. Straightforward hand is straightforward. However, the reads go both ways.

---

Limped 7 ways to my SB, and I wake up with A A

I make it 35 to go. Ideally I am hoping for 1 or 2 callers. Not afraid to play AA OOP, but prefer to take it down with as little mess as possible.

I get 6 callers. Heh.

Flop 8 5 K

Not too scary a board, but with 6 callers who knows. I lead out $135. I feel this bet gives me maneuverability should I need to re-evaluate.

Villain, in HJ, is the only one who calls.

Turn K

I check for a few reasons. Pot control obviously is one but I also know villains's tendencies and I am about 90% sure If I check he will bet, and it won't be small.

He bets $250

And I go into the tank, but not for the reasons observers likely think. Folding here is not an option. I do not believe villain has a King. Based on significant history, instinct, body language, preflop tendencies, etc, I'm not too concerned.

But first I try to out him on a King, just in case. And just about every scenario that puts a king in his hand just doesn't make sense based on how he has played this hand. Threat level: Minimal.

Does he have air? No. Is he capable of making this play with any 8, any 5, 67, 85, etc? Yes. Would he ever check those hands here to take a fee card? No. With the exception maybe of 67 35% of the time.

Would he make this play with a set? No, not the way he bet. If he has a set, his body language and actions have me completely fooled.

I am convinced I have the best hand. Now the question: blow him off it now and take the pot, or check and let him bluff the river?

After a good 4-5 minutes in the tank (and now we have a crowd, sorry, table) I flat. And say "I hope you have 8-5."

River is 8

EFF. MY. LIFE.

Everyone chuckles a bit, I check and he bets $300. Brutal.

Now I can beat 67, a 5, or a pocket pair. There is about $1400 in the pot and I am getting ridiculous odds.

Do I think I'm beat now? Yes. Threat Level: Midnight

Still, he doesn't look all that comfortable. The thought crosses my mind to CRAI, but I'm fairly certain he has me on AA and will make a crying call because of pot size. Too late to rep the King.

After about 3 minutes I decide I just can't fold getting such a price, I call, he has 86os and I lose.

Because of the leveling involved, I'm trying to decide if I made an optimal play with bad results, or if I should have just jammed turn, or If I could have folded river. Or should I have jammed river? (Hell does anyone fold turn given history and strength on reads?)

Few people started chatting "how do U call him there on turn and river??"

"Because I play better than you!" Is my thought, but I keep that to myself. Do I? Rest of table surely would have loss less on that hand. Did I get too fancy with my turn call? Was my river call LOL bad? Should I be results oriented here?

I give it a little back and forth with him and table, try to act more tilted than I am (I'm not happy, but I'm not tilted).

And after not being sure about how I played the hand, then feeling I should have folded river, then after a few days of thought I convince myself that I think I played the hand ok. The biggest mistake is I should have made my turn decision faster so I could possibly rep the King, but at the time that thought never crossed my mind, and my turn tank was real and not Hollywood.

Would be very interested to get thoughts on this. It's safe to assume villain has a very strong read as to where I am at in this hand, and he knows I am capable of folding AA here.

You played this hand fine and just got unlucky on the river. You "repping" a K would have just cost you money. After villains river bet he only has 380 behind (according to starting stacks) so he makes a crying call anyway.

The only thing is that even though you are getting good odds to call the river you really should'nt specifically because you are getting good odds and he has to have at least the 8 there based on the bet amount. As I had mentioned, chalk it up to bad luck and save $300.

Your preflop open size seems way way too small

I'm usually making it $55-60

I'm pretty sure he was totally cognizant of his raise size, aiming for 1-2 callers.

So are you saying that because he got the number of callers he wanted to get, his sizing was correct?

Awesome first posts, its like I finally someone who understands my style of play and where I try to go with it, but you have it down, Im still working on some things....looking forward to cracking out on this thread...thanks ...

I'm sure he will explain it, but he has previously mentioned about his smaller raise sizing.

Ya I'll weigh in on the hand eventually, just wanted to see if there was other discussion before explaining why I did what and going more into my thought process. (I like hearing alternative viewpoints and don't want to pollute with my POV.)

BBJ hit today. Normally I would be at that table but made an errand to get "alternative pain killers" and instead was on wait list. Let this be a lesson to u kids: don't do drugs! (I was on the wait list when it hit)

But of course if I was there, it never would have hit. So no big deal, just nice to think "if only..."

Table was full of regs, including a few who read this blog. Very happy for the "loser" ($87k) and the dealer. Table share was $6.2k. One player had left 40 minutes earlier, left a few white chips, and opted never to come back. Oops.

I'll write up some intersting hands later, And will comment on the above hand tomorrow.

Don't even want to know how super laggy you'd get if you hit the bbj

Me: Male bikini model, well liked by everyone. Superhuman strength. My **** smells like roses. 1k+

Villain: CO, a weak player but nice guy. Get the sense he is fairly new to poker... Has been asking me lots of newbish questions throughout night. Have pushed him off pots at will thru the night. ~$500 (third bullet)

My button. 6 way $15. I call with J 4 for reasons.

Flop comes J 7 6

Checked to CO, who bets $20. I take this as weakness, and raise to $60.

Turn is K

He checks I bet $105 (I think) he calls pretty fast. I wasn't expecting that.

"Maybe we have the same hand?" I say, implying KJ.

"Possible!" He replies.

Still, I don't think he liked that King.

River 6

---
I actually like this card because now if he has a hand like JQ/JT etc, it's a chop. He checks to me. I'm pretty damn sure we are chopping here, and figure I'm not risking too much by making an apparent value bet on river. I really don't sense much strength here, and do think I can sometimes get <JQ to fold.
---

So I bet $135. He tanks a bit. Eventually he calls. I say we are prob chopping and I flip my cards. He sheepishly shakes his head and shows a 7 8 and I scoop.

"I wanted to make the hero call," he said.

"Well, you read me right... I was weak," I console.

Another advantage of being an aggrotard, people will call you light, often a bit too light.

I would never fold.

No, just no. You seriously didn't construe that I meant that.

Bingo.

I haven't read the entire thread

You said: "I'm pretty sure he was totally cognizant of his raise size, aiming for 1-2 callers."

Just because he was totally cognizant of the raise size and aiming for 1-2 callers, doesn't make what he did the best play.

Maybe at his casino, $35 is a sizing that will get 1 caller and $55 will get everyone to fold. Then its fine obviously, but at most places I've played at, when the whole table limps, $35 is going to get a string of callers (Because 1 person will call, then everyone else will tag along because its now a multiway pot) while also missing value from worse hands because I can expect 1-3 callers when I make it $55.

I got 6 callers. Not necessarily what I wanted but I'm okay with that.

Duke, as others have pointed out (if you are interested) for more insite into my bet sizing (particularly preflop and on flop) you may want to read the OP. I go into my personal style a bit, which is a bit of a reversal on standard preflop betting patterns. (There are also a few other examples ITT where I break down why I size each bet and what I hope to accomplish from it...)

Simplified, I prefer to play a small ball style. Rarely will I open for more than 3x or 4x, and I almost never raise more than pot PF. The fact that I have AA is inconsequential, if raise the same amount regardless of holdings (assuming I'm even raising at all).

I never complain when I get callers PF.

Fun little quick hit from today:


utg+1 raises 20

5 callers I call with 33 in SB. BB completes.

7 see a flop of:

3 5 Q

I check, original raiser bets 85 3 callers action to me.

I raise to 275

Original raiser calls after tanking for about 2 minutes (with about 200 behind). Other 2 players call, which puts then both all in by a small margin.

Turn 8

I shove the remainder original raiser calls.

River 8

I scoop.

(Original raiser Does show AQ.) (One player claimed a str8 draw, can only assume other had hearts).

1. not my fault
2. I didn't say he made the best play
3. that's a cool story

Lol you're ridiculous