2014: I Ain’t Trying to Survive, I’m Trying to Live it to The (No) Limit
06-10-2014
, 08:55 AM
June 9 – “I’m a hustler, homie, you a customer, crony. / Got some, dirt on my shoulder… Could you brush it off for me?”
So I decided to just play a few hours til I got tired and was ready to go to bed early for another day of broadcasting work in the AM and poker in the PM. I didn’t swipe in my card so I didn’t have to worry about logging 10+ hours for the average. One of the funniest situations that I’ve ever seen at the poker table happened to me at the end of the session… But we’ll get to that.
After a reasonably long wait on the list by Borgata standards (10-15 minutes), I got onto a table, and it was a bad start.
Let’s Start With a Big Argument
As I approach the table, the 8 seat is open. The button is in the 7 seat and they’re about to toss out the blinds. The dealer asks me if I want to buy it, and I say yes and toss out a red chip, turn around to throw out a water bottle and turn back.
There’s an Asian man in the 10 seat who says, “No, one big.” There’s a middle aged man in the 9 seat who says, “What?” The dealer says, “No, he’s buying it.”
Attempt to follow along.
10 Seat: “He can’t buy it.” Turns to me, “It’s 2, not 3.”
Dealer: “Yes he can.” Turns to me, “It’s 3.”
They’re both looking at me. I shrug. “I don’t really care – it’s a dollar, whatever it is, it is.”
Dealer: “He wants to buy it.”
10 Seat: “We would have had one big, he can’t. He’s the big.”
Dealer: “But he wants to buy it.”
Me: “Whatever, I don’t care.”
10 Seat: “Floor!”
Me: “Does it really matter? It’s one dollar, I don’t care.”
10 Seat: “I’m right, she’s wrong. Floor!”
9 Seat: “Oh, you know what, he’s right, I was going to be one big, so he can’t buy it.”
Dealer: “NO! He wants to buy it!”
The rest of the table is getting upset with me yelling it’s just a dollar, what’s your problem. I’m like hey, I’ve said numerous times I don’t care. I just want to play – I’ll throw it in, I’ll not throw it in, whatever.
It becomes clear to me what is going on here. The 9 seat was going to be one BB, so if I buy it, he’ll skip the BB, going into the SB. So the dealer is wrong, but she doesn't realize it. I decide to ignore that. I just look at the dealer and say, “Look, I don’t really care here, it’s a dollar, let’s not hold the game up. You’re the dealer, so just tell me what it is, and you run the game.”
She won’t say anything, and the 10-seat tells her one BB and she shrugs and won't make a decision so I throw it out and we tell her to deal. We end up having the floor come in the middle of the hand, it disrupts it, they recount the whole argument above, which confuses the floor, etc. It's a mess. Finally the floor says the 10 seat is right, just play, and the dealer thinks that the floor screwed up and she's not happy, but at least we're playing. Hopefully he teachers her later A) How to run a game and B) When the button can and can't be caught and C) To pay attention to where the button and blinds are.
Meanwhile a woman a couple of seats down is still getting on me over arguing for a dollar. I again tell her I didn’t care, and since I was new to the table I didn’t know who was right, so I was just telling them to decide and tell me. She finally gets it.
So I then go into joking overdrive trying to cool everyone off and lighten the mood. “Actually, you know what, can we go to the cameras on that? Can we stop the game and go to the cameras over that dollar? Play back the last game and let’s find out.”
The 10-seat isn’t amused, but screw him, I’ll take an extra angry 10 seat (who’s already in a bad mood) over an angry table.
I crack a couple jokes, really just acting all silly and ridiculous to loosen things up.
All Hell Breaks Loose a Table Away
Meanwhile, a heated argument starts at the next table over. Apparently, one player invoked I Want To See That Hand on another like 3 times, and they’re yelling at each other and cursing and the one player wants the dealer to tell the other he can’t keep doing it. The dealer doesn’t understand the rule and won’t do that. While the player is in the right, he’s handling it terribly and screaming and yelling and cursing and they’re in each other’s faces. Pretty soon each player has a floor behind him and they’re imploring the floor to tell the other player he’s wrong.
I’m at our table still trying to loosen it up after the first incident, “Can we get some cameras in here, this is GREAT! We’ll start a reality TV show. These guys are awesome!”
The woman says, “What is this, a full moon?”
I’m like, “I don’t know, but people are acting crazy today.”
Then the floors leave, ruling that the guy can no longer use IWTSTH, and that guy storms over to the floor at the desk saying he should be allowed, and accusing the other player of physically threatening him. The floor explains why he’s not allowed to use IWTSTH over and over. He goes back to the table. The floor and shift manager pull the other player aside and grill him about whether he threatened the guy. Then that's over and he's staying. About a minute later, IWTSTH guy storms over to the floor and demands a table change to any table but that one and (thank God!) ours. He goes back to sit down. The player stuck in the seat in the middle of the two arguing stands up and goes to the floor.
Player: “I want a table change!”
Floor: “Where?”
Player: “Anywhere but here!”
Then the guy who allegedly threatened IWTSTH guy goes over to the floor.
“I want a table change!”
Yeah, you can guess the rest – anywhere but there. I’m cracking up at this, doing the play-by-play for my table. I’m like they’re all going to get up one by one and demand a table change, this is hilarious.
At this point, people aren’t really laughing along with me, but I don’t care. I’m distracting them from OUR incident and OUR bad mood by showing them how angry this other table is. If I have to make a few weak attempts at comedy to do it, I’ll take it on the chin and be the guy trying too hard to be funny. It’s going to be +EV for the table, anyway.
Dealer, Who Are The Regulars Here?
Then a few minutes later, the lady from above asks the dealer to point out the regular to her. The dealer, in poor form IMO, starts doing it. She points to the 10 seat “He plays a lot,” then to the 9 “So does he.” As she turns to me, I give her that, don’t do this to me look and she skips me and points out two others.
The woman points to me, “What about him?”
The dealer says, “Nope, he’s not a regular."
Phew. This is key, because this woman then viewed me as a guy that’s just there to have fun and gamble, and says as much.
Hand No. 1
The lady who asked that question raises to $10 and I call on the button with A
9.
Flop ($20): 8
7
3
She bets $15 and I call. I think this is a pretty standard spot to float, she likely has two overs and the turn is either going to go check-bet-fold or bet-raise-fold and I’m going to take it a very high percentage of the time.
Turn ($48): 9
She bets $15. Well, that changes things a bit. Now I’m not bluffing, I’m extracting. I feel very confident she has two overs, and the most likely ones would be AK-AT, and aside from AT being open ended, I have those drawing thin with major RIO. I just call.
River ($78): 2
She checks, and I figure I can’t get much here and bet $20. She tanks.
“I don’t think you have anything,” she says. “I think you were just in there with me, I don’t have anything either – but I feel like you have nothing.”
She keeps saying this and finally says, “You probably have me, but what the hell, it’s only $20,” and quickly flips her AKo as she calls. I flip the A9 and the dealer looks confused.
“Nines,” I say.
The dealer still just sits there and looks at the pot, the board, the AK, the A9.
“Nines,” I say, and tap my cards, tossing a white chip on top of them for the tip.
“He wins,” the other player says, and she pushes me the pot.
How You Make Money At This Game
We fall into a rhythm at the table. Once or twice an orbit, there are a few limpers and I’m in LP and raise to $15-$17. They all fold, or one calls and check-folds. There’s another semi-decent player at the other end of the table, who is basically playing weak-tight.
He begins to adjust by limp-calling pre-flop and check-folding post. I love it when they do that! It’s so sick. They’re like, “I know what you’re up to, so allow me to just give you $15 at a time instead of $2. Do you have a lighter for my money?”
At one point, a fish limps, I make it $12 and as an old guy on my left is folding he mutters “Loves to iso…”
I chuckle, because I’m surprised he knows what that means.
Meanwhile, the lady from the first hand has seat changed to the other end of the table, next to the guy who is limp-call, check-folding like an ATM machine spewing out $15 at a time. At one point when I raise, she says, “Somebody's always gotta be the one raising every hand,” to him.
He smirks. “That’s how you make money in this game, though, by folding.”
They both nod knowingly at my impending implosion. Yep, they’re going to exploit me by folding. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.
Hand No. 2
So, my folding ATM limps and another player limps and I make it $15 with QT. He calls.
Flop ($31): QJ5
He checks, I bet $20 and he calls. Hmmm, alarm bells. His range includes AQ here and maybe even AA. His plan is obviously to trap me, so I’m contemplating whether I should bet the turn or check behind and pot control and maybe go for a bet on the river. Plus, even if I lose a little value here, it’ll blow his mind that I didn’t just shovel like $500,000 into the pot with TPMK and he’ll suddenly think that I’m just on a monster heater when I’m 2-barrelling.
Turn ($70): Q
Well, I probably can’t check behind on that one. He checks, I bet $45 and he insta-super-duper-snap calls me. Hmm. Could I not be good, or does he have like AJ and he’s trying to intimidate me into checking behind with whatever he thinks I have? That’s very possible. With quick calls, draws are common too – so KT and T9 are possible.
River ($160): T
He checks, and we’re about 220 effective. I debate my options. If I bet like $90 to $110, I doubt he makes the call with AJ, KJ, etc. His missed draws are never calling and he’s never folding a Q. So, I decide to bet bigger since the Q is never folding and I’m not very confident I’ll get anything out of a J. This is that spot where the frustrated tight player on the flop commits to calling down with AJ, then curses his luck when the board runs out and AK got there, etc.
I bet $150 and he snap folds, so he probably had the draw. I talked this hand over with Sequel, who liked $110 on the river initially. We debated it and both agreed in the end that maybe overbet bombing it is best. I think that would actually be more likely to be called by AJ than $110, $150, etc… However, if we’re doing that, we should probably be betting more like $55 on the turn. I was trying to give him room to check-raise me on the turn.
I’m curious about thoughts on this one.
Hand No. 3
A relatively new player at the table sits down and raises to $7 in MP. I think I’ve played with her once or twice before. She’s a black lady probably in her late 30s and she’s a recreational player with a very basic, rudimentary understanding of how to play. She’s not like awful, but she’s going to make your usual beginner/rec mistakes.
It folds around to my BB and I have A9 and I call.
Flop ($14): AK3
I check and she bets $16 and I think for probably longer than I ever have on a small flop bet and call. I didn’t tank forever, but I thought for like 30 seconds. If she bets $10 here I snap, but $16 is bigger than I think she’d go on a bluff, but it could be like JJ-88 or something, or a K. It’s just a weird bet. Could it be hearts? It has me pondering. I feel like it’s also very possible that it’s Ax and she’s afraid of hearts.
Turn ($42): 6
She looks disappointed and I don’t think it’s a fake tell, but I don’t want to act on it when it’s early in my read development with her, so I check and she checks. I kick myself for not betting, because now I’m very sure she has like AQ-A4 and I could have bet her off a range that skews toward having me beat.
River ($42): 3
Very interesting. Now we’re chopping, I’m like 90% confident. She’s got about $90 behind and I debate bombing all-in. I think she’s going to have a very hard time calling me and I should pick up the pot a very high percentage of the time, but every now and then I may get snapped by hearts or called by a scared AK. I wonder how much more likely she is to fold to $90 and consider like $60 or $50… Ultimately I decide that $35 should get it done pretty often with less risk and settle on $35.
She tanks and tanks. “I don’t like that 3,” she says. She tanks, and calls. I show, and she shows AJ and we chop.
I talked about this one with Sequel and we both agreed just shove it she’s basically never calling, but let’s do some post-session math.
If she calls $35 like 40% of the time, and has me beat 10% of the time (thus 1/6 times she calls), then the EV of that bet is…
(.6 * $42) + (.3 * $21) – (.1 * $35) = $28
However, if she only calls $90 about 20% of the time, having me beat half the time she calls, the EV of that bet is..
(.8 * $42) + (.1 * $21) – (.1 * $90) = $26.7
So, if she has me beat 10% of the time, then the $90 is a worse bet. Of course, that assumes she calls with AK every time, which she may not. I could also do $60, which probably gets folds almost as often – let’s say she calls $60 about 30% of the time.
(.7 * $42) + (.2 * $21) - (.1 * $60) = $27.6
Of course, those assume that she ever makes the call when we’re chopping. If she never calls $90 when we’re chopping, then the EV of that bet goes to…
(.9 * $42) – (.1 * $90) = $28.8
So really the $35 is probably the best bet if she has me beat 10% of the time and always calls in those spots (though she may well fold many of them). The question, though, is does she really ever have AK/A3/A6 here and overbet the flop and check behind on the turn? Probably not, so really only KK is a realistic hand here that has me beat and thus I’m probably chopping more than 90% of the time, which means that bombing it might be ok.
The Return of Philly Dan
Remember this from late January?
Well I’ve had him at my table a couple of times since, but he hasn’t said anything to me. Today, he sits down on my direct right, andwe end up having a friendly chat about random stuff. I’m wondering if he forgets who I am or he’s just gotten over it. Then the conversation turns to dealer errors in the tournament series, the blue shirt dealers, etc. Then, this happens.
Him: “I had a dealer make a terrible ruling once, it cost me a lot of money.”
I shoot him a look to see if he’s about to get into it with me, and he isn’t looking at me and keeps going.
Him: “Someone called a string bet on me, when clearly it wasn’t, and the dealer sided with him. They’re working for tips, you’d think they’d want to make sure they get it right.”
I’m smirking, trying to fight it off and keep a straight face. This can’t actually be happening, can it?
Me: “Mmhmm,” as I nod. I’m sizing him up. Is he really about to tell me this story??? This is awesome!
Him: “I had an overpair, and it was a big pot and I was trying to bet $80 with one green chip, and when I tossed them in, the green chip fell on the betting line instead of over it, like this.”
He demonstrates by showing me what he’s claiming happened – he threw all the chips forward at once, and the chip on the bottom (green) was on the line and the rest, sitting on top of it and cascading forward, were over the line. I’m so tempted to be like, “Actually, you did this,” and show him what he actually did, but I think he really doesn’t recognize me so I let him keep going.
Him: “So the guy in the hand calls a string bet, and the dealer takes his side. I could have called the floor and definitely would have won, but I didn’t. It was one of those weird spots where he could have called $55 but wasn’t getting the price to call $80 with AT or something like that, so I really should have called the floor.”
Again, I’m fighting off a laugh and a sh*t eating grin and the urge to be like, “Actually it was T9.” I just nod and say right… and he continues.
Him: “So, of course, he hits his 10 and I make a bad call on the end because I’m angry and it costs me a huge pot. So now, every time I see that dealer, I’m angry at her and I just walk away and take a break for 30 minutes. I can’t play with her – my money is important to me, I want good dealers, professionals, you know?”
Me: “Sure, sure, you’ve gotta be careful and all.”
Him: "Yeah, I can't play with someone who doesn't know what they're doing, and it's going to put me on tilt so I just take a break."
Me: "Right, that's smart."
I walk over and find Sequel and tell him the story and we’re just cracking up. It was hilarious!!! This guy legit told me the story of how I called a string bet on him and it cost him a few hundred bucks, not realizing he was telling it to me! I got the satisfaction of knowing he can't even play when he sees that dealer!!!
I don’t know if he genuinely forgot, or if he was basically trolling me, but I don’t even care, it was so funny. I basically always dress the same way, too, so it’d be hard not to recognize me, but apparently he didn't. You can't make this stuff up.
Anyway, I was pretty tired so I racked up a little later.
Total Results: 2.75 hours, +$64
So I decided to just play a few hours til I got tired and was ready to go to bed early for another day of broadcasting work in the AM and poker in the PM. I didn’t swipe in my card so I didn’t have to worry about logging 10+ hours for the average. One of the funniest situations that I’ve ever seen at the poker table happened to me at the end of the session… But we’ll get to that.
After a reasonably long wait on the list by Borgata standards (10-15 minutes), I got onto a table, and it was a bad start.
Let’s Start With a Big Argument
As I approach the table, the 8 seat is open. The button is in the 7 seat and they’re about to toss out the blinds. The dealer asks me if I want to buy it, and I say yes and toss out a red chip, turn around to throw out a water bottle and turn back.
There’s an Asian man in the 10 seat who says, “No, one big.” There’s a middle aged man in the 9 seat who says, “What?” The dealer says, “No, he’s buying it.”
Attempt to follow along.
10 Seat: “He can’t buy it.” Turns to me, “It’s 2, not 3.”
Dealer: “Yes he can.” Turns to me, “It’s 3.”
They’re both looking at me. I shrug. “I don’t really care – it’s a dollar, whatever it is, it is.”
Dealer: “He wants to buy it.”
10 Seat: “We would have had one big, he can’t. He’s the big.”
Dealer: “But he wants to buy it.”
Me: “Whatever, I don’t care.”
10 Seat: “Floor!”
Me: “Does it really matter? It’s one dollar, I don’t care.”
10 Seat: “I’m right, she’s wrong. Floor!”
9 Seat: “Oh, you know what, he’s right, I was going to be one big, so he can’t buy it.”
Dealer: “NO! He wants to buy it!”
The rest of the table is getting upset with me yelling it’s just a dollar, what’s your problem. I’m like hey, I’ve said numerous times I don’t care. I just want to play – I’ll throw it in, I’ll not throw it in, whatever.
It becomes clear to me what is going on here. The 9 seat was going to be one BB, so if I buy it, he’ll skip the BB, going into the SB. So the dealer is wrong, but she doesn't realize it. I decide to ignore that. I just look at the dealer and say, “Look, I don’t really care here, it’s a dollar, let’s not hold the game up. You’re the dealer, so just tell me what it is, and you run the game.”
She won’t say anything, and the 10-seat tells her one BB and she shrugs and won't make a decision so I throw it out and we tell her to deal. We end up having the floor come in the middle of the hand, it disrupts it, they recount the whole argument above, which confuses the floor, etc. It's a mess. Finally the floor says the 10 seat is right, just play, and the dealer thinks that the floor screwed up and she's not happy, but at least we're playing. Hopefully he teachers her later A) How to run a game and B) When the button can and can't be caught and C) To pay attention to where the button and blinds are.
Meanwhile a woman a couple of seats down is still getting on me over arguing for a dollar. I again tell her I didn’t care, and since I was new to the table I didn’t know who was right, so I was just telling them to decide and tell me. She finally gets it.
So I then go into joking overdrive trying to cool everyone off and lighten the mood. “Actually, you know what, can we go to the cameras on that? Can we stop the game and go to the cameras over that dollar? Play back the last game and let’s find out.”
The 10-seat isn’t amused, but screw him, I’ll take an extra angry 10 seat (who’s already in a bad mood) over an angry table.
I crack a couple jokes, really just acting all silly and ridiculous to loosen things up.
All Hell Breaks Loose a Table Away
Meanwhile, a heated argument starts at the next table over. Apparently, one player invoked I Want To See That Hand on another like 3 times, and they’re yelling at each other and cursing and the one player wants the dealer to tell the other he can’t keep doing it. The dealer doesn’t understand the rule and won’t do that. While the player is in the right, he’s handling it terribly and screaming and yelling and cursing and they’re in each other’s faces. Pretty soon each player has a floor behind him and they’re imploring the floor to tell the other player he’s wrong.
I’m at our table still trying to loosen it up after the first incident, “Can we get some cameras in here, this is GREAT! We’ll start a reality TV show. These guys are awesome!”
The woman says, “What is this, a full moon?”
I’m like, “I don’t know, but people are acting crazy today.”
Then the floors leave, ruling that the guy can no longer use IWTSTH, and that guy storms over to the floor at the desk saying he should be allowed, and accusing the other player of physically threatening him. The floor explains why he’s not allowed to use IWTSTH over and over. He goes back to the table. The floor and shift manager pull the other player aside and grill him about whether he threatened the guy. Then that's over and he's staying. About a minute later, IWTSTH guy storms over to the floor and demands a table change to any table but that one and (thank God!) ours. He goes back to sit down. The player stuck in the seat in the middle of the two arguing stands up and goes to the floor.
Player: “I want a table change!”
Floor: “Where?”
Player: “Anywhere but here!”
Then the guy who allegedly threatened IWTSTH guy goes over to the floor.
“I want a table change!”
Yeah, you can guess the rest – anywhere but there. I’m cracking up at this, doing the play-by-play for my table. I’m like they’re all going to get up one by one and demand a table change, this is hilarious.
At this point, people aren’t really laughing along with me, but I don’t care. I’m distracting them from OUR incident and OUR bad mood by showing them how angry this other table is. If I have to make a few weak attempts at comedy to do it, I’ll take it on the chin and be the guy trying too hard to be funny. It’s going to be +EV for the table, anyway.
Dealer, Who Are The Regulars Here?
Then a few minutes later, the lady from above asks the dealer to point out the regular to her. The dealer, in poor form IMO, starts doing it. She points to the 10 seat “He plays a lot,” then to the 9 “So does he.” As she turns to me, I give her that, don’t do this to me look and she skips me and points out two others.
The woman points to me, “What about him?”
The dealer says, “Nope, he’s not a regular."
Phew. This is key, because this woman then viewed me as a guy that’s just there to have fun and gamble, and says as much.
Hand No. 1
The lady who asked that question raises to $10 and I call on the button with A
9.Flop ($20): 8
73She bets $15 and I call. I think this is a pretty standard spot to float, she likely has two overs and the turn is either going to go check-bet-fold or bet-raise-fold and I’m going to take it a very high percentage of the time.
Turn ($48): 9
She bets $15. Well, that changes things a bit. Now I’m not bluffing, I’m extracting. I feel very confident she has two overs, and the most likely ones would be AK-AT, and aside from AT being open ended, I have those drawing thin with major RIO. I just call.
River ($78): 2
She checks, and I figure I can’t get much here and bet $20. She tanks.
“I don’t think you have anything,” she says. “I think you were just in there with me, I don’t have anything either – but I feel like you have nothing.”
She keeps saying this and finally says, “You probably have me, but what the hell, it’s only $20,” and quickly flips her AKo as she calls. I flip the A9 and the dealer looks confused.
“Nines,” I say.
The dealer still just sits there and looks at the pot, the board, the AK, the A9.
“Nines,” I say, and tap my cards, tossing a white chip on top of them for the tip.
“He wins,” the other player says, and she pushes me the pot.
How You Make Money At This Game
We fall into a rhythm at the table. Once or twice an orbit, there are a few limpers and I’m in LP and raise to $15-$17. They all fold, or one calls and check-folds. There’s another semi-decent player at the other end of the table, who is basically playing weak-tight.
He begins to adjust by limp-calling pre-flop and check-folding post. I love it when they do that! It’s so sick. They’re like, “I know what you’re up to, so allow me to just give you $15 at a time instead of $2. Do you have a lighter for my money?”
At one point, a fish limps, I make it $12 and as an old guy on my left is folding he mutters “Loves to iso…”
I chuckle, because I’m surprised he knows what that means.
Meanwhile, the lady from the first hand has seat changed to the other end of the table, next to the guy who is limp-call, check-folding like an ATM machine spewing out $15 at a time. At one point when I raise, she says, “Somebody's always gotta be the one raising every hand,” to him.
He smirks. “That’s how you make money in this game, though, by folding.”
They both nod knowingly at my impending implosion. Yep, they’re going to exploit me by folding. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.
Hand No. 2
So, my folding ATM limps and another player limps and I make it $15 with Q
T. He calls.Flop ($31): Q
J5He checks, I bet $20 and he calls. Hmmm, alarm bells. His range includes AQ here and maybe even AA. His plan is obviously to trap me, so I’m contemplating whether I should bet the turn or check behind and pot control and maybe go for a bet on the river. Plus, even if I lose a little value here, it’ll blow his mind that I didn’t just shovel like $500,000 into the pot with TPMK and he’ll suddenly think that I’m just on a monster heater when I’m 2-barrelling.
Turn ($70): Q
Well, I probably can’t check behind on that one. He checks, I bet $45 and he insta-super-duper-snap calls me. Hmm. Could I not be good, or does he have like AJ and he’s trying to intimidate me into checking behind with whatever he thinks I have? That’s very possible. With quick calls, draws are common too – so KT and T9 are possible.
River ($160): T
He checks, and we’re about 220 effective. I debate my options. If I bet like $90 to $110, I doubt he makes the call with AJ, KJ, etc. His missed draws are never calling and he’s never folding a Q. So, I decide to bet bigger since the Q is never folding and I’m not very confident I’ll get anything out of a J. This is that spot where the frustrated tight player on the flop commits to calling down with AJ, then curses his luck when the board runs out and AK got there, etc.
I bet $150 and he snap folds, so he probably had the draw. I talked this hand over with Sequel, who liked $110 on the river initially. We debated it and both agreed in the end that maybe overbet bombing it is best. I think that would actually be more likely to be called by AJ than $110, $150, etc… However, if we’re doing that, we should probably be betting more like $55 on the turn. I was trying to give him room to check-raise me on the turn.
I’m curious about thoughts on this one.
Hand No. 3
A relatively new player at the table sits down and raises to $7 in MP. I think I’ve played with her once or twice before. She’s a black lady probably in her late 30s and she’s a recreational player with a very basic, rudimentary understanding of how to play. She’s not like awful, but she’s going to make your usual beginner/rec mistakes.
It folds around to my BB and I have A
9 and I call.Flop ($14): A
K3I check and she bets $16 and I think for probably longer than I ever have on a small flop bet and call. I didn’t tank forever, but I thought for like 30 seconds. If she bets $10 here I snap, but $16 is bigger than I think she’d go on a bluff, but it could be like JJ-88 or something, or a K. It’s just a weird bet. Could it be hearts? It has me pondering. I feel like it’s also very possible that it’s Ax and she’s afraid of hearts.
Turn ($42): 6
She looks disappointed and I don’t think it’s a fake tell, but I don’t want to act on it when it’s early in my read development with her, so I check and she checks. I kick myself for not betting, because now I’m very sure she has like AQ-A4 and I could have bet her off a range that skews toward having me beat.
River ($42): 3
Very interesting. Now we’re chopping, I’m like 90% confident. She’s got about $90 behind and I debate bombing all-in. I think she’s going to have a very hard time calling me and I should pick up the pot a very high percentage of the time, but every now and then I may get snapped by hearts or called by a scared AK. I wonder how much more likely she is to fold to $90 and consider like $60 or $50… Ultimately I decide that $35 should get it done pretty often with less risk and settle on $35.
She tanks and tanks. “I don’t like that 3,” she says. She tanks, and calls. I show, and she shows AJ and we chop.
I talked about this one with Sequel and we both agreed just shove it she’s basically never calling, but let’s do some post-session math.
If she calls $35 like 40% of the time, and has me beat 10% of the time (thus 1/6 times she calls), then the EV of that bet is…
(.6 * $42) + (.3 * $21) – (.1 * $35) = $28
However, if she only calls $90 about 20% of the time, having me beat half the time she calls, the EV of that bet is..
(.8 * $42) + (.1 * $21) – (.1 * $90) = $26.7
So, if she has me beat 10% of the time, then the $90 is a worse bet. Of course, that assumes she calls with AK every time, which she may not. I could also do $60, which probably gets folds almost as often – let’s say she calls $60 about 30% of the time.
(.7 * $42) + (.2 * $21) - (.1 * $60) = $27.6
Of course, those assume that she ever makes the call when we’re chopping. If she never calls $90 when we’re chopping, then the EV of that bet goes to…
(.9 * $42) – (.1 * $90) = $28.8
So really the $35 is probably the best bet if she has me beat 10% of the time and always calls in those spots (though she may well fold many of them). The question, though, is does she really ever have AK/A3/A6 here and overbet the flop and check behind on the turn? Probably not, so really only KK is a realistic hand here that has me beat and thus I’m probably chopping more than 90% of the time, which means that bombing it might be ok.
The Return of Philly Dan
Remember this from late January?
Quote:
Later came the most interesting hand of the night. This guy I refer to (in my own head) as Philly Dan raises to $12. I call him that because he looks like he could be related to Dan Harrington, but instead of the Boston hat he always has on a Phillies hat with a slight bend to the brim. A woman calls and a super-gambler woman calls. She's really rich and likes to splash around and gamble at the poker tables. I call out of the BB with 9hTh.
Flop ($49): T86cc
I check, Philly Dan bets $35 and it folds to me. His range in my opinion is big hands that missed and big pairs. I call. I think if he has overcards he'll give up on the turn, plus I can hit some hands that are kind of disguised and may look bluffy. He's got about $700-800 behind and I cover.
Turn ($119): 3x
I check. Philly Dan starts doing the chip dance. It looks like he's going to bet anywhere from $50 to $85. He puts out $50 with a green on top right near the betting line, and keeps the green in his hand and drops it behind it, back by his cards. He then throws the green over the $50 and in. I say the bet should be $50, he says it's $75. The dealer shrugs and I say he made a forward motion with the $50, the green chip was not released, then he put it back behind it... Then came forward again, it's a string bet. She sides with me.
First, some math. It's basically $170 to $50, or a little more than 3 to 1. I can now narrow his range to JJ+, and I really think it's KK. It just feels like kings. I suppose there's a chance it's a set, but it doesn't feel that way.
So my outs are 2 10s, 3 9s, 4 7s. That's 9 outs... I don't quite have odds to call... But it's close, and I think I can get paid on all of those cards if they aren't a club... Plus, I can bluff clubs if they hit and I want to. I call.
River ($219): Tx
Gin. Now, how to best extract value. I know he's a little pissed about the turn bet, and I know my pushing for it to be $50 not $75 looks like a club draw. I decide to bet big and make it look bluffy. I decide $150 is the right number and push out $150. He goes into the tank.
Finally, he says something. I can't hear him. I say, "What?" He says... "I think you missed your clubs and you are representing the 10."
I immediately stare down at the felt and go silent. He calls, I show the winning hand, he screams at the dealer "F-ING C--T!" He then apologizes to her, says he should have called the floor, and asks if I would have called the $75. I told him the honest answer - no - I barely had odds to call $50, it was close. He storms off and takes a long walk.
I considered telling him I'd have called it to, because it would make him feel better... But, after he dropped the ole' F-C on her, I decided that answering honestly might tilt him and screw him. It did, but he walked it off, steam raised once or twice and didn't lose anything he shouldn't have.
I don't know what was more satisfying, having him read me for exactly what I wanted him to or taking a big pot off of him - he's a solid reg who doesn't go giving money away and rarely makes a bad call. I believe this stack pic was shortly after that hand...
Flop ($49): T86cc
I check, Philly Dan bets $35 and it folds to me. His range in my opinion is big hands that missed and big pairs. I call. I think if he has overcards he'll give up on the turn, plus I can hit some hands that are kind of disguised and may look bluffy. He's got about $700-800 behind and I cover.
Turn ($119): 3x
I check. Philly Dan starts doing the chip dance. It looks like he's going to bet anywhere from $50 to $85. He puts out $50 with a green on top right near the betting line, and keeps the green in his hand and drops it behind it, back by his cards. He then throws the green over the $50 and in. I say the bet should be $50, he says it's $75. The dealer shrugs and I say he made a forward motion with the $50, the green chip was not released, then he put it back behind it... Then came forward again, it's a string bet. She sides with me.
First, some math. It's basically $170 to $50, or a little more than 3 to 1. I can now narrow his range to JJ+, and I really think it's KK. It just feels like kings. I suppose there's a chance it's a set, but it doesn't feel that way.
So my outs are 2 10s, 3 9s, 4 7s. That's 9 outs... I don't quite have odds to call... But it's close, and I think I can get paid on all of those cards if they aren't a club... Plus, I can bluff clubs if they hit and I want to. I call.
River ($219): Tx
Gin. Now, how to best extract value. I know he's a little pissed about the turn bet, and I know my pushing for it to be $50 not $75 looks like a club draw. I decide to bet big and make it look bluffy. I decide $150 is the right number and push out $150. He goes into the tank.
Finally, he says something. I can't hear him. I say, "What?" He says... "I think you missed your clubs and you are representing the 10."
I immediately stare down at the felt and go silent. He calls, I show the winning hand, he screams at the dealer "F-ING C--T!" He then apologizes to her, says he should have called the floor, and asks if I would have called the $75. I told him the honest answer - no - I barely had odds to call $50, it was close. He storms off and takes a long walk.
I considered telling him I'd have called it to, because it would make him feel better... But, after he dropped the ole' F-C on her, I decided that answering honestly might tilt him and screw him. It did, but he walked it off, steam raised once or twice and didn't lose anything he shouldn't have.
I don't know what was more satisfying, having him read me for exactly what I wanted him to or taking a big pot off of him - he's a solid reg who doesn't go giving money away and rarely makes a bad call. I believe this stack pic was shortly after that hand...
Him: “I had a dealer make a terrible ruling once, it cost me a lot of money.”
I shoot him a look to see if he’s about to get into it with me, and he isn’t looking at me and keeps going.
Him: “Someone called a string bet on me, when clearly it wasn’t, and the dealer sided with him. They’re working for tips, you’d think they’d want to make sure they get it right.”
I’m smirking, trying to fight it off and keep a straight face. This can’t actually be happening, can it?
Me: “Mmhmm,” as I nod. I’m sizing him up. Is he really about to tell me this story??? This is awesome!
Him: “I had an overpair, and it was a big pot and I was trying to bet $80 with one green chip, and when I tossed them in, the green chip fell on the betting line instead of over it, like this.”
He demonstrates by showing me what he’s claiming happened – he threw all the chips forward at once, and the chip on the bottom (green) was on the line and the rest, sitting on top of it and cascading forward, were over the line. I’m so tempted to be like, “Actually, you did this,” and show him what he actually did, but I think he really doesn’t recognize me so I let him keep going.
Him: “So the guy in the hand calls a string bet, and the dealer takes his side. I could have called the floor and definitely would have won, but I didn’t. It was one of those weird spots where he could have called $55 but wasn’t getting the price to call $80 with AT or something like that, so I really should have called the floor.”
Again, I’m fighting off a laugh and a sh*t eating grin and the urge to be like, “Actually it was T9.” I just nod and say right… and he continues.
Him: “So, of course, he hits his 10 and I make a bad call on the end because I’m angry and it costs me a huge pot. So now, every time I see that dealer, I’m angry at her and I just walk away and take a break for 30 minutes. I can’t play with her – my money is important to me, I want good dealers, professionals, you know?”
Me: “Sure, sure, you’ve gotta be careful and all.”
Him: "Yeah, I can't play with someone who doesn't know what they're doing, and it's going to put me on tilt so I just take a break."
Me: "Right, that's smart."
I walk over and find Sequel and tell him the story and we’re just cracking up. It was hilarious!!! This guy legit told me the story of how I called a string bet on him and it cost him a few hundred bucks, not realizing he was telling it to me! I got the satisfaction of knowing he can't even play when he sees that dealer!!!
I don’t know if he genuinely forgot, or if he was basically trolling me, but I don’t even care, it was so funny. I basically always dress the same way, too, so it’d be hard not to recognize me, but apparently he didn't. You can't make this stuff up.
Anyway, I was pretty tired so I racked up a little later.
Total Results: 2.75 hours, +$64
06-10-2014
, 12:21 PM
06-10-2014
, 02:58 PM
06-10-2014
, 03:17 PM
Doing a couple shots before I grind my 10 hour session.
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06-10-2014
, 03:37 PM
I think I had like three shots. Definutely needed a chaser.
I can feel it already, maybe I had too much.
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I can feel it already, maybe I had too much.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using 2+2 Forums
06-10-2014
, 04:53 PM
06-10-2014
, 06:19 PM
06-10-2014
, 07:17 PM
Just in case anyone actually thought I was getting liquored up before I played...
I was waiting for someone to fall for it and get on me, but I guess you all saw right through my ploy.
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I was waiting for someone to fall for it and get on me, but I guess you all saw right through my ploy.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using 2+2 Forums
06-10-2014
, 07:53 PM
06-10-2014
, 08:18 PM
06-10-2014
, 09:25 PM
06-11-2014
, 02:13 AM
Thanks man and good luck with your journey.
06-11-2014
, 02:17 AM
06-11-2014
, 04:11 PM
I had a pale ale in me!
Haha, hey, they were in the cafeteria, my head went to food first. Thanks for subbing, hit me up if you're ever out here.
Haha, hey, they were in the cafeteria, my head went to food first. Thanks for subbing, hit me up if you're ever out here.
06-11-2014
, 09:55 PM
06-11-2014
, 10:02 PM
06-12-2014
, 12:29 AM
06-12-2014
, 12:37 AM