Trapping & Ambush Hands

Chumash - Aug, 18, 2007

Man, traffic was a major pain getting to the Chu yesterday. We (Trent & I) got a bit of a late start - Trent had an appointment at the DMV and (surprise!), they couldn't stick to their own schedule. On top of that, the Zaca fire seemed to push much of the northbound traffic off the 154 and onto the 101 - so a 1 hour trip ended up taking nearly 2.

Anyway, enough of that. We got seated at different $60 NL tables (unfortunately, sometimes it's more fun to have a "non-total-stranger" to talk to at the table). So, I got seated at seat 5 and the cards were going nowhere (not unusual) - so I used this time to start my analysis of the other players. After ~20 minutes, my initial read of the others was done, and I moved when seat 2 opens up (my favorite).

Chumash has daily NL tournaments and they start around 10:15 am. I only mention this because one of the winners sat down in seat 3 shortly after my move (she was nice and she was one of the last 3 in the tourney, so they all split the pot taking a little over $1,000 each.) So, why do I mention all of this? Because I ran a donkey-bluff on her that hit and paid me off nicely.

Here are some of the hands, including the donkey-bluff (#1)

1) From early/mid position (EP/MP), I look down and see 3s6s (which is a hand that I sometimes like to play as an ambush hand, even out of position), and limp for $2. Seat 3 bumps it to $8 and is called by seats 7 and 8 (both looshish & pretty aggressive). Since there's nearly $30 in the pot and it's $6 more to me, I call. Flop is 3d, 8s, 9s giving me bottom pair and a baby flush draw. I check with the intention of raising big to try to take the pot right here. Seat 3 bets $6, 7 calls, 8 folds, and I pop it to $20. 3 hems-&-haws and makes the call, while 7 folds. Turn is a lovely 8c pairing the board and putting a scare card to anyone with an overpair - which is what I figure she's got (probably QQ, KK, or AA), so I move in for my last $24. She ponders for a second and says "what the hell - you've probably got me" and calls. Not what I wanted. So she flips over KK and I wait to flip because I'm embarrassed by my donkish-semi-bluff, and I'm just hoping for a spade on the river - and do I get it? No -- I got a 3! Full-house on the river - just like I planned all along.

Anyway, she was pissed, but she did handle it fairly well. We joked all day about idiots who play 63 from out of position...

2) From EP/MP, I pick up both black jacks, and pop it to $8, and get called by seats 5 & 6. The flop is a very nice 4c, Jh, 2h - and I check 'cuz I figure 5 will do my betting for me, which he does... $6 and it's called all around. Turn is the Ac, and I decided to go for broke. I check, seat 5 bets $10, 6 folds, and I (hoping that he hit that ace) raise him to $40. He ponders for a good minute and finally folds. He said later that he didn't have an ace, (maybe KJ?) - but I probably made a mistake betting too big there...

3) From the BB, I look down at 5d7d and check with them. Flop is an interesting 5h, 5s, Qs, and I'm thinking, "man, I would love to see the 7s come up on the board..." I check-call a $6 bet from seat 5 (along with seat 7), and the turn is the 9d. We all call seat 5's $6 bet again. The river is that wonderful 7s (YES!) and I'm just praying that someone was on the flush draw - so, like hand #2, I bet out $10 and I'm hoping for a raise. C'mon, raise it - c'mon! And they both fold. Crap. I was hoping that the cards would align just right and give me that chance to spring a huge trap (with either of these hands), but - to make a bad pun - it wasn't in the cards.

4) From MP, I limp with 7d9d (another of the ambush hands I like to play) and the button and the blinds call (or check). Flop is 3d, Td, Jh giving me a flush draw and a gutshot. It's checked to me and I bet $6, which is called by the button (blinds fold). Turn is Kc and I bet $10, which he calls. River is the Kd for my flush but making me wish that the board wasn't paired. I lead out again for $10, and he mulls it over - but finally folds.

So, an abbreviated Chumash run yielded $95.

I was trying to get a little more creative with my traps by trying to put my opponents in specific situations (maybe pairing that turn ace in hand #2 or making their flush draw in hand #3) and betting big so that I would be able to spring huge traps if they did hit (which, they obviously didn't). I don't know if this is worth doing or not... I'll have to think it over more and tweak this idea for better implementation.

Happy pokering.

Pilgramage to The Holy Land

July 31, 2007 – Las Vegas, Binions

On the way back from our trip, we stayed in downtown Vegas, and decided that we just had to play at least once at Binions while we were there… We got to see the WSOP wall with everyone's photos (no 2006 or 2007 champion photo yet though), took a $1 chip home as a souvenir, and we got to play some poker (woo-hoo).

Amy & Ted decided that they were done with NL (after the Hilton adventure), so they played 2/4 limit and I sat at the 1/2 NL table – seat 2, of course. 3 hands stand out:

1) I’d been at the table for about 45 minutes and hadn’t played much (~$75 in chips), when I picked up Ad7d in the SB – and limped with it. Flop was Ac, 6s, 7s, and I check. It’s checked around to the CO who bet $10, I called and everyone folded. Turn was the 8h which I checked – he conveniently bet $20 and I raised all-in (~$45 more), which he called. River was the 7h for a boat (which I didn't need - 2 pair were good enough to win against his bigger ace) and I scooped a nice pot.

2) Against the same player as hand #1, I pick up Qc3c in the BB and check my option after he and 3 other players limp. Flop is Kc, Jd, 6c. I check and call this players $10 bet after everyone else folds. Turn is the 8c, and I check-raise his $10 bet to $50. He ponders and moves in for another $69. I pause to double-check & make sure I think I’m still good – and call. He assumes I’ve got the bare Ace of clubs and flips over the Tc9c – I show my hand and he’s calling for the 7c. I forgot what the river was but it wasn’t the 7c – and that’s all that I cared about at the moment.

3) I picked up QQ from the BB and raised it to $15 after 5 people limped – and all but 1 called my bet (crap). Flop was 5c, 8h, Th to which I bet $20, and got called by seat 5 (a youngish guy whom I hadn’t seen play too much yet) – everyone else folded. Turn is Jd and I bet another $20 – which he raises to $45. Now I’m going over hands that he could have and wondering if he’s got a flush-draw or 79, but I can’t see him calling my raise with 79… 2 pair maybe? Anyway, the river is the Qd putting 4 parts of the straight out there and I consider a defensive bet, but decide to check, and he bets $75. I still look back over the way the hand has played out and figure him for 2 pair (like JT) – I don’t think he’s got a 9… I call, and he grimaces as he flips over Th7d for a weak-handed bluff – I show the set and scoop my biggest pot of the night.

I'm getting better at taking my time to review the action of each step in the hand to put my opponents on their likely-holdings - and I'm getting much better at it. I just need to stop and make sure I do this all the time, and take the time (if needed) without feeling guilty about holding up the game.

Net = $380

Poker Drawer = $1200

July 28, 2007 – Las Vegas Hilton

Wife-Amy and I planned a mini-vacation with neighbor Ted to visit Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, and Vegas – and it was a great trip. But this poker night was not kind to either of them :(

I sat at a new $1/$2 NL table in seat 8 (Amy at seat 3, Ted at seat 5), and began watching the other players. I only remember 3 hands…

1) I was in the SB with Jd9d, and called with 2 limpers & the BB. The flop was a lovely 9c, 9h, Qd – I check, the 2 seat bets $5, and I call after everyone folds. The turn was the 4c, and I check – he bets $5 and I check-raise to $15, which he calls. The flop is the Ah, and I deliberately pause for 2 seconds too long, then bet out $30. He considers and calls, then mucks when I show the trip 9’s. I was trying to sell a missed draw and I guess it worked.

2) I only had ~$55 when Ted limped from EP and I raised to $10 with my pocket tens, which was called only by Ted. Flop was a 944, and I bet $20 – which Ted called. The turn brought an 8, and I moved all-in… Ted folded (he told me later that he had a 9).

3) A few people limp and I call from the CO with KcTc, and the button raises to $10 – 3 callers later I’m getting decent odds, so I call too. Flop is Ac, Qc, 5d, for a royal draw, everyone checks to the button who bets $20 – all fold and I call. Next card is the Js giving me the straight, he bets $35 and I call. River was the Qd worrying me a bit – I check and he checks too. I show the straight and he mucks saying something about AK never working out.

Net = $80

Better Than Traffic

July 24, 2007 – Commerce

I had to go to a seminar in LA, and rather than fight rush-hour traffic, I told wife-Amy that I’d be home late and would wait out the traffic playing poker (what a great excuse).

I ended up $80 ahead playing ~3 hours at the $40 NLHE table, but only 2 hands stand out…

1) I got seated next to this guy that was just drunk as a skunk – overbetting, showing bluffs, getting suck-outs whenever someone would call… And I just sat and waited. I pick up KK from UTG and raise it to $6, and he raises to $12 – everyone folds. It’s back to me and he’s saying, “ooh, I really like my hand, if you move in I’ve got to call.” Well, OK; I move in, and he instacalls. We don’t show our hands as the flop comes 4, 9, J rainbow, and he’s now nervous, saying, “man, I hope you’ve got AK”. I flip the kings as the turn is a 2 – he shows 77, and the river brings an A. Yay, double-up for me.

2) I had been moved to a different table and was playing for a while in the 3 seat, when I picked up TT in the BB. 7 people had limped and I didn’t want to pop it to the $15 or $20 it would take to chase most of them out – so I limped too. Flop was a very exciting 6s, Td, Qs, making me happy, but a bit worried about someone with straight or flush draws. I led out & bet $10, and only 2 people called. Turn was the 9h, and now I’m getting a bit worried, so I bet out $20, and only the button calls (who was a nice guy and a decent player). River was the Kc, and I groaningly check – he checked and missed his flush draw (which is what I put him on, but I was afraid that [with my luck] he’d have the Js for the straight – but he didn’t). So I bet the right amounts (except preflop) to give him the wrong odds, and it all worked out like it was supposed to.

Net = $80

Poker Drawer = $740

Father Knows Best

July 21, 2007 - Chumash

Why is patience a virtue? Because it's sooo damn hard to do. Playing patiently can be very frustrating (and boring), but it's often the best way to play (at least IMHO) at lower level NLHE games that attract the aggressive internet "hotshots".

Playing patient poker reminds me of 2 sayings my dad used to say that drove me nuts (but turned out to be oh-so-right):
1) "If it was easy, everyone would do it" (when I would complain about doing something difficult)
2) "There are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going" (when I would complain that I didn't like quote #1)

Why play a game (for fun) in a style that you find unenjoyable, you may ask?

Good question - I don't know.

I bitch and moan about playing tight / aggressive / slippery (more on this later), but it's really the only way that I've found to minimize the amount of "gambling" in my poker play. And it seems that gambling is all these "kids" want to do - get their money into the pot in bluff or semi-bluff situations where they can either push you off the better hand or suck-out on you.

Now I have no problem with running a semi-bluff or a bluff - but if that's your whole game plan, it just seems like you've been watching too much poker on TV. And, I don't like having to call oversized bets again and again (call me chicken, but I don't like watching my bankroll bounce around too much) - this is where the slippery part comes in, I don't like calling down large bets on smallish pots with modest holdings unless I’ve got a read that tells me you’re full of crap. It just seems like an obvious trap-play (maybe reverse obvious?) to me.

Anyway, it seems that this type of person makes up a large percentage of the players I've been up against recently.

So, what's this got to do with my Saturday Chumash adventure? Not much, except for the patience part. This poker session was an exercise in patience-building. I've had long spells at the table where I've been card-dead, but this was the worst that I've experienced.

I sat down at my usual $60 NL table in seat 7 at a little after 11:00AM. Nearly four hours later, the only decent hands I had seen were AKs, AJo, ATo (twice), and pocket 4’s – just this in 3½ hours? WTF!

My first $60 had been whittled away and my second $60 was about half gone when things got better (not great, but better). All-in-all, I played more than 6 hours, but most of my “play” was in the last 2½ hours of the day.

I really only remember a couple of hands from the latter part of the day:

1) I'm in EP/MP and a loose-ish player in seat 5 raises to $7 from UTG, I look down at TT and raise it to $21. It folds around to the small blind who moves in for his last $20, and the UTG player calls ($60 main pot & $2 side pot). The flop is a very nice 3, 7, 8 rainbow, which the UTG checks. I bet $20 and he flips his KQo into the muck. The small blind grimaces to see the KQ exposed because he’s got the same hand – KQo. An ace on the turn and 7 on the river gives me my first decent pot of the day.

2) Late in the day, I was on the button with 3 limpers in front of me and saw Js, 9s in my hand – from this spot I knew that the blinds rarely raised, so I limped. The blinds called and it’s 6 to the flop, which is 2d, 8c, Td for a dirty straight-draw (I call it dirty, cuz some of my outs weren’t “clean”). It’s checked to seat 3 who bets $5, I called as does the BB. Turn is Ks, and it’s checked to me – and I bet $6 – both players called. The river is the 4c, and I took a stab at it. Since I’d done nothing but fold all day long, and only showed down the winner every time that I did bet at the pot, I knew that my image was squeaky-tight. So I bet $10 into this ~$40 pot… and the BB folded (yay). Seat 3 looked me over, then tossed his cards in disgust into the muck. Hooray, score 1 for the good guys.

Anyway, when all was said & done, I bought in twice for $120 dollars, and left after ~6½ hours with $121. There was one other time I bought a pot with a smallish river bet (very similar to hand #2 above), but those were the only times that I bluffed. I probably should be bluffing at more of these orphan pots, but my poker-radar was rusty at the start of the day and it wasn’t until the end of the day that I felt comfortable in my reads of the other players.

In the end, dad did know best, and good things can come to those who wait. I just wish the good things would get there sooner.

Net = $1

Poker Drawer = $660