Sidestep Shuffle

Let’s recap. I posted about variance, where I basically whined about how I was losing and that I shouldn’t worry about it, its just variance… Then I posted about how I finally got on a great run and won back all I had lost in one session. Now, I’m down just a dribble in the past week, pretty much breaking even. What’s the deal here? Not winning, not losing…just doing a sidestep shuffle.

I played a tournament with Felicia a couple days ago at the River Palms, didn’t get much going there. My nemesis, Sammy the dealer, was downwind of me this time, picking off my bluffs. Our table is very passive and tight, and I steal when I can; when Sammy’s folded and the two people to my left are telegraphing they’re going to fold anyway. It’s amazing how people do this time and again without thinking about it. They hold their cards like they’re ready to fold when the action gets to them. Even the BB did this one time. I had K9o on the button. I really didn’t have _that_ many chips, and wouldn’t have stolen if it were Sammy in the BB; he’s too loose and might actually call me. But these people were easy! It was like the BB just assumed someone would raise and he’s telling me, “hey, I got crap here, go ahead and raise…look, I already have my cards off the table, ready to put them in the air and flip them to the muck!”

So, I make little steals here and there, keeping myself even. Once I got checked into a straight in the BB, but with a pair on board, no one would call any bet and I guess I really didn’t have to have anything that hand, they were so disinterested in the pot. So, we get to the break, and I’m still in without having to do a rebuy (bonus!). I bust one guy out after I get AK in the cutoff and he’s in the BB with KQ, short-stacked, and takes a stand.

After going past the 500/1000 blinds again, I have about 10K. UTG limps (new person that got moved to my table with a big stack) and I’m next to act and see QQ. I figure if I raise, I have to raise enough to get Mr. Big stack out of the hand. I’ll have to raise at least 3x the BB to 4K. That puts my in the 50% realm of my stack, though. If you’re going to go in for 50, you might as well put it all in. So that’s what I did. I shoved all-in…and get quickly called by one of the tighties to my left. I wait till the action is down table, turn to her and say, “You have Aces don’t you?” Of course, she nods, but it wasn’t really a question. I get no miracle and I’m out (she doubled up with Aces earlier and had me covered…by one chip, lol). So, I’m out, but at least I didn’t have to do any rebuys in this one and got in, and out, relatively cheap.

At home, it’s the same kind of thing. I win a little here; win a little there. Then take a hit where I lose most or all of what I just won. Oy!

Last night we ended up at the Riverside to play their tournament. I play the 2-6-spread limit game and Felicia gets in the tournament. I did get on the alternate list for the tournament, however, because Felicia tells me that they switched to 20-minute levels and I thought I’d give it a try.

It’s an hour into the tournament before I get called to take my seat, literally at the cutoff before they stop allowing alternates in. I’m able to take an optional rebuy and the add-on without playing a hand (the hand I sat down during was the last before the break). So, I get to sit down when the blinds are at 200/400 with 5500. Not too bad, let’s see what happens.

First hand in the blind and I had to let AJo go. A kid that I saw folding, folding, chucks in an oversized chip and the dealer _asked_ if he wanted to raise, which of course he says yes to. They have a rule there that if someone puts in one an oversized chip without stating “raise”, that it’s NOT a raise, but a call. I want to see a flop with AJ! So I try to debate it with the dealer, but he’s new and says that he asked if it was a raise…ugh. Jxx on the flop (late position person called), and the kid comes out betting 1K, the same as the raise. Hmm. Either he’s trying to extract more, or he really didn’t hit the flop. I’m trying to decide if he had it or not, but I think not. I might have lost some chips on that fold, but I still think I have to fold AJ to a raise when I have more than 10x the BB to play with.

Since the kid is to my left, and another person that I’ve played with before (and therefore knows how tight I am) I’m able to steal the blinds from them one round with A9o. Another time, I’m in early position (and the blinds are up to 400/800) with AA and I’m thinking about how much I have to raise. Once again, there’s a limper and I’m thinking the old, “OK, if I raise 4x the BB it’ll pretty much be a…let’s see…” and then think to myself, “hmm, with all this hesitation, it almost looks like I’m unsure of my hand. I wonder if I’ll be more likely to get a call looking like I _don’t_ want a call.” So, I shove in. The tight kid on my left thinks about it for a bit and folds. Everyone else folds, including the limper. Wanting people to keep folding to my raises, I show. Kid says, “oh, and I almost called too, I had pocket tens.”

Later, after going thru the blinds again, I get AKo and raise to 2400. I guess I should have shoved here, because this time, the kid DOES decide to come after me and goes over the top. This time though, he was the one that took a little time. So I think if he had to think about it, it might be a coin flip. I need chips, and even though I could release and still have about 5K, that’s really not a lot to work with, and I have odds to call with a coin flip. So, I call and get shown JJ, what I was hoping for, an under-pair. If he suckered me with my same play with AA or KK, I’d be really hurting. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any help and I was still out. But, once again, I think I made the right play, even if it was perhaps over aggressive. I keep thinking that I want to try to not just squeak into the money.

Back at the side games, I count my odds and go for the straight with the two over cards. I get there, but with someone else and I end up splitting the $80 pot, after the money that I put in the pot, I’m about $30 up still, not bad. Helps when the flopped two pair _and_ the flopped set call two cold (the guy to my left had the same hand and raised all-in) then called my 3-bet. The guy with the set was to the immediate left of the guy with two pair. One raise from him and I would have had to fold. But nooooo, he slow plays and gets bit!

Twice before the tournament a similar situation happened. THREE times my table saw a player raise with KK and flop a set of Kings. Only once did that player NOT get outdrawn. Who was the player? Me. Why? I didn’t slow play. Both the other sets slow played. First, they also didn’t raise the full amount pre-flop. I did. I may not have won as much as I could have, but I did win.

I also got a table share of the Bad Beat Jackpot that was hit at another table: $35. Not huge, but good enough for just sitting there. As I lost $27 before the tournament, then dropped $60 for the tournament, my $50 win (including the $35 table share) kept me out of a big hole.

Combined with a couple small wins during the day, I ended the day -$11.51. Well, it’s better than the $40-50 losses I had at the beginning of the month! But still, what’s the deal here? Up-down, up-down.

Sounds like I’m doing the “horizontal bop”…I wish!

No, it’s more like the “sidestep shuffle”.

Posted by Glenn