aasurfer

yeah i didn't really have to ask. just trying to give the benefit of the doubt. i was actually the one in the big blind and should have lost 5k on the hand, so i'm glad the other guy realized what was going on. i did feel like it was that scene in rounders, pretty crazy. thanks to everyone for the input!

last night was my usual 5/10 homegame which is usually a great game, very juicy. i sat down around midnight and worked 2000 into about which i was pleased about... when this happened.a new dealer sits down and deals about a round or so. the host of the game requested a deck change so the dealer brought a new deck out and dealt this hand...utg: fold, cards unknownhost: raises to 30, small side of a normal raise for this gamemp: callsbutton: callsbb: callsflop AhKd10cbb: checkhost: 50mp "he didn't cut the cards, this hand is a set up!!!" folds AK face up button: calls, BB callsturn 7h, checks ar

yeah all you're really worried about is JQ making a straight... when you call it will be on him to try to push you off again on the turn, so let him. a reraise here prevents him from hanging himself further if he is bluffing

i think he has 56 and the donk bet was a semi bluff to see if you'd hit anything. you said you'd been folding to his donk bets... if i was him i'd definitely put a feeler out if i flopped a draw on that innocuous looking flop. he hit on the turn and bet a foolish amount, you raised and he should have reraised but as you said he check called with sets earlier, he'd do it with a straight as well. villain checking the river also makes sense b/c he probably thought the ace could have helped your hand. he had the nuts... the ace on the river saved you some money

with the money in the pot you only have to be right half the time... you don't think he could be bluffing a busted draw or overplaying top pair at least half the time at a 1/2 game? i do

you're getting 2/1... call. i think thats a pretty odd way to play a set or 2pr so they are not that likely imo. my initial read on a faceless 1/2 donk would be a busted draw, though qjd would certainly be your nitemare hand to face. since you're posting this i'd imagine he has some sort of bs like k10 or qj... but i don't think you can fold after putting all that money in getting 2/1... t oo many hands you can beat.phil

i also say push. you've put in 20% of your stack and you're short, he's probably calling but what do you put him on here? he limped utg... do you think he has aa or kk and was looking to reraise pf? aq? or a set? in your situation i don't think it matters much... but if he was a solid player who you put on a very strong hand like a set you might have to let it go. but he's a donk, might as well shove it in

Thanks guys!I agree with everything said so far, all good points. i ended up folding the hand to the river bet and the villain showed me KK. the river bet really did seem like a value bet and the way the hand played out i don't think calling was a good option even though i really didn't think he held an ace. my logic was if he didn't hold an ace it was either kk, jj, or 1010, so the 10 on the river helped me fold. as mentioned, i did label this villain as straightforward and solid... so maybe i shouldn't have been thinking about this as deeply as i have been. thanks everybody for the input, i

I had a bad run last week as well. I play in AC and my last 5 trips i've logged wins at 1/2 or 2/5 (pretty comparable game i think). I think playing at these low stakes as we do the fluctuations can actually be worse because play is more card dependent. as you said with a capped buy in game like we're playing there's only so much manuevering you can do, a pf raise plus flop bet eats up a good portion of your stack. That said i TRY not to bluff much at these games, i always end up going against my own advice which costs me money... but i think bluffing at this level is a bad idea, there are pl

Hey everybody,I took another trip up to AC last week and had a familiar situation come up at a 1/2 nl game at the borgata. i played the hand as well as i know how to, just want to get some feedback to see if others would play it differently.8 handed 1/2 nlvillain raises to $20 in EPi look down in mp at QQ and decide to flat call. $20 was on the high end of a normal sized raise at this table so i didn't expect a caller behind me. the player directly to my left was LP and called. we head to the flop 3 handed...i consider the original raiser to be a solid, relatively straightforward player. imo h

Have you ever read Harrington's books? I forget which one it's in and i realize this is a cash game... but he is talking about how players come up to him and tell him a story when they just knew they were beat so they lay down bottom or middle set on a board like yours... Harrington says he listens and nods approvingly but as the player walks away he thinks "idiot" i'm not saying you are i just recalled that funny passage. i think we've all been there... my last trip to borgata i made several bad folds to the same player after i knew he was super aggro and i should be calling his raises more l

i missed the turn info when i posted my first response...hand one there are two mistakes in my opinion. first is minraising the flop, make it 120 or so to try to get any draws that checked in ep to go away, and the original bettor to call with a worse queen. after villain checks the turn i think you have to check behind. the ace is a scary card for you, even though i don't think villain has AQ. You picked up a draw to the nut flush, take your free card and hope to get a big payday if you get there. You mentioned after the check raise on the turn you put him on a set of 3s, if you checked behin

i wasn't trying to brag Jay. I've learned a lot from a few of the responses. the concept of not throwing "pearls before swine" in a 2/5 game made a lot of sense... really no point to try to fool those people who will pay you everytime anyway. I routinely make the mistake of labeling a player as bad, and then expecting them to understand what i'm representing. based on the responses i've gotten, it seems to be a major leak in my game and i'm going to work to correct it, especially playing such low stakes. You bring up a very good point that knowing what my opponents have is not enough if i can'

hand one is about feel... playing at the borgata last week i made the mistake of folding too often so i may be a little biased with your QQ. I had a very similar hand in which teh LAG player put in the third raise pf with JJ and i folded my qq pf. i think there is a very good chance she sees your position raise as a couple of big cards trying to pick up the blinds. so there is AA and KK you can't beat, and JJ 1010 99 88 77 66 55 AK AQ you can beat. against this range there are a lot of hands you can beat... i'd go for ithand 2... i think i would have raised more on the flop to make sure 2 hear

at that kind of game i think you're getting called by any hand top pair or better. if its A10 your ace is no longer an out, if it's 8 10 or J10 your straight possibility is diminished... the problem is stacks are so short. if you think he's gonna fold half the time or more i like the push. it's a gamble but it definitely puts the pressure on and even if you do get called you've got quite a few outs against his likely holdings. i realize you just got to the table and can't be more specific about villain's tendencies... but knowing that kind of game all too well i think you could probably get a

Thanks David & NobbirI guess most people think i'm an idiot and can't play after this post... but thank you guys for bringing up points to support my case. I remembered that the original raiser had AA twice during my time at the table, the first time he made it $25 and lost to J7o, the second time he made it $65 and proudly took down the blinds. based on that i knew he didn't have a big pair, the competent player calling from the button knew it was going to be a multiway pot for $30 pf so his flat call also indicated he didn't have a big pair or even a hand as good as AQ. The BB was loose

the fact that he didn't raise your bet on the flop leads me to believe he doesn't have QQ or KK because he wouldn't want to give a free card. i could see villain smooth calling with AA to try to induce a turn bet from a lower pair, or floating with AK, or a low pair thinking hero only had A high. when hero checks the turn he has to expect a bet, i would call the turn and check the river. it depends on what you know about your villain, but in a vaccum thats what i think you're up against.

i agree with 8ball... i would be thinking 9-10, QJ, JJ, 1010, or 78. because you have 6-9 66 and 99 are less likely but still possible. against that range i think you have to let it go early in a HU match. it's unfortunate villain got some momentum going with this hand, but live to see another flop and use his flop aggression against him later in the match

Acid,you do write excellent posts, i enjoy reading them. thanks for the most constructive one so far. you are correct that i should have bought in again. as i said in my first post, the original raiser raises in late position with a wide variety and usually conceded to the player to his left who called him frequently in position when he missed the flop. because of that i was not overly worried about the original raiser, or the caller on the button because he was a good player and likely would have reraised to isolate if he held a monster. the big blind was extremely loose and would call a stan

i was looking for anybody out there with a similar scenario... opponents behaving in a way they hadn't for over an hour without explanation. despite the math not being there and the assumption that even the simplest of minds should be putting me on a monster based on my image and previous action. the other 2 decent players at the table were as shocked as i was at the action that developed and they couldn't offer an explanation. i only know the comments when the cards were revealed from the rest of the table were "i thought you had aces" and "i can't believe they called you with those hands". e

sorry but i disagree with you guys big time. my cards aren't the point and i said that to begin with. are you trying to tell me that on a table like that i should expect to be called for $170 limp reraise all in by A5s, AQo, and 910o? i knew what i was up against and made a play i'm surprised didn't work. consider the situation not the outcome... hopefully somebody out there can play beyond their cards and can give me a better opinion here. i'd like to know if anybody has had a similar situation in which players go haywire for no apparent reason. to me calling with anything less than KK is abs

honestly, i love the turn check. i believe villain is betting either ace high, or his pocket pair as demoines suggested thinking hero has AK high or something similar. it's a perfect situation to get him to donk off off some chips to you... if he's got a 6 or 4 that sucks but with my money i'll take my chances and you should too. there are plenty of players out there willing to put all their money in with a pocket pair above 6

Hello everybody. Hope you're having a nice day at work or wherever you're reading this from. I'd like some feedback on a hand that occurred at a 2/5 NL table at the Borgata. My table was a mix of 3 good players, myself, 2 weak players, and a very loose player (3 empty/absent). I had only been at the table for an hour or so, but felt comfortable with my assessment of my opposition. The table had been fairly tight, with a $30 pf raise usually taking the blinds and any limpers down without a fight. I had a few unlucky hands where I had shown down a strong second best hand, which dwindled my stack

I think I hit the nail on the head here... i even unknowingly referenced Erick in my thinking on how to handle this hand! I don't think you can blame Lindgren's bet on the river, but if i feigned weakness on the turn trying the play listed above i would definitely check on the river as well and give him another chance to bet into me.Phil

During the $5200 event at the Borgata Winter Poker Open i took the most expensive beat of my career. Not only did it cost me the $5200 entry, but i'm going to claim it cost me some winnings from that tournament, and put me on a tilt that cost me thousands more over the next week. Here's how it went...My table is comprised of me, 7 pros... several of whom i knew by name, and 2 complete donks.Donk #1 raises in early position to 600 (blinds 75/150)Donk #2 calls on the cutoffMen the Master calls on the button, Allen Kessler folds the SBI look down at AA on the BB, there's $2025 in the pot, so i ra