If you're not sure what you would do against a check raise, consider checking flop

Ok...back to the hand.

After what seemed like an eternity of tank job on my part, I decide to go with my read that the Wizard is on some sort of draw. Now I just take a couple minutes longer and decide whether to shove or call.
I decided to just call in positon and see if he slows down on the turn.

HU on the turn. Pot is $1800, and my July profits are at risk with flipping hand!

Turn is a K:heart: now giving me a flush draw. I'm hoping Wizard checks and I just may jam if he does. Nope Wizard tosses out a Pumpkin...$1k Orange chip on the turn.
I stick w my read plus I have a flush draw. The K was a decent card, but also knew that could hv hit him if he was drawing to spades and overs. It's possible he cd very well hv K.
Screw it I'm calling and trusting my empty stomach gut.
I now have $650 behind.

Pot is now $3800 and the river...
247K

78 vs ???

To be continued...

There are definitely more draws than sets in his range. It looks more like a draw to me with the turn sizing.

That's a good turn for you. A heart on the river that doesn't pair the board should beat his whole range.

Interesting hand. Looking forward to see how the rest of it played out.

Has to be shove or fold on the turn....

Sent from my SM-G920P using 2+2 Forums

U make a gd point @boileref. I have to give this some thought.

Worth noting: first time playing w the wizard, but after an hour of observing his play and up to this point when we clashed, I had noticed him having the highest VPIP and VPFR out of whole table. He liked to get involved, mix it up, and relied on his skills to outplay his opponent(s) post flop.
One thing I haven't notice was a lot of his calling ranges on preflop raises. Thus, I'm wondering what he wd straddle $6 and call $65 w, and then follow that up by calling my $205 3bet. I had trouble narrowing down his range here, but since we were so deep I was thinking it's possible he is calling w any pps. He already had $65 in and $140 more w pps seemed justified in calling.

The river is a 6 I thought that cd b bad card for me until I saw him quickly checking as if he was giving up on the pot.
I check behind.
He says, "I don't think I can win". I said, "I'm not so sure about that." He turns over A4 for pair of 4s.
I tabled 78 and the tablemates were all amazed how this hand played out.

If he fired one last river bet putting me in, I'm wondering if I call off my last $650. Glad I didn't have to make that decision. I was so estatic to see him wave the white flag!



Bought in for half the big stack (Wizard had $5k when I say this morning), so I put $2,500 on the table. the pic above is shortly after the hand mentioned. Ended up winning a few hundred more and cashed out +$2,709 on 6hrs 34mins.
I hit my +$2k winning sesh goal playing 1/2nl twice.

+$4,917 in July.

C'MON LEGGO!

What an awesome hand. Well played. This is why I lead out turn... Get a much better sense of where we are.

To be honest with that turn I don't think I can just call with only 650 behind it has to be a jam really as we can never realistically fold to a river bet with all that money in the pot.

Wizard has some skills, although if I were him I'd make flop raise somewhat bigger and jam the river. Then again, I'd never call with A4 in that spot!

You played it well though, you went with your read and were right (sort of, that you had him beat anyway!).

Fwiw I think if he's getting turn with a flush draw then he should be jamming really for max FE.

Very interesting hand. It's so common to see massive pots with massive hands and coolers, but it's these hands with massive pots and marginal holdings between 2 excellent players that really shows off the intellect and skill behind high level poker.

That is a really interesting hand dynamic. W just didn't leave you deep enough to call your 3bet pre, then go for the flop ch/r and still rep spades if his 5 true outs missed. I imagine he put you on a pp (QQ-88) once he bet the turn K but concurrently, you had him making a move with a draw. After unsuccessfully repping the K and sets, he was over extended. W went for three different plays, didn't have the FE for the 4th, and must have been surprised to see you show up with a non-spade combo draw. Sorry for the stream-of-consciousness ramble but that's a great HH!

Way to go w/ your read+odds (although I also think a turn jam is correct). Two $2k+ pots in recent times at 1/2 ain't bad either

@beddy_bear @sobo good comments about the hand, but what does FE stand for?
Do u think Wizards calls if I raise the turn? I guess he wd have to thinking he has 5 live outs (A is not one, so 4 outs), but also he cd b thinking he might b drawing dead w his A4 ???
I guess he wd prob hv to call tho w the pot odds, so perhaps the shove ott is the correct play.

Darn I left $650 on the table.

When I just call ott, I guess I can't ever fold on the river? Although, if he bets the river, he can't ever b bluffing can he?

This is tricky. After thinking about it, mayb I shd just shove turn considering all the combo draws Wizard cd hv.
I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this, but tbh in hindsight I think I just called ott because mayb I actually intended on folding if he leads river and I brick...especially if lands otr (like it did). I just don't think he can ever b bluffing in that spot, so mayb I was trying to save $650. ???not sure??? I'm just glad I wasn't in that spot and super fortunate he didn't lead otr 6, I really don't know what I wd hv done. Seriously
$650 to win $4450 otr wd hv been a rough fold, but is he ever bluffing in that spot compared to how many times I wd b right in calling?

My head hurts over this.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that his happened at a 1/2 table. You would absolutely destroy 95% of the 1/2 players where I play. (me included) That is some sick poker.

FE = Fold Equity. Going with your read that W has a draw+overs (heavily discounting sets & higher PPs), then jamming $650 on the turn will either take it down now (unlikely) or have him get it in with you as a small favorite to the river. Sure the K fits his range but it's a small % of possible combos while you block two of his non-K outs with s. If no K, W has only 11 outs while if he happens to have it, you're looking at 14...sort of a crazy game of chicken with super small margins.

Interesting thing is both of you were wrong in the specificity of your reads, but made great plays based on the sound strategy that fit them. Unfortunately for W, he didn't have enough ammo and/or the will to push that spade but also likely misread your combo draw for a PP earlier on. All in all, I feel you played the hand better and were more in tune to his style/level than he was yours, regardless of the results.

Lol, my head hurts too

wow, sick hand
I think this is often a draw otf. With a set i would also expect him to make it a little bigger than minraise otf, so he can gii ott with a less than potsize bet.
Would definitely shove the turn on your part, mainly because i never want to be forced to eventually fold the 650$ on perceived bad rivers.

Nice Chipporn btw!

congrats on the nice scoop! love your play pre as i said earlier but not your betsizing, hence why ya had difficulty narrowing his range as you stated(as confident as you say he plays hes calling super wide for that price). think hes pretty much insta mucking for another 80-120 pre. your obv a winning player and do very well for yourself and i respect your game/opinions and am rooting for you but i still dont like the way ya played this particular hand at all and really put yourself in a bad spot to spew alotta money unnecessarily. villain got extremely unlucky the turn was a heart otherwise your most likely releasing to his 1kbet if you dont improve correct? what do you think you do if he jams turn? anyways congrats again on the nice win, youre due for a massive heater along with some rungood

^@4get2pwnedo I agree in parts.
I do try to stay away from trouble at the 1/2 limits. Really there is no need to get out of line at these limits and standard play will usually result in winning sessions. That said, this 1/2 game was much different than the norm w some higher level thinkers who usually play much higher limits. The wizard and @Loucardfan, who were involved w "this hand" just to name a few.
I do play much differently against higher level thinkers than I wd against many "predictables" at the 1/2 level.
If a typical 1/2 player raised to $65 in the blind and another 1/2 reg player called, then I wd easily auto fold and move on. The situation yesterday was different, where I was trying to exploit a higher level thinker's raise/bluff (my read) followed by a weak call (my read), by 3 betting/re bluffing w a bluffable quality hand. I wd never do this against a regular 1/2 player, it's not worth the risk. Most of the times when a predictable 1/2 player raises that big, they will almost never fold to a 3bet...so why even try.

I always tell 1/2ers who r trying to make a living grinding that level to just play patiently and wait to get paid off. Don't try too many moves, especially oop, it's not worth it. If u want to get somewhat creative and hammer mediocre hands in late position to get 2/3 handed on flop that is fine, but read the flop texture and known your opponents before auto Cbetting. If get called otf, don't try to bluff ur way out on turn or river, instead it may be best to just shut it down. NO NEED TO GET TOO CREATIVE. Players at this level are so bad that they will pay u off when u have a quality hand. Take advantage of those big hands by playing them correctly for max value and scoop winners. Pretty much this same advice was given to me by a mentor of mine, @zenofLen, one of the best plo cash players in the world. A few years back I asked him for some 1/2nl advice, and I remember him saying don't get too crazy at that limit because it's just way too easy to double up on nut hands...players will tend to pay u off on winning hands at this limit moreso than the higher limits...many calling stations.

what I did yesterday I wd hardly ever do against a typical 1/2 line up. It was pretty much know your player and situation that swayed me into making a move w 7h8h. U r correct tho, I almost lost it all and sometimes it's just better to fold and move on.

Answers to your questions:
-If not a , or 7,8 on the turn I prob wd fold to the $1k bet.
-If he jams the K turn Im not sure what I wd hv done. It's possible I still may just go with my read hoping he has an incomplete draw. If in fact he already has made hand beating mine; then I'm hoping I have 14 live outs! It wd b a super sick spot to say the least.
My read was the Wizard was trying to outplay RayzNRay. Yep, I just typed in 3rd person.
Anyways, u see this many times where great players always try to out play the other greats. This is what I thought was happening in this hand. I felt he respected my game when I sat down w $2500, playing solid winning poker, making gd value bets and gd lay downs. Therefore, I just got the vibe he wanted to make a move on me showing he is the bmoc (big man on campus). It was pretty much my read and I went w it. I easily cd hv spewed it off to sets, AK, or whatever; but this time I was right. Of course, it's not always the case. I have been wrong many of times. Last Sunday for example when I shoved $1k+ ott w a gut shot (and thinking I had over(s))...as I posted, that didn't go too well...hard to bluff a Villain w top set of Queens.

Thanks @4get2ownedo for keeping me in check. I def need to stay away from getting myself in trouble. Sometimes I just think I am the world's best and try to make sick moves to entertain/prove to myself that self validity.
Time to get back to just playing solid. Thanks for your post! This is why I do this thread. U all give me great feedback, gd advice, and keep me focused. Can't believe how smart all of you are, the knowledge here is #next-level.

Let's all go hard to finish the year strong! Continue to separate the gap between you and the next guy. C'MON!

Btw: ALL tramp springs on. Ice packs on both biceps #strugglebeyondreal. My kiddos r back to jumping.

Check it, my #5 goal says log 1000+ hours at HSI, and earned Diamond.
I accomplished half of the goal today, but it wasn't because of logging 1000+ hrs at HSI. I earned diamond by accumulating tier credits through poker and using my comp dollars on my Total Rewards Card to buy things. Every time I use my card at the deli or Jack Binions, or hotels, gift shops, Graters Ice Cream, etc; u earn tier credits. U also earn a lot by playing slots, and other carnival games (blackjack, roulette, etc); but please know I only play poker and poker only. I haven't played a carnival game in years...it's just not my idea of fun.

I think when I went to Vegas last month, and paid for everything with comp dollars that I had saved up over last couple years, that it really racked up my tier credits. I had around $1500 worth of comp dollars when I went there, and ended up using almost all of it on my hotel stay plus food. Doing that pretty much wiped me clean of all my com dollars, but it did put me real close to Diamond status. Today I finally got it.
#straightpoker No gambles.

Since I only have shy of 500hrs at HSI, and not the full 1000+ hrs that goal #5 states, I think I will put this goal in half green and half blue. If and when I accomplish 1000+ hrs at HSI; then I will put #5 goal in all Green.

MY 10 POKER GOALS FOR 2015.

1). -Be up 6 stacks of high society by the end of 2015 playing 1/2nl up to 10/20nl. $60,000.
2). -No Losing Months. (*April lost -$2,528).
3). -Log an average of 25/hrs a week.
4). -Come in top 3 in the WSOP League Finale. Getting top 3 will win me a Las Vegas tourney package. (WSOP Packages are: $11k, $4k, $1,500. Finale is April 11, 2015). (*ended up getting 5th in Finale )
5). -Log 1,000+ hours at Horseshoe Southern Indiana's poker room. This feat will take me from platinum to diamond card. (1,000hr requirement in a year to get diamond).
6). -Log 200 hrs in Jan and get the $400 promotional bonus HSI is offering. (HSI rake back promotion for Jan rewards a player $2 x hrs logged. 200+hrs requirement). (*Logged 202 hrs in Jan)
7). -Have a $10k winning month. (*January +$10,151 Overall)
8). -Have a $5k winning session playing 2/5nl or higher.
9). -Have a $2k winning session playing 1/2nl. (*+$2,236 on June 26th at HSI. +$2,709 on July 10 at HSI
10). -Play a 24hr session (*May 18/19th at HCO+$1,059)

All 2015 goals will b posted in blue. If I complete a goal, I will move it from blue to green. If a goal fails, I will move it from blue to red.

__________________________________________________ __________




Today: +$179 playing 1/2nl today on 4hrs 15mins.
I hit a pretty sweet tweener playing tennis today , but lose the match .
Preparing for the Men's Open Club Championships that starts this Wednesday. Need to start playing better, and get more fit. 3 more days before opening round.
And of course, watched Big Brother. Vanessa is looking gd.

The Good Lord is Testing Me!

So after I been struggling getting the tramp springs onto the new trampoline mat, this happened today.



Yep. We had a storm, and another tree fell on our trampoline.

The Tramp is cursed!
-First I get a deer that pokes a hole 2 days after I put the tramp in the ground.
-Then the "Professional" Tree Cutting service decide to land the tree they were cutting down on my trampoline.
After that I had to replace a section of the frame and get a new tramp mat. Then came the major struggles of getting those darn springs onto the new mat. That was tough stuff, pulling those springs with every ounce of strength I had.
After burning up my muscles and successfully getting the new mat on, 2 days pass...and...wait for it...wait for it.... today a severe storm caused a big tree branch to land, of course, right smack dab in the middle of the trampoline. Lol another big hole

Won +$134 today playing 1/2nl, and half of that will be going towards another trampoline mat on EBay

lol run better!

What kind of benefits to get by being Diamond?

GL!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...oCuXWgU0Z4G3jw

Ray this is the easiest way to deal with the trampoline springs

@i3budlight no kidding! What are the chances of 2 tress falling on my trampoline within 30 days apart? I think it's way less than flopping a Royal.
Over the last month, my whole back yard has been one big cold deck. Drawing dead every time I set foot in the back yard. I have a feeling it's only the beginning, i'm sure I'll be receiving many more one outers with this pool install. I have already anticipated many cooler situations before my first cannon ball.
I feel if I prepare myself for the worst, it will feel more like a free roll.

@Krisssss thanks man. Dont b scared to add another "s" at the end of your screen name.
Gd luck to u as well.

@bentblyant free food and drinks in Diamond Lounge, go to top of the list on poker list, better offers...not sure what else, only been Diamond for 2 days. Hopefully they will send me some buffet comps, hotel stays, Vegas Deals, etc.
I'm in it for the Diamond Lounge and going to top of the list (minimal wait times).

@obiwanjacobi gd looking out! I'll be trying this w tramp mat #3. The hardest part about all this is laying flat on stomach for the last dozen springs. The first 85+ I can stand in the pit, but the last dozen I have to get out and lay flat, and pull with all my might. Can't wait to do that all over again .

Today: no pokers, painted some apartment exterior that I been putting off for, oh about 3 years. Then took little one swim lessons, tennis lessons, and volunteered at the food pantry.
Tomo: cut grass/trim at the apartments, grind 4.5hrs of poker, play in first round of Men's Open Tennis Tourney (Club Championships).

Gd luck to all you in your poker and life grind. It can be rough and tough sometimes, but embrace the challenges and push through. That's what champions do.

Depends on how close the trees are to the tramp.

No resort fees is a nice benefit of the new card level. And you get 15% off their advertised lowest room rate. That's worth $250+ for just one trip to Vegas.

https://www.totalrewards.com/content.../overview.html

@allin thanks for that info.

Yesterday: was stuck $500, and grinded back a $1 win!
Won first round of tennis tourney 6-3, 6-1. My opponent was a hot head, and completely unreal w his emotions. I never experienced a match like that ever before in a tourney. I tried my best to block it out and stay within my game, but it was so bad he ended up getting a warning from the official. Today the host club kicked him out of the tournament, and he will not be playing his loser bracket match.
#drama

Today: 1/2nl; doubled up early when I 3bet squeezed w J9 and get a caller in position on me. The flop came KQ10. I ch/call. Turn is 2, I ch/raise and we get it in. The river is 3.
Straight > set 10s

Have dropped some since, and up +180ish. Still grinding away.

What do you sit with, always Max? Is that 500/half of big stack?

@Beady-Bear ^ yes in the 1/2 and 1/2/5 I always sit w the max, and always add on when people chip up.
At my home felt/HSI:
Max on 1/2nl is $300 up to half the big stack.
Max on 1/2/5 is $500 up to half the big stack
Max on 2/5/10 is $2k up to half the big stack. I usually sit w $1500-$2k
No max on 5/10/20nl.

Today:
+$301 on 2hrs 49mins playing 1/2
-$18 on 48mins playing 1/2/5. The game was nitty. Sometimes those 1/2/5 games r really gd, and sometimes they blow. Today when it opened up it was horrible, but it did look better later. I left after 48mins to go to a regular 1/2nl game that had deeper stacks and more action than the straddle game.
The move didn't work in my favor, -$75 on 1hr 16mins
OVERALL TODAY: +$208 on shy of 5 hrs

+$5,439 so far in July