Monday, October 15, 2012

Crash... and I'm still not sure what happened

I went to play a rare Sunday night session and was violently reminded as to why I hate weekends at the Chuck (credit given to The Poker Barrister, who came up with the name for the Charles Town WV casino).  I sat down at around 8:50 pm to what would soon be my shortest, losing-est session ever.  As to the title, I'm still collecting my thoughts and I'm still not sure what happened.  A few hands in, I've decided to take an aggressive table posture and get in raising and pushing people off the pots with cbets.  I realize that there are a few terrible players at my table and a few older gentlemen who think they're good but have as many holes in their games as the Swiss do their cheese.  I'm humming along nicely, up $50 or so and then I start getting played back by the table en mass.  I miss my flops and have to fold to heavy action, dropping my stack down to around $160 when the following takes place:  the loose older Asian man to my right raises to $6 from the CO.  I'm sitting on AJs on the button and bump it to $20 to go.  Folds around and loose Asian calls.  Flop is K T x and he checks to me.  I lead for $30 and he min-raises me to $30.  Here's where I'm pondering my play: should I be shoving here with around $80 behind in total?  WTF?  Based on my read, I'm fairly certain he didn't hit here, but I think my mistake is not shoving right here & now.  I have a gutter and an over, but I'm really afraid of a flopped set of Tens at the time.  I should have taken an extra moment and pushed here, but I call.  The turn is an Ace, so I have a gutter and now a pair.  He leads for $40 and I top it off with the $40 remaining.  He shows QJ for the turned 7 outter which just drives me insane.  Calling a 3bet OOP with $140 behind, check raising his draw and then jamming the nuts... facepalm...  First buy in, gone within 30 minutes.

Rebuy.  Limpers galore - and and older 50's gentlemen who already "took note" of my aggro play, as so noted to his buddy to his right.  He's across the table from me and I look down at AQo.  I pop the bet to $15 from the CO and it folds to 50's mediocre player who limp / raises it to $60.  I have a fresh $200 stack and my decision right here in my mind is shove / fold.  I opt for the more aggressive line, telling myself that he's been waiting for this kind of move with any two - but he snaps me off with QQ.  I sweat the flop of all diamonds (I have the Ad) and don't suckout.  Second buy in gone within 35 minutes.

I take a walk.  Try to relax myself.  I resolve to play my normal, tight, wait-on-the-nuts game.  I'm wound up and didn't drive 50 minutes to turn around within a half hour.  This is absurd.  I sit back down at another table, miss my draw and lose $60.  The new table is full of regs (all of whom I recognize and recognize me) and I want nothing to do with it.  I switch over to another table where I am dealt AA in my first hand (I just bought the button so I'm in the BB now).  I'm facing a $7 raise with 3 callers so I raise to $27 and all fold.  That's more like it; I'd like to see a flop, but not 4-way, and I hate being out of position.  3 hands later, I'm dealt AKo and facing a $7 raise and one caller.  I bump it to $25 and the SB shoves.  I've played with him before, and he knows what he's doing for the most part.  His shove was $80, so I call figuring that I can't be all that bad unless he shows KK or AA.  He shows JJ and we're set for a flip.  J on the flop, J on the turn and I'm to the rail again with AK vs. quad Jacks.  I'm done.

1 hour and 2.75 buy ins.  Quickest session ever.  Still not sure whether I suck or I'm coolered.  I think the first hand set me off to tilt land - a rarity for me; I'm the guy who sits patiently and waits for huge favorite spots.  I'm still reeling from this session.  I'm so rattled right now that I'm debating going back to my "regular" off Friday day session this week.  I'm still not really really sure what happened...
Posted by The Poker Meister at 10/15/2012 09:31:00 AM
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13 comments:

  1. matt tagOctober 15, 2012 at 9:40 AM

    Why did you decide to go LAG on a table with a few terrible players? Just wait for a hand and get paid. EZ Game.

    The AJ hand ends up being a value raise because villain is obviously a mega-donk, but you could also flat and use your position to control the size of the pot.

    I also have to think a limp-reraise is well ahead of AQo, unless you've seen this guy do it with junk before.

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  2. steeserOctober 15, 2012 at 10:01 AM

    Hand #1 (AJ): I think one big problem is that your stack is just $160, and in a 3 bet pot it just doesn't leave you much maneuverability. If deeper stacked, a shove is fine, especially against an Asian. Shorter stacked, I think I just fold, as I just don't see the fold equity. An asian gambler isn't going to fold for $80 more after investing $20 preflop and $60 on the flop, he's going to gamble.

    Hand #2 (AQ): Just fold to the 3bet. People don't generally 3 bet light. I've been there when it feels like the whole world is playing back at you, but it's likely that they are just hitting cards.

    Hand #3 (AK): Whatever, you lost a flip to a shortie, no biggie.

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  3. The Poker MeisterOctober 15, 2012 at 10:35 AM

    Kinda agree about the AQ, but I think a shove on the AJ hand is profitable. I want him calling a 7 outter without a doubt. If he gets lucky, he gets lucky. The AQ hand felt like dude was just waiting to put a move on me - especially after talking with his buddy about how aggro I am. I very much felt like he was waiting to put a limp / raise on me, which is why I felt ATC could work here for him.

    I'm not used to getting my money in bad, and I did it three times last night for 3 buy ins. It's a shitty feeling that I should remember for a long time - money in bad = shitty feeling. Pound that into my skull. What a crappy night.

    I think going LAG on a table with terrible players is a good idea, though. They're going to pay me off with any piece of the board, while I can shut down after they flat a cbet, etc. I know exactly where I am with that kinda table.

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  4. Memphis MOJOOctober 15, 2012 at 5:35 PM

    Nothing wrong with playing LAGy on a table like that, but it increases the variance, as you saw.

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  5. Pete P. PetersOctober 15, 2012 at 5:50 PM

    Sorry to read about your session. It's just one day - time to bounce back!

    Hey, I was at Del Park over the weekend and a guy told me about a fairly regular tournament in DC. He game me a link (www.allinenterprises.org). I just checked it out. They are running an event this Sunday at 11:00 in Penn Quarter. Looks legit. You ever hear of this before?

    -PPP

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  6. The Poker MeisterOctober 15, 2012 at 8:01 PM

    PPP - I hadn't heard about the DC tourney, though I'd be weary of any "private" home game for rake / fee. Those kinds of set ups are too easy to be busted or robbed. I've heard numerous stories over the years, and, coupled with the usual lack of security measures, are not worth the risk for the working professional like you or me. I just feel like it's too easy to be taken advantage.

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  7. lightning36October 15, 2012 at 11:15 PM

    Poker player: know thyself! Seems like I get burned sometimes when I try to change things up too much and move out of my comfort zone. Maybe you got too far outside of yours.

    Third hand was a coin flip, so you can't group that in with the others.

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  8. steeserOctober 16, 2012 at 11:21 AM

    As far as the AJ hand, of course it's profitable if he calls with a 7 outer, but I just don't think that's a lot his range here. In order to make the move profitable against his range of possible hands, I think you have to have some fold equity, and I don't think you have any.

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  9. The Poker MeisterOctober 16, 2012 at 12:23 PM

    @steeser - I agree that it's about a range and not about a particular hand. I think the truth is that I don't go on tilt when he shows me a set of K's or AK, but I'm totally miffed about QJs. I think that's the reality. I think that on the flop, against a min c/r, I'm way behind the expected range here - and therefore, you're right, it's a fold.

    The AQ hand is normally a fold - any limp / raise is usually defined by 2 hands (or less). The part that makes me shove is the overheard conversation beforehand and the prior tilt.

    I really needed to get up & drive home after the two buy ins... The third buy in, although it was a flip, was a waste. I should have been in the car on the way home. I'm fortunate I kept my head about me and left after that AK / JJ flip.

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  10. AnonymousOctober 17, 2012 at 3:09 PM

    It seems pretty clear what happened. First you reraised preflop with AJs, and then you reraised allin preflop with AQo. If you fold both of these like your supposed to, then we dont have to read yet another post from you that begins with "so I played a well-known trouble hand very aggressively against a preflop raiser..."

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  11. The Poker MeisterOctober 17, 2012 at 4:22 PM

    @Anonymous - Nice! "yet another post from you that begins..."? Seriously? Not quite sure where you've read about me playing these well-known trouble hands ineffectively? Have you read my blog? Look around; it's filled with folds... Funny comment though, and nice to post as anonymous. Good to own up to who you are rather than hiding behind an Anonymous post...

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  12. AnonymousOctober 19, 2012 at 11:20 AM

    I read this a day before I played in a live tournament. I was in early position with JsJd, blinds 100/200. I bet 700, all folds except the small blind - he calls. Flop comes 8d,5d,7d. He checks, I raise, he moves all in, and I call. He shows 8s,5c. I didn't catch any diamonds, two pairs, or a Jack. Now, did he misplay his hand? Did I?

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  13. The Poker MeisterOctober 19, 2012 at 7:31 PM

    Depends on how deep you were and depends on the kind of player he was. You were drawing very lively, but again, it depends on how deep you were to call off an all-in check/raise.

    ReplyDelete

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