Know when to get up

Hey all.. still riding that roller coaster of poker. Couple weeks ago I was up and down a lot, but still posted a little win for the week. Last week was kind of killer; so I was hoping that it would extend into this week. However, I ended up starting the week at a loss.. yesterday made up for it.. then today started at a loss again.. played some live poker and made up for it again! Aiyaaa!

So, the title. Yeah, I wanted to 'moral' the post about "knowing when to get up" (from a game).

See, a couple weeks ago, when I was going so up-down-up-down, I started out playing 4/8 and wasn't doing well. But I was on a list for a NLHE game, so I stayed, thinking "I'll get it back in NL".

I finally got to the table (after losing 50 at the 4/8) and proceeded to lose at NL.

We started the table short handed, and I never really have done well short. I'm a tight player by nature. In freeroll tournaments I really loosen up and "play". Bluffing if I think I can get away with it; semi-bluffing if I have a draw. All those kind of things that they teach you about in Theory of Poker, etc. That's great against weak opponents, like you find in freerolls. But players that know short-handed [SH] that you have to call down with second, and sometimes bottom pair.. that's a different story.

That's what was happening to me at that table. I'd limp in a bit looser, since you have to SH.. flop a draw.. bet.. get called. Sometimes I'd fire the second bullet, sometimes not.. I was always called down either way. When I had a hand, they'd fold. When I didn't, they'd be a callin'. Like it was written on my head. I know that I don't give many tells, least not for players at these limits. Plus, when I'm watching people, they're NOT watching me! So, I know it's not like I have some kind of tell-tale twitch on my face or something goofy like that.

Could have been just one of those nights. Or it could also have been because my opponents were playing "reasonably well". I don't want to play against people like that! I want to make sure that I play at a table where I have an advantage.

Tonight, it was same kind of thing. I started getting creamed at the NLHE tables online (just a few too many suck-outs, like: JTs calling my reraise and flopping 2pr on me; J6o flopping top-pair-no-kicker, and calling AI after I flopped the straight and shoved --multi-hand w/ a 2 flush-- and dude catches miracle runner-runner for boat) so I decided to do the ol' switchero and went out to the Riverside to play some live poker.

I started in a nice loose 2-6 (spread-limit) HE game. Won a good pot when someone tried to steal on the turn (no, thank you, I really have the trips--no kicker tho, so can't raise, though I did value bet the river when checked to -grin-).

Then I got called to the 4/8 game.

Mr. ATC from my 2-6 game came over and I placed myself to his left (just as Caro would advise: "money flows clockwise"). However, I ended up getting two dealers to my left, and a couple other decent players to their left. That I didn't like.

I played a little bit and made a little.. then got outta Dodge!

One of the hands that got me was when I raised one from the cutoff with KTo and got called by the BB (one of the decent players). I got a good flop of KQJ; so top pair and OESD (open-ended straight draw). Went: check-bet, turbo-call. Turn, blank: check-bet, turbo-call again. I see the guy watching me (another bad sign). I know that he's got something, but I still bet the turn for value. When he called on the turn again so quickly I figured he either had the same draw or something. Sometimes I will check the river, not just because I'm scared, but because if I'm in last position, I get to see the other's cards first before I have to table mine; and I like the info. Guy had a suited Queen. So, yes, I took the pot.

My point though, is that the players know that, via my position, I could easily have raised w/ AJ, or prolly any suited Ace, any pair, and would keep firing. In fact, one of the dealers played just like that. This creates a different dynamic at the table. Suck-outs will be higher; you will have to show down; and you will most likely be taken off of hands here and there by others pushing their hands more than they're worth.

I'm sure there are good players that would still be able to kill that game. I feel that I'm getting better and should be able to soon. I feel that my reads at times are just so *ON*, so *there* that I can almost see their cards. I just need to make myself act on them all the time!

To give a couple examples. Two different hands, I could tell that the one dealer playing was pushing with any pair and had just a marginal hand. One hand, he gets called on the flop, but checks the turn. OK, so either he missed or has an under pair. River, the ATC guy checks to him a third time, so he quickly fires on the river when a deuce falls. Now he may be pushing pairs, but I don't think he was pushing deuces! Sure enough: dealer is called on the river and shows 88; ATC guy shows A9o for top pair of 9's on the flop. So, here, dealer doing the quick betting on the river was a classic Caro of the "get-outta-my-pot" type. So, easy check-raise by ATC guy if he could have seen what I was seeing.

Same two players in another hand. Interestingly enough, the dealer showed the same hand, 88, after Mr ATC folded the turn. However, this time, he did the fire-another-bullet on the turn.. BUT, not after enough of a hesitation that I could tell was weakness. He thought about checking again like he did the other hand, but decided to play it differently. Once again, time for a check-raise.

Last example (did I hear a sigh of relief? haha) : ATC limp-opens UTG; I have AQo and raise; we take the flop HU. Flop is QJ4 and ATC check-calls my bet. Turn is another 4 and ATC does the quick bet just like the dealer (plus I saw him bet scare cards at the 2-6), so I call without much too much worry. River is a blank and he does the chip-grab-fake-out: he reaches for his stack, but then checks, like.. "I'd like to bet, but I'll just check it down". In other words, yes, he did bet the scare card and my hand is good. If I didn't have this thing about hating to be check-raised, I would have bet. However I did see him play J4s UTG in the 2-6, so I know it's possible for him to have a 4. I just think that if he had it, he would have bet it. Last thing he'd want is it to go check-check if he really had it.

So, he tables his J8o for second pair, I show my AQ and take down the pot. Once again, if I acted on my read, I would have won another big bet.

The history behind it is the value bet I talked about earlier during the 2-6 game which was betting my trips on a 3 flush board in late position with Mr ATC behind me. He had called me with bottom pair to make sure that I wasn't betting the missed draw... It was all hearts on the flop and it was checked around; I turned trips and called a bet; river, turn-bettor checked, I bet, ATC called me with bottom pair-missed flush draw. Therefore, I've seen that he will call river bets with marginal hands as 'thief-catchers'--just hoping that he's being bluffed.

I know that I'm getting there, I just need to grow another 'pair' and do it. (And, yes, I do mean another.. I already have a big pair for, other things.. just need one for poker -grin-.)

I definitely get the gun-shy syndrome though. I have been so beat up today at NL, that I was playing weak. That, combined with the fact that my table wasn't really a weak/passive table by any means, got me to get my butt out of the seat. I did the "just say 'thank you'", for winning enough to cover my NL losses (plus a tiny extra) from earlier today and took off. I'd only played for a little under 2 hours. Although, I would have liked to play more, I had the fortitude to know when to quit.

Like I said, I'm getting there. Now I just need to think and act on my reads when I'm pretty sure that I have the best hand value bet more. Otherwise, I'm just leaving money on the table.

Hope I gave you all something to think about. Play well!

God Bless :)

Posted by Glenn