The Nuts! I mean, "Do you have the nuts?"

Anyone who knows me knows that I can't keep my trap shut for very long.  I have the equivalent of the runs when it comes to my mouth.  It makes for some interesting poker situations, to say the least.  I don't know; when I sit down at the live table, I have an ADHD that suddenly turns on - like a dog who's nose is picking up every scent and hearing everything and is having sensory overload.  Okay, well maybe it's not quite that bad, but I'm fidgeting in my chair, talking to anyone who will listen, trying to move the game along.  I guess I'm far more comfortable with online poker because it draws my entire attention in to keep me focused on the 10-15 tables I have running at the given time.

I've noted some bad habits since I've been playing live - some perhaps downright rude - all of which I'm working on.  On occasion, I know when I make a raise to get other players folded out, I am 100% sure that it will work, and have my cards ready to muck.  I've played enough to know when someone calls a $6 bet on a limped pot and I raise to $20, for example, when the action folds back around to them as the last player to act and they're looking at their cards once again, it's a given that they're folding their 2 overs or at best, bottom pair.  While they're re-assessing the situation, I have my cards (with my hand on them) half-way to the muck as an encouragement to move the game along, though I'm not quite sure my opponents see it the same way, but I digress from the original point: speaking too much.

Last night, as I had a record session (both at Charles Town and for live poker overall - $1300+), I raised 5 limpers with KJo in late position to $15.  Welcome to Ctown - I get 3 callers and a juicy pot to boot.  The flop comes a very blank - Q 8 3 rainbow.  ~50 year old calling station, which I had been noticing was a calling station, but not in the way that wouldn't know when he's beat (assumption mistake FWIW), leads for $17 into the $60+ pot.  He gets a decent Asian player to call and I come along, floating and thinking I'll take it away on the turn.  The turn is an Ace, which is a decent card to rep - I expect a check but station leads for $16 this time into the now-ballooning pot (that kind of bet from a station says to me that he still wants value, but is clearly afraid of the Ace and tells all sorts of weakness).  Asian guy folds (he saw me grab a large chip stack intending to raise (mistake because I should have trapped an additional $16) and I decide to push it to $55.  Betting less on the turn than on the flop is a pretty decent sign of weakness IMO.  Station quickly and thoughtlessly calls, which has me instantly checked out of the hand - 25BB lost on the turn is the mental calculation; bluff did not work; DO NOT BLUFF STATIONS DESPITE YOUR DUMB READ!!!!  However, the river bails me out with a beautiful Ten (no flushes, etc.), making my backdoor straight.  Emboldened and upright, station now carves out $40 of his $~180 behind and puts it across the line.  Pretty big sign of strength is my read, and I stop, take my time (been working on that - need to stop acting instantly like I do online), and push out two stacks of red (1 stack of red = 20 chips x $5 = $100 x 2 stacks) putting him all-in and to a decision.  Almost instantly he takes his chips and starts to move them forwards, motioning a call.  As soon as I see this, I call out "Nuts!" and in the same instant, realize that he did not call, but was kinda playing around with the chips, contemplating still...  Quick thinking, quick witted me, I change my exclamation to "Do you have the nuts?" but I knew it wasn't going to pass muster by anyone... the whole table knew what just happened.  Well, the whole table, except one person, who was STILL considering a call.  Looking around the table, and trying as best I could to stifle a laugh (the whole table was putting on their best poker faces too - shout out to the table "THANKS!") he sighs and says "Well, I guess I should call you - I call."  I instantly flip the goods and he shows Ace Ten for the rivered 3 outter 2 pair.  Everyone busts out laughing (except calling station) and as those internet kids say, "hilarity ensued."  Well, hilarity ensued for everyone except the station, who sulked off, embarrassed, and beaten down.

I guess that's part of running well...

P.S.  It's interesting when people see you make moves like raising the turn on a draw.  The more attentive players at the table gave me a quizzical look, which shows they misread me in general.  I think that's a good think; it balances my range of bluffs / monsters such that they are aware that they feel more comfortable calling me light in those kinds of spots.  The reality is that I'm infrequently making that kind of move with bluffs; probably an 80/20 split, but it certainly serves to loosen my opponents' calling ranges.