It’s been a while since we’ve played together, but Matusow was at two tables of 25/50 full ring today, so I took a seat as well. The game was pretty good, but once again Matusow “got the best of me” (scare quotes cuz really it was just a coin flip and not much either of us could/should have done differently):
Full Tilt Poker, $25/$50 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter
MP1: $6,863
MP2: $11,052
CO: $4,925
BTN: $3,604
SB: $1,550
BB: $1,330
Hero (UTG): $9,105
UTG+1: $930
Pre-Flop: K
A
dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $150, 4 folds, BTN calls $150, SB folds, BB calls $100
Flop: ($475) K
3
5 (3 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $350, BB folds, Hero raises to $955, BTN calls $605
Turn: ($2,385) 7 (2 Players)
Hero bets $8,000 and is All-In, BTN calls $2,499 and is All-In
River: ($7,383) 9 (2 Players – 1 is All-In)
Results: $7,383 Pot ($3 Rake)
BTN showed 7 6 (a flush, Nine high) and WON $7,380 (+$3,776 NET)
Hero showed K A (a pair of Kings) and LOST (-$3,604 NET)
If you’re wondering about the flop check-raise, it’s because I initially timed out and auto-checked. I was distracted by this river decision:
Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter
BTN: $1,000
SB: $1,670
Hero (BB): $3,614
UTG: $535.80
Pre-Flop: 8 A dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG folds, BTN raises to $30, SB folds, Hero calls $20
Flop: ($65) 2 2 4 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $50, Hero calls $50
Turn: ($165) 9 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $130, Hero calls $130
River: ($425) A (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $790 and is All-In, Hero calls $790
Results: $2,005 Pot ($2 Rake)
BTN showed J 9 (two pair, Nines and Twos) and LOST (-$1,000 NET)
Hero showed 8 A (two pair, Aces and Twos) and LOST (-$1,000 NET)
I’m really surprised he showed up with a 9 here. I don’t get why he wouldn’t just check that back, and I’m not sure if he was trying to value bet or bluff here (actually it was almost certainly a bluff but it’s not inconceivable I could call with worse if I were in the right mood).
Here are two more not very interesting 25/50 hands:
Full Tilt Poker, $25/$50 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 7 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter
UTG+1: $4,175
MP: $5,000
CO: $6,394
BTN: $6,474
SB: $5,532.10
BB: $5,000
Hero (UTG): $7,851.50
Pre-Flop: T T dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $175, UTG+1 calls $175, 4 folds, BB calls $125
Flop: ($550) T T 9 (3 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $376, UTG+1 folds, BB raises to $1,125, Hero calls $749
Turn: ($2,800) 3 (2 Players)
BB bets $1,700, Hero calls $1,700
River: ($6,200) Q (2 Players)
BB bets $2,000 and is All-In, Hero calls $2,000
Results: $10,200 Pot ($3 Rake)
BB showed Q K (two pair, Queens and Tens) and LOST (-$5,000 NET)
Hero showed T T (four of a kind, Tens) and WON $10,197 (+$5,197 NET)
Even when he “gets there” on the river, I still think check-folding is BB’s best option here. It’s so likely that KQ is no good and so unlikely that I will call with worse even if he is best.
And the last one:
Full Tilt Poker, $25/$50 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter
MP1: $5,322
MP2: $9,947
CO: $5,444
BTN: $8,147
SB: $5,622
BB: $6,851.10
UTG: $5,000
UTG+1: $5,694
Hero (UTG+2): $15,381.50
Pre-Flop: 7 7 dealt to Hero (UTG+2)
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to $150, Hero calls $150, 6 folds
Flop: ($375) K 4 7 (2 Players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $234, UTG+1 calls $234
Turn: ($843) K (2 Players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $666, UTG+1 calls $666
River: ($2,175) K (2 Players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks
Results: $2,175 Pot ($3 Rake)
UTG+1 showed A A (a full house, Kings full of Aces) and WON $2,172 (+$1,122 NET)
Hero showed 7 7 (a full house, Kings full of Sevens) and LOST (-$1,050 NET)
I’m pretty sure a puppy died when the river came a third K.
Both players lost 1000 in that second hand? Strange.
Hi,
I’m very surprised with the way you played the A8s hand. I mean, check-calling 2 bets with a good draw ( obviously the river is not the same kind of decision ) out of position is pretty much exactly what is not recommended since you lose all fold equity and probably won’t get paid if you get there. Is there a specific reason you played it that way?
Thanks
Anon,
Good question. The thing is that I wouldn’t necessarily characterize my hand as a “good draw”. I think that I’m ahead of his range on the flop and turn and that my Ace-high has significant showdown value.
That doesn’t necessarily mean I shouldn’t bluff with it, because there’s still some value in folding out worse hands (like say J9o on the flop!), but a successful bluff is worth a lot less when I already have the best hand.
There’s definitely merit in check-raising the flop. He may 3-bet bluff me, allowing me to shove in and win a nice pot, or I may get it in against a dominated draw. I’m rarely worse than 45% against anything in his range.
However, if I check-raise and he just calls, I will face a tough spot on a lot of blank turns. He will probably put me on a flush draw, so I won’t have much fold equity on the turn, and it will be tough for me to see the river. Obviously with a big draw like this seeing the river is worth a bundle.
So I decided that given the drawbacks of check-raising, I could make more money inducing bluffs than trying to bluff myself.
Basically there are two morals to this story:
1. Inviting tough decisions is sometimes more +EV than making your hand easy to play, as long as you can handle those decisions well.
2. It’s good to get beyond the draw/made hand distinction. In this case, my flush draw was also the best hand (at least on the flop). Equity on current and future betting streets is more important than arbitrary categories.
Thanks for a very good question!