I went out to the Rio last night to play the 7PM $1000 second chance tournament. For some reason, even though our table was apparently sold out, four players didn’t show up in the time I was there, which unfortunately was not very long. In fact I was probably the first eliminated from a field of 60. Some loud mouth tool who had apparently been donking it up in the cheaper series tournaments opened to 150 at 25/50. I called with 97s, then a nerdy Asian kid made it 500 from the button. The tool folded, and I called cuz effective stacks were 5K. Flop QT8, I check, he bets 500, I call. Turn 6 gives me the nuts, I check, he bets 1500, I shove, he calls with QQ for top set and spikes a 6 on the river. That knocks me down to 800 or so.
Then this kid who actually seemed to be pretty good, was very attentive and such, opened to 125 against one of the away BB’s. He varied his opening size, and the last time he raised this small, he had KT. I jammed with Q8s, and he called pretty quickly with KJo. Good read? Anyway that was the end of me.
I sat with $1000 at a 5/10 table and almost immediately lost a substantial pot. I raised AQo to $35 from middle position, the button, who had the gaunt face and fashionable attire of a German but was actually an algebra teacher from Dallas, called, and the BB, a smart looking young white guy, called too. Flop was KKT, we checked it all the way around. Turn was a third club, like a 6 or something, and the BB bet out $75. I had the Ac, so I called.
River was an off-suit A, and he checked. I value bet $200, and he called with Jc 7c for a flush. Whoops. It’s a no cap game, so I put $500 in bills on the table.
For a while I was completely card dead, and the table was pretty tight aggressive (for a live game), but there was a lot of straddling, so I made some nice squeeze plays to pick up some chips in a few straddled pots.
To my left was a hipster-looking guy from Chicago named Jeremy. He talked a lot, which was a little annoying, but he was kind of fun I guess. He seemed to be aggressive, though he was also getting absolutely run over by the deck and was on a bit of positive tilt. The best example of this: Jeremy limped UTG, UTG+1 raised to $30, two calls, he re-raises to $180, UTG+1 instantly jams for like $700. As Jeremy is thinking, UTG+1 shows him an Ace. Jeremy tells him, “I’ve got AK, I shouldn’t call for a chop, but why would you show me the A? I think you have AK also,” and he called. The guy did in fact have AK also, and they chopped.
Jeremy’s brother is also at the table, and seems to be a little newer to the game, as Jeremy is constantly explaining to him why he played a hand a certain way. The two of them discuss the psychology of showing the A, and brother man apparently thought it was a reverse tell and that the guy had AA, mostly because of his lack of hesitation when he 4-bet shoved.
In my favorite hand of the night, there was a straddle UTG, brother man called UTG+2, algebra teacher called (he was loose), and I popped it to $120 with 86s in the SB. Brother man called pretty quick. For whatever reason, I felt like he had a mid pocket pair.
The flop was 853, giving me a gut shot. I bet $150, because it’s live poker and smaller c-bets work, and because if he was torn between raising and calling, I wanted him to feel comfortable calling so I’d have a shot at hitting my draw. As soon as I bet, my opponent quickly glanced over at this brother, Jeremy. I took from this that he was unsure about what he was supposed to do here and instinctively looking at his brother because that was who had been teaching him the game. It was just a split second, then he very clearly counted my stack and his own chips before putting out his call.
Having picked up on his weakness, I was planning to fire at the turn. But then the dealer rolled a deuce, giving me a double gutshot, and I decided to check and see if I could get a free card or at least put in the last bet rather than risk getting raised off my hand. My opponent bet 300, and remembering his suspicion when the guy insta-shoved pre-flop against his brother, I instantly moved all in, charging the guy his last 500 and change. He tanked, told me he didn’t think I had anything, and folded. The nervous glance at Jeremy also made me think he was concerned about looking dumb by making the wrong play, and basically making a bad call is more likely to end in embarassment than making a bad fold, since I may not (and in fact did not) show my bluff.
That was the only big pot I won all night, and in three hours, I never saw a hand better than that AQ. Right before I left, though, there was a hilarious hand between the two brothers, which Jeremy had already announced would be his last. At his brother’s urging, he straddled UTG, his brother called, and like three more people called. On a Th 8c 4c flop, Jeremy bet $120 and only his brother called. The turn was the 5h, Jeremy bet $300, and his brother raised him $500 more. It was obvious to me at this point that the brother had at least a set. While Jeremy was thinking, his brother playfully flashed him the 7c. Based on the AK vs AK hand and the discussion following, there was a lot of leveling going on here, and the whole table knew it and was laughing at this little family feud. Finally, Jeremy shrugged and called. The turn blanked, and Jeremy checked and called an all in for like $500 more. His brother obviously showed him 76, which was double gutted on the flop. The student becomes the master!
Jeremy was still up $700 on the night, so he didn’t mind too much dropping $1200 to his brother on his last hand. As they left, the brother asked what I had in our big pot, and I told him about my bluff, which he took in stride. I made like $350 in three hours, so I guess it was worth my time, but boring as hell cuz I was card dead and mostly the table was pretty boring.