I sat down last night for 40 minutes hoping to play a bit before the dinner with friends. I opened 6 $25NLHE tables and put my strategy into play. Same strategy as last night, try to win 15BB on each table. Once I win 15BB, I close that table. I try to blind steal in middle and late position with a CB on the flop. I check/fold the turn/river unless I catch a good hand. The rules I am trying to abide by is only play the Turn/River with trips or better. TPTK and Top Two Pair get me into trouble too often to play them.
Now within 40 minutes I won a big pot at one of the 6 tables. Unfortunately I broke one of my rules doing it. Here is the hand below:
Now, I had good hole cards. I re-raised the Villian, who called me.
I am putting the villian on a blind steal with any A, K, two pair, suited connectors, or any two face cards. He is in middle position with no limpers or raises in front of him. The fact that he raised it 2.6BB instead of 3-4BB tells me he might be blind stealing often. The smaller the blind steal raise, the more often they are trying to steal the blinds. Of course, he could be a TAG, but then why did he not raise 2.5BB instead of 2.6BB. Just seems like a blind steal to me.
The flop gives me TPTK and the Villian just checks. That is a sign of weakness to me. Why raise pre-flop and then check the flop OOP.
I open raise the flop and Villian check-raises me - but it is a mini raise. So I just call. I did notice an A high flush draw on the board.
The turn gives me my top two pair. It also completes a flush draw. Villian open raises the turn with a half pot bet. Now that is indicative of a value bet. In retrospect, regardless of how this hand turned out, I really think I should have folded here. But, my gut told me villian was playing tricky. That turn completed a flush and he saw that as a scare card to bet into me. I called his bet.
By calling the turn bet, I know I am pot committing the Villian and have decided to see the showdown.
River comes blank.
At this point we're both pot commited, so of course villian goes all-in and I call. Now, I really thought villian was going to turn over a flush. But no, he turns over TPGK.
Wheeew.
Gut 1, Villian 0.
Still - I wish I had not played this hand the way I did. As you will see in my next hand, putting a villian on a semi-bluff with a scary board doesn't always pan out.
Now, before I show you this next hand, I want to mention that I probably should have called it a night. I was ahead over $25 in less than 40 minutes and I only had at most another hour to play. That is a good day. But, I decided I wanted to bring each of the remaining 5 tables up to their 15BB before closing them. I did close the table where I won the big showdown.
Here is the funny thing. I infact brought up 4 or the remaining 5 tables up to the winning 15BB. Pretty successful huh! Oh how I wish I would have just called it a night then.
But no...only one more table to go and I was hovering at $24 of a $25 buy-in.
In the future - I have a new set of rules. Once I reach the 15BB for each of the 6 tables - or the nights goal winnings - I stop playing for the night - period. I know this rule won't work long term because of variance, but for now it keeps me out of trouble.
So, here is the hand:
Once again, I am in the cutoff. Now keep in mind, this is a TAG player. My HUD stats for him were something like 10/7/2 after 50 hands. The table was also a very tight table with a VP$IP/PFR of 9/7. So basically, these players are not bluffing and are playing very ABC TAG poker.
My mistake was I was in the cutoff and it folded to me. I open raised with excellent hole cards. When the small blind 3 bet my raise, I assumed he was defending his blinds. Perhaps he figured me for a blind steal and had decent enough cards to defend against me. I thought - sweet!
Now, ABC TAG poker at an ABC TAG image table should have had me folding to a re-raise preflop. I needed pocket AA or pocket KK to call a 3 bet re-raise preflop. BUT, I thought I playing a blind steal defender. I really should have known that TAG ABC players do not defend from the small blind without premium hands.
Sigh.
Flop gives me TPTK. Now my own rules state that I will bet the flop. Villian checks the flop. He He He. Okay.
This is a TAG table and a HUD TAG player who 3-bet re-raised me preflop. He checks the flop when an A shows. This should have sent alarm bells ringing. Considering I was in the cutoff blind stealing position, villian knows I am going to bet the flop.
Indeed, I do bet 3/4 pot.
Villian just calls.
Turn puts bottom pair on the board (22). So now I have Top Pair and Bottom pair.
Again - my rules should have been to check/fold the turn here since I only have two pair and not trips or better. Especially against this player and against this table.
But no.
Villian, once again checks the Turn. This is a weak play from a very TAG player. A TAG player who re-reaises preflop and check calls the flop knows the only way to win the turn is to bet - unless he is slow playing a monster.
I bet 1/2 pot and villian immediately calls. Bad, bad, bad.
Honestly, at this point I know villian is pot committed, and so am I. I should have either folder or gone all-In.
River pairs the middle card. There is no flush or straight draws on the board.
Villian goes all-in - of course. And I call. Really - I probably should have folded. Why not - all I have is top two pairs and villian could easily have trips. Did I really think the villian was bluffing all this time with less than trips. I think villian put me on two pairs on the turn when I bet.
Villian turns over pocket AA. DUH!
SO last table of 6 in a big winning session all goes down the drain when I break the same rule that won me a big pot - over playing top two pairs. Had I just stuck to the rule of check/fold the turn/river with less than trips - I would have been okay here.
At least I paid top dollar for that lesson.
Now...the night is not over. I check my bankroll and I am actually now behind about a dollar. Sheesh.
That is not bad all considering. I won a big pot and I lost a big pot. I could have called it even for the night considering I only played for 45 minutes. At least I was not down a full buy-in right.
Now some will consider this a tilt move. And it probably is. But I decide to play a $20+1 Heads Up SitNGo to try to make up the winnings I just lost.
LOL.
This was a difficult heads up match. I just couldn't beat the guy. Finally I got him. I really haven't decided if I am a good heads up player yet. I think I have much to learn about aggression still. I am pretty sure I win over half of my heads up matches though.
So here is the heads up match. Now, I posted the entire match - all 77 hands. However, you can click the "END" button to just watch the last hand. The 77 hands takes about 15 minutes or so.
Victory in my TILT - I won! I ended the night up $15.
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