Tuesday, August 19, 2008

River decision hand and random blog pimpage

Before I get started, a quick nonpoker blog pimpage for those of you who may have nothing else to do... or for those that may have more time now that yours truly lost his gchat capability to work. I will say... as much as I hate losing gchat at work, that's the best move they made... My productivity has increased dramatically as a result. Well, anyways... Here are two nonpoker blogs, both of which were started by my friends. This guy seems to have been posting for a while but I just found out.

Crumbs of knowledge - This is one of my buddies that I went to Montreal with. He has a better recap than I can ever put together.

Here's one that my friend just started yesterday.

Another waste of time - If stuff like 30 something year old woman picking her nose and eating what comes out of it makes you laugh, his humor should be right up your alley. I think he's gonna post about his fantasy football debacle (which he already did) and the sports teams he likes (Bears and Cubs) so go check it out and give him some love... after all, he thinks bloggin is a waste of time.

Alright... done with the pimping. Now on to regular programming:

First is a hand where I played it poorly but the cards and a decent read on the river saved me:

Full Tilt Poker Game #7721058389: Table Rose Canyon - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:10:47 ET - 2008/08/19

8 handed - effective stacks:
Villain in CO - ($418)
Hero on the button ($400)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Js Jc]
4 folds
Villain raises to $14
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero calls $14
both blinds fold

Here, I could go either way. More often than not, I would 3 bet with JJ but this just happens to be a hand where I didn't.

*** FLOP *** [3c 9c Td] (Pot $34)

Villain bets $18
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero raises to $56
Villain has 15 seconds left to act
Villain raises to $112
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero calls $56

This hand got weird in a hurry. I see a ten high flop which I figured was good for my hand. Then this guy puts out a weird small bet for about half the pot. Since the board was pretty draw heavy, I figured I'd just put in a raise and get Ax type of hands to fold. The only thought that I had (which is why timer kicked in) was that I did wonder if I raise, if I'm opening myself up for another big raise where I would be forced to let my JJ go... and his range of doing that could be huge if he has clubs in his hands. Nonetheless, I put in a raise and as I worried, villain puts in another raise... except this one is a minraise. Now, I'm totally confused. I did wonder if I was up against a set. And this is where I think I make a bad play. I suspected a set... and yet I call.

*** TURN *** [3c 9c Td] [Ac] (Pot $258)
Villain checks
Hero checks

I didn't know what to make of that card. I felt like maybe I can bet here but I chickened out. Part of the reason I chickened out was because I actually had the Jc. Now that he checked, I wasn't sure if I were completely beat. Maybe he had a set and he hated the club. Or maybe he was checking to checkraise with his clubs. I just decided that it was worth seeing one more card since I have position here.

*** RIVER *** [3c 9c Td Ac] [4c] (Pot $258)
Villain has 15 seconds left to act
Villain bets $136
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero has requested TIME
Hero calls $136

On the river, this was my thought process. The 4th club comes on the river. Then villain bets out $136. A good bet size for a call me bet. Big enough that it should get most hands out without the flush. Small enough that it looks like a sucker bet. The problem is, his sequence in the hand didn't make sense. On the flop, remember, I sensed that I was up against a set (yes, I know, that still doesn't explain the call on the flop). On the turn, he checks when the flush draw completes. Of course, he could have been waiting to check raise but it just didn't make sense. So, with my Jc, the two cards that would beat me here would be Kc and Qc. So, now, I had to think if the villain could have either one of these cards. And this is what went through my head. If he has a Qc, he would not bet here. He would be happy to show down and maybe call a bet from me but there's no way he's betting out here with the second nuts because then he gets all the worse hands to fold and only the Kc would call that bet. So, I ruled that out. Then now, there's only one card that beats me. Kc. Question is, does he have it? Of course, he could. But instead of putting him on one hand, I decided to give it a range of what would make him bet out. He either has Kc or he is now trying to buy this pot. Since I KNOW that he doesn't have Qc, I, for all intensive purposes, basically have the second nuts with Jc. On this board, with this pot size, he would be betting a fair range of hands where he feels that he could get hands like two pair and sets to fold. AK would be a possibility, KQ (with no Kc) might also be possible or KK or QQ with no club would also be possible. So, in the end, based on the flop and turn action, I actually narrowed it down to he either has KK with a Kc, or QQ with no club. His flop reraise was small so it could be a set too. But that was the range I eventually narrowed it down to. I thought he probably won't bet with trips since he does have showdown value but you never know with these guys so I couldn't totally exclude that possibility.

*** SHOW DOWN ***
Villain shows [Qd Qh] a pair of Queens
Hero shows [Js Jc] a flush, Ace high
Hero wins the pot ($527) with a flush, Ace high

I think villain's main mistake was the small reraise on the flop. If he puts in a solid reraise there, I can't continue with JJ. It was still a bad call by me, given my instincts that it could be a set but on such a draw heavy board, there's no way I would want to entice anyone to stick around.

Here's an interesting hand where I wish I was good enough to fold the turn to the initial bet...

Full Tilt Poker Game #7721139300: Table Mountain Home - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:16:47 ET - 2008/08/19
Seat 1: Hero ($414.70)
Seat 2: ($400)
Seat 3: ($321.30)
Seat 4: Villain1 ($286.90)
Seat 5: Villain2 ($400)
Seat 6: ($411.50)
Seat 7: SB ($527)
Seat 8: BB ($855.90)
Seat 9: Villain3 ($177.30)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Ac Kc]
Villain3 calls $4
Hero raises to $18
2 folds
Villain1 calls $18
Villain2 calls $18
Button folds
SB folds
BB folds
Villain3 calls $14

*** FLOP *** [9d Qs 5c] (Pot $78)
Villain3 checks
Hero checks
Villain1 checks
Villain2 checks

Terrible flop. I'm really done with this hand. I'm just hoping someone bets so I can fold... instead it checks around.

*** TURN *** [9d Qs 5c] [Ks] (Pot $78)
Villain3 bets $28
Hero has 15 seconds left to act (I hate that turn card!)
Hero calls $28
Villain1 has 15 seconds left to act
Villain1 has requested TIME
Villain1 raises to $136 <--- thank you!
Villain2 folds
Villain3 raises to $159.30, and is all in
Hero folds
Villain1 calls $23.30

Really doesn't matter what Villain3 did here, I was gonna fold anyways to that raise since this board is terrible for AK. The only thing I hate about the turn card was that I caught a piece AND the guy bets out such a small amount in comparison to the pot that I couldn't find the fold button... That's probably a leak...

Villain3 shows [5d 5h]
Villain1 shows [Td Jc]

*** RIVER *** [9d Qs 5c Ks] [3h]
Villain3 shows three of a kind, Fives
Villain1 shows a straight, King high
Villain1 wins the pot ($421.60) with a straight, King high

That's all for today. Hopefully, I'll have more hands to post soon.

1 comment:

Fuel55 said...

Fawking jacks. Hate the flop call.