Heads Up With a Psychopath

This guy wasn’t great, but he was better than I gave him credit for sometimes. In particular, he did a reasonable job of adapting to my thin calls and not bluffing in some obvious spots, which should have made me a little more reluctant to call him down in some other spots. But he really was a psychopath and capable of some crazy moves on any street. The hand histories I’ve pulled out here are really just a taste.

River Call With Q-High

I think this may be the weakest hand, in absolute terms, with which I’ve ever called a river bet. I’ve made a few KQ-high calls, but I can’t recall ever calling Q high before, at least not correctly.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $985.50
SB: $932.10

Pre-Flop: 7 Q dealt to Hero (BB)
SB calls $5, Hero checks

Flop: ($20) J 6 J (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $20, Hero calls $20

Turn: ($60) 3 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB checks

River: ($60) K (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $65, Hero calls $65

Results: $190 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed 7 Q (a pair of Jacks) and WON $189.50 (+$94.50 NET)
SB showed 5 9 (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-$95 NET)

But I Sucked Out First!

My play here is surely questionable. The guy was 3-betting easily 25% of my raises, though, so I don’t think it’s inconceivable that I’m ahead of his range, and I do think there are some situations where I’ll steal from his underpairs as well.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $1,153
BB: $993.60

Pre-Flop: K 8 dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB raises to $110, Hero calls $80

Flop: ($220) 4 4 7 (2 Players)
BB bets $175, Hero calls $175

Turn: ($570) K (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $263, BB raises to $708.60 and is All-In, Hero calls $445.60

River: ($1,987.20) A (2 Players – 1 is All-In)
Results: $1,987.20 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed K 8 (two pair, Kings and Fours) and LOST (-$993.60 NET)
BB showed 9 A (two pair, Aces and Fours) and WON $1,986.70 (+$993.10 NET)

I’m a Station

He was very capable of check-raising the turn with worse both as a bluff and, stupidly, with worse A’s. That’s what I was trying to induce. I’m not sure about the river call. I was thinking he could pretty much only have 3’s full or quads as non-bluff hands, since he would have 3-bet AQ, QQ, and AA pre-flop. I forgot about Q5s. As you’ll see, he’s very capable of potting the river on a bluff, but I’m not sure he does that in conjunction with the turn min-check-raise.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $1,475
BB: $1,978.10

Pre-Flop: A J dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB calls $20

Flop: ($60) A 5 3 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $60, BB calls $60

Turn: ($180) Q (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $135, BB raises to $270, Hero calls $135

River: ($720) 5 (2 Players)
BB bets $720, Hero calls $720

Results: $2,160 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked A J (two pair, Aces and Fives) and LOST (-$1,080 NET)
BB showed Q 5 (a full house, Fives full of Queens) and WON $2,159.50 (+$1,079.50 NET)

This One Was Definitely Tilt

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $1,000
BB: $3,027.60

Pre-Flop: 9 8 dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB calls $20

Flop: ($60) 9 6 5 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $45, BB raises to $195, Hero calls $150

Turn: ($450) Q (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $375, BB raises to $775, Hero calls $400 and is All-In

River: ($2,000) A (2 Players – 1 is All-In)

Results: $2,000 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed 9 8 (a pair of Nines) and LOST (-$1,000 NET)
BB showed K 9 (a pair of Nines) and WON $1,999.50 (+$999.50 NET)

Best case scenario is he shows up with a big draw here :-(.

Big Pot With Ace High

I was looking to check-raise all in on the turn, though I don’t mind getting a free river, either. I was very sure I was going to see a counterfeited pair here.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $1,130.50
SB: $3,937.60

Pre-Flop: J A dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $30, Hero raises to $105, SB calls $75

Flop: ($210) 8 8 Q (2 Players)
Hero bets $125, SB calls $125

Turn: ($460) T (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB checks

River: ($460) T (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $460, Hero calls $460

Results: $1,380 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed J A (two pair, Tens and Eights) and WON $1,379.50 (+$689.50 NET)
SB showed 5 5 (two pair, Tens and Eights) and LOST (-$690 NET)

This is Why I Make Some of My Other Calls

The fact that he’s playing AT like the nuts here led me to think I could beat some non-bluffs on a few of the other hands where I got all in against him. Kind of different situations, though.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $1,049.50
BB: $4,043.60

Pre-Flop: A Q dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB raises to $110, Hero calls $80

Flop: ($220) 6 4 A (2 Players)
BB bets $185, Hero calls $185

Turn: ($590) 2 (2 Players)
BB bets $590, Hero raises to $754.50 and is All-In, BB calls $164.50

River: ($2,099) T (2 Players – 1 is All-In)

Results: $2,099 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed A Q (a pair of Aces) and LOST (-$1,049.50 NET)
BB showed T A (two pair, Aces and Tens) and WON $2,098.50 (+$1,049 NET)

Why Thin Value Bets Are Important

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $2,929.50
SB: $3,359.10

Pre-Flop: 3 3 dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) 2 2 Q (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $60, Hero calls $60

Turn: ($180) 4 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $180, Hero calls $180

River: ($540) J (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB checks

Results: $540 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked 3 3 (two pair, Threes and Twos) and LOST (-$270 NET)
SB showed T J (two pair, Jacks and Twos) and WON $539.50 (+$269.50 NET)

I was going to call a river bet here, and the fact that he’s not betting JT for value is a big part of the reason why. When he does bet, his range is so polarized that I can call with 33 knowing he’ll have either a good Q or a bluff. The more legitimate hands he’s capable of value betting, the tougher it gets for me to be a hero.

Another Big A-High Win

My two biggest pots of the session were both won with A-high.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $1,329.50
SB: $4,968.60

Pre-Flop: A K dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $30, Hero raises to $119, SB calls $89

Flop: ($238) J T T (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $238, Hero calls $238

Turn: ($714) 3 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB checks

River: ($714) 7 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $714, Hero calls $714

Results: $2,142 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed A K (a pair of Tens) and WON $2,141.50 (+$1,070.50 NET)
SB showed 8 A (a pair of Tens) and LOST (-$1,071 NET)

Another Poor Calldown

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $2,863
BB: $3,423.60

Pre-Flop: Q K dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB calls $20

Flop: ($60) 7 K 2 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $60, BB raises to $120, Hero calls $60

Turn: ($300) 4 (2 Players)
BB bets $300, Hero calls $300

River: ($900) T (2 Players)
BB bets $900, Hero calls $900

Results: $2,700 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked Q K (a pair of Kings) and LOST (-$1,350 NET)
BB showed K 2 (two pair, Kings and Twos) and WON $2,699.50 (+$1,349.50 NET)