Posted by Dr Fro 6:18 PM
"I really like what Cameron is eating..."

Last night was a lot of fun. Plenty of poker, but the focus was more on the beer drinking. After playing about 200 hands of poker on Party during the day, the game was a sharp contrast in focus. Case in point: the cash game "started" at 8, which meant starting at 8:10 and finishing THE FIRST HAND at 8:25. Granted, 3 players were all in and the pot had to be quartered, but it set the tone for an evening of fun and beer drinking with the occasional poker hand mixed in.

Four guys busted out completely, 1 lost a little, 1 broke even, 1 won a little and Kyle went home with something north of $200. I have discussed it before, but results in a night of NL holdem does not follow a normal distribution curve. Rather, there are typically fewer winners than losers and the wins are much larger than the losses. Typically, that is.

There were a few notable hands.

Busted
Given 500TCs for our quickie SnG that kicked off the night, on the fourth hand I re-raised Kyle to 75TC and the player to my left (Eric) called. So did Kyle. The flop came A85. Perfect. Unless Kyle was holding AA, I can safely say that I am beating just about any hand he could possibly have. Kyle would not play 88 or 55 for that much money. I go all in and get called by the player to my left. Kyle folded. Caller had A8o. Yup, he called the big re-raise with A8o. Eric was new to the game and this hand is a perfect example of why it is impossible to put a novice on a hand. It is the ultimate irony in poker, but it is harder to beat new players, in the short run, than it is to beat seasoned players due to the unpredictable nature of a newbie's play. I did say "in the short run."

Quads
I don't remember all the particulars, but the board had 995xx. I had 55. Kyle had 99. I think he checked the turn with the quads already made. He led out a measly $5 into like a $30 pot on the river. This seemed like a pretty lame attempt to steal. I popped him hard and he came back with a reraise a little more than my raise. At that point I knew there might be trouble since my boat was the lowest on the board, and Kyle isn't one to mess around with junk against a paired board. I thought that there was too much uncertainty here to raise back. I called and lost to quads. Had Kyle bet big, I may have just called the first bet. So his first bet did an excellent job of enticing me to raise. Also had he checked, he would have risked winning no more money if my had was fairly poor. His reraise of only slightly more than my raise (which was not insignificant) got the call he was looking for. Kyle just finished the Rope-a-Dope section of Harrington on Holdem. He was the Rope. I was the Dope.

AAKK
All night long I would make monster hands, bet them, and watch everyone fold. (Do I have a sign on my forehead advertising my hand?). We played a couple rounds of stud and I had a straight using both of my hole cards - a somewhat disguised hand. I bet. Cameron folded Aces over Kings. He was right to do so, his four-outer was a massive dog. But let's face it, when was the last time you saw a non-pro make that laydown? People just don't laydown AAKK. It just looks really pretty, even though it is a 4-out draw to a completed hand. This was when I realized that my poker crew had improved significantly since we started a year ago.

33
Huge PL O/8 hand. Side pots, all in bets, couterfeited lows, quartered sides, and all the other trimmings that make O/8 the heroin of all rollercoaster rides (forgive the mixed metaphor, but it is an inside joke intended for a few). As it turns out, my second (or third) best low lost me a lot of money, but all 3 of us were only shooting for the low. My only opponent in the final side pot, Kyle, didnt even pair up. Ergo, my little 3 that made bottom pair and earned me $30. Small problem - my cards were face down in the middle of the muck by the time we came to this realization. This was the result of alcohol induced frustration and can accurately be described as a rookie mistake. I just sat there with a stupid look on my face and Kyle handed me the $30 without even digging in the muck to see the little 3 that earned backed-into the $30 pot. Of course, he could should have taken the $30 that was rightfully his, but he is a nice guy. Now, who said that people are only looking out for #1 in poker? Well that person has never played with this group.

Race
I have decided to write a complete piece on this later, but here is the situation: pair vs overcards. It is basically a coin toss and it is so close, that I personally find it irrelevant that the pair is a slight favorite. What I do find relevant is how you play this hand in this situation. Adam had a pair (so he says), maybe about a 99. He raised and I popped him hard with AK. He thought for a while and folded. I think he did the right thing, or at least one of the right things. His only options are to fold or go all-in, IMO. A call is so very wrong with a low or middle pair because your BEST case scenario is a coin toss and there is a possibility of the 4.5:1 situation of facing a bigger pair. Fold or raise big. He folded.

This hand isn't all that interesting except that it happened the same day that I posted Matusow's rant about calling in this situation and the same day Kim Hock and I analyzed a similiar hand from a tournament in Houston on Friday. Anyway, look for a rambling diatribe soon on how to play your cards in this situation.

The Result
I lost $0.50, but I put the result in the thinly populated column in my poker results Excel spreadsheet labeled "break-even". I hope you forgive the rounding. The most tangible results were a dry taste in my mouth, a pounding headache and a sensitive stomach. Odds are that a monkey broke into our house, shat in my mouth and hit me in the head with a hammer.

2 Comment(s):

Posted by  Anonymous, at 8:32 AM, June 13, 2005  

I had pocket 10s. The previous hand I had pocket JJs, raised, got two callers (the new guys) with Kx, a King hits the flop and I have to fold. So the next hand I raised more than with JJs to thin the field, and then you pop in with a re-raise. I did think about moving all-in (which would have been about a 3x re-re-raise of your re-raise). But you are right that a call here is bad, especially since you had position and I know that you know I am tight and would have to fold to any big bet after the flop if overcards come. So I folded. It was a nice bet by you and accomplished what you intended.

I think fun was had by all and you are correct that our group is improving - I know Kyle had fun both with his large stack and devouring my nuts!

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Posted by  Anonymous, at 7:08 PM, June 13, 2005  

"This was when I realized that my poker crew had improved significantly since we started a year ago." -- that's what I keep trying to tell Mrs. CCM. She doesn't believe me.

I may have played the AAKK right, but I'm still regretting that 5-4 boat that I laid down against what a big bet to a low in O/8. That game can make or break you. I wouldn't mind hearing views on what the readers find more exciting.... I know that NLHE is the cadillac of poker, but it sure is fun to drive a vipor some times - very expensive, but a lot of fun while the wheels are spinning.

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