Need Some Input

I've tried to avoid posting particular hands, and focusing more on the "broad" topic of poker, and poker stories. But now I have a hand that has really been bothering me. And, no Chuck, it's not a bad beat story.

I say it's not a bad beat story, it may however be a bad beat, I'm actually not sure. And that is the subject of this post. I want feedback!

The game is $3-$6 Omaha Hi Lo at Ameristar. Pretty soft game, I must say.

I'm on the kill, so I'm commited for $6 preflop. 3 players call, and I check.

I have: 7h 8d Ks Qs

The flop is:

5s 6h 9d

I flop the nut straight on a rainbow board.

Small Blind bets out. I know hes betting A-2. I don't want to drive the other two out, so i just call. The guy behind me raises. Player 4 folds, and the original bettor calls. I decide to call, just to see what happens on turn. The guy behind me is pretty tight. I actually put him on 7-8 as well, but with a low. So i don't wanna get killed when i get quartered. I'm thinking i was wrong here, lol.

So the turn comes the Js.

The board reads: 5s 6h 9d Js

NOW, i have the nuts, with a gut shot to the 10 for the "new" nuts, AND second nut backdoor spades. I'm LOVING my hand.

Small Blind checks, I check, guy bets, SB calls, NOW I check raise. Guy 3 bets, and SB goes all in for whatever it was. I cap it, he calls.

River blows ass! 5d. Not only do i miss both my new draws, it pairs the board. No big deal though, i put him on 7-8 with me, at least the low didn't get there.

I just check, i don't get raised unless he can beat me, so there's no point in betting. We are either chopping, or I'm losing.

Yup, he filled up. But here's the thing...

His hand: 6d 6c As 2s

He flopped a set with the nut low draw. Turned the NUT flush draw, crushing my K high spades, and rivered a full house.

Was my play profitable at all? I mean, i think i played it alright, not knowing what he had, but if the cards were face up, what should i have done? I had no shot at a low, he had the nut low. And he had the spade re-draw with his full house draw.

The way i see it is, he had 14 outs for the WHOLE pot and 10 more to chop. 14 outs counts the 2 spades in my hand and 10 takes into account the spades hes drawing at for the flush, and the 7-8 in my hand. So in other words, he has 24 LIVE outs for at least half the pot. In his mind, he has like 28 outs for half.

I think i just got a nose bleed from trying to figure all that shit out. God I love this game!

Anyway, if you can give me your views/opinions, I'd appreciate them. Thanks.

Well Done Chuck

Enough said. For those of you who didn't see it, or haven't heard, Chuck K had an outstanding 28 hours at Harrah's. I'm not going to say a number, because its his business, but it was great. Way to go Chuck, it's always good to see one go to the good guys. Damn, did I just call you a good guy? I gotta get some sleep!

Going Off Topic

I know I've started a new topic for my blog, but i must veer away for this post.

It may sound cheesy and stupid, which it probably is, but i had SUCH A GOOD NIGHT, i have to tell you guys about it. And no, it has nothing to do with a big score, or a well played night by me.

I'm sure you don't know it, but I've been teaching Beth how to play Omaha. She's been playing a lot of play chip PLO on Full Tilt, and has recently started playing very low level cash games, and tourneys as well. She is picking it up very fast. As they say, a good poker player can play any game. And that's exactly what she's doing.

Well, tonight we hit the President. I FINALLY talked her into giving the $2-$5 NL game a shot down there. And of course, they didn't spread it this week. They did, however, get a $5-$10 Omaha Hi/Lo game going. The first time she's ever played live Omaha.

Now, I've told you she's been playing PLO online, but has never really played Hi/Lo before. She played SO GREAT! I was so proud of her. We sat next to each other all night, and had a great time, and like i said, she played her ass off.

Besides taking some really hard beats, 2 sets of Kings getting rivered i.e, she won about $75. There were a few times she turned wheels, that were no good for the high, so she just called down. Many people, especially beginners, raise there. But she stood strong.

So, all in all, it was a great night. We had a great night, and both came out ahead. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Beth to the Omaha Addict club. It's official, she's hooked. Good luck babe, you're in for a wild ride.

No Blog Topic

First of all I must say, John Adams, back to back $4,000 nights. Wow! I just cant explain it. You all know what I'm talking about. Just when you think he's been caught bluffing, he turns over the nuts, and felts someone. Ya, that's it, what more can ya say?

Anyway, I originally started this blog to tell people, and gather their information, on strange and interesting things that i see in the poker room. I've come to realize that's it's not that interesting. Not that it's not that interesting, it's just not worth taking the time or effort for me to write about most of it.

So, here's the KNEW subject of my blog: First there was "Headlines" with Jay Leno, then came the "Top Ten List" with Letterman. Now there is...

"THINGS STUPID PEOPLE SAY!"

I cannot tell you how many totally moronic, and assinain things i hear people say in the room. Whether it's about poker, life, or just stupid question they ask. Granted most of the time it's a $1-$2 NL with about $80 worth of white chips in front them, analyzing a hand that SOMEONE ELSE has just played. Most of the time they are just totally wrong, and it takes everything in my power not to come across the table and strangle the life out of them.

I'm telling you all up front, I'm not sure who all reads this, but you WILL BE A TARGET! I'm not holding anything back. If you say something idiotic, expect to see it up here, with you name at the top. I truly hope i offend all of you. After all, you DESERVE IT!

Brandon Moore

As all of you know, we are currently mourning the loss of one of our true friends. I know I'm not in any position to be writing anything about Brandon, but i feel that someone needs to tell the world what a great person we all have lost.

For those of you who don't know, Brandon was a dealer at Ameristar. He also played regularly at Harrah's, usually $3-$6, but sometimes $1-$2 NL.

He lived to have fun. And that he did. Brandon was always smiling. No matter what the situation, you could always count on him to brighten up the mood. Everyone says he was known for his smile, and i have to agree, he never stopped smiling.

I'll never forget one time i was sitting at a table he was dealing. We were going back and forth giving each other trouble. A player at the table, a lady, said that we should not be doing that to each other, she thought we were serious. We just told her that we had "Mutual Dealer Disrespect" for each other. And that's how things were with him. Why be serious when you can laugh at everything?

Like i said, I'm not the one to be writing about him, but i can say that he was a friend to me. He will always be a friend to me.

We'll all miss you Brandon. Good bye my friend.

Robo Cop

The game. $1-$2 NL Hold Em.

I'm fresh in the game, and sitting on $206. I had bought in only a few minutes earlier for $200. Its a brand new game, and we are MAYBE 15 hands into the game.

The Villains in the hand are as follows:

#1: A middle aged man, sitting on about $350. I don’t know him, and I haven't gotten any real information on him so far. If he's true to form for this game, he is a below average, passive player.

#2: Early to Mid 20's guy. I’ve seen him around the room a lot, and played with him a few times. He's a COMPETENT player. He's definitely not bad, but has never done anything to particularly catch my eye. He's sitting on about $200, just like me.

The Hand:I’m in seat 2 in the BB, villain #1 is in the 5 seat, and villain #2 is on the button in the 10 seat. A few players limp, and villain #2, the button raises to $12 total. Folds to me, I call with 44, thinking if I hit my set, and he's got a big pair, I have an early double up. villain #1 also calls.


The Flop:3 5 Q two clubs.

I think to myself, "I called to hit a set, but I might be able to take this down right now." there's $40 out there, why not take a shot?

I bet $25, both call.

The turn:off suit 2. now the board reads 3 5 Q 2

hell, now I'm open ended. I have the betting lead, and I'm going to call a bet anyway, from out of position this is a tough play. screw it, ill name my price. I bet $50.villain #1 calls pretty quickly. and villain #2 thinks about it a few moments before calling.

I really don’t know where #1 is at, but I'm really not concerned with him for some reason. he just doesn’t appear to be very strong at all. but, when #2 was in the tank, it told me he had something. whether it be 10-10, J-J, or even an over pair like A-A or K-K, he was scared. he did NOT want to call the $50 on the turn. he could even had A-K, and had fallen in love with it.The River:5 of clubs. paired the board, and completed the flush draw.

I was planning on being done with this hand if I missed the river. but what a bluff card! don’t forget I was in the big blind. I could very easily have 3-5, 2-5, hell even A-5 or any 5 for that matter, AND I would bet a flush draw the same way, sometimes. I felt like this was my out.

I have $110 left, and I push it in. #1 folds immediately. and #2 thinks FOREVER! seriously, it was the longest I have ever had to sit and wait for someone. he says, "that 5 had to come, didn’t it?"

that really made me think. if he had A-A or K-K or anything for that matter, it should make him feel stronger, it gave him 2 pair. unless he specifically put me on a 5, or a flush draw. he counts out his chips and has $100 left, and makes a big crying call. he actually stood up and was ready to walk out.I just say, "Good call sir, you call, you win."

This guy rolls over, get this... Q 2 off suit. he raises pre flop. flops top pair, calls, turns two pair, and now I see why he didn’t want to CALL, then he gets counterfeited on the river. he cant beat ANYTHING after that 5 of clubs falls.

I think this is a VERY good hand to talk about. Its cool because it went from a call to try to hit a set, to a steal, to a semi bluff, to a stone cold nothing all-in.

This guys new nickname is ROBOCOP, cuz i fired 3 bullets, and he kept coming. Comments please!

What would you do?

This was a very interesting hand i saw played. Yes Mike, and Chuck, Beth played it. I'm sure I'm opening myself up to an onslaught of sarcasm, but oh well. This post is about a hand, nothing else. Here we go...

The game is $1-$2 NL with a $100 max buy-in. You guessed it, El Presidente. Don't ask why, we just wanted a change of scenery Friday Night.

Now, you must understand, Beth is a good player. Better than anyone, possibly even me, gives her credit for. I've seen her raise from the button, and or raise on a flop if K J 7. Then everyone says, AK good, and she flashes me pocket 4's. She can play. WTF is this? I just realized that these paragraphs should be in reverse order, but it wont let me cut and paste! #$&% it, I'm not retyping, so deal with it.

So, we buy-in for $100 and she quickly drops down to $30. So, of course she brings it up to $100, and battles, over the next two hours or so, back up to about $280 total. She's playing well, and the table is pretty passive. There are two guys sitting across from us who were pretty decent players. The better of the two was playing a lot of hands, and mixing it up pretty much all night. But he never really got out of line, not showing any big bluffs, or bad hands.He was pretty solid, and the big stack at the table, sitting on about $700.

Enough build up, here's the hand. I want to know what you would have done if you were Beth, and why.

Shes in the BB in the 10 seat. It folds around to the big stack, who's 2 off the button in the 6 seat. He makes it $12 straight. It was pretty much the average raise for the game. Now, the old man on the button Min Raises to $25. He is a ROCK! It was the first, and now that i think about it, ONLY time he had RE-Raised all night. He's about $250 deep. I fold the SB, and it's on Beth.

She looks down at KK. I'm gonna go through the hand, and give her thoughts afterwards, so bear with me.

She calls $25. The original raiser calls $25. So the pot is about $75 going into the flop.

Flop: 6, 10, 6 rainbow.

Beth bets out $50. The 6 seat thinks about it for a few seconds, and raises to $100. The rock on the button folds. The action comes back to Beth, and she moves in for about $220ISH, as Alan would say.

Now, first of all, what do you think he has. And what would you have done if you were Beth.

This was her line of thinking. She said she knows she should have 3 bet preflop. She put the rock on AA, but knows she messed up, not getting any information when she could. It was a good flop for KK, and she knows if the rock raises from the button, she can make an easy lay down. When she moved all-in on the guy, she thought he would overplay QQ or JJ in that spot.

RESULTS:

After she pushes in, he says, "Well, I guess I'm paying off pocket 10's, but I call." She shows her KK, and he shows...???? i wanna know what you think. Ill tell ya when i get a few comments. And then I'll give MY comments on the hand.