Game is $3/$5, though we’ve been playing intermittently with a $10 straddle (which I actually don’t like because the maximum buy-in is $500 and the weakest players are already having no trouble finding ways to get their stacks so the straddle really just forces us to play pretty shallow). CO and BN open limp, and I’m in the SB with Kc 9c. I raise to $70, the straddle calls, and the other two fold.
If you were to draw a picture of the prototypical recreational player, you might well end up with a picture of this guy. He’s a slightly doughy white guy, late 30s or early 40s, wearing sporty clothes and expensive wrap-around sunglasses on his forehead. We played together the night before at $5/$10, and I got the impression that he thought I was a bit of a bully.
The flop comes Qh Qc 8h. I bet $80, and he raises to $180 pretty quickly. It’s very difficult for me to believe he has a hand here. I mean, maybe a small pair or a flush draw or something, but I could definitely see him doing this as just a straight Level Two “I don’t think you have anything so I’m raising” sort of thing. I contemplate three-betting the flop but, given my backdoors, decide to call instead. I can check-shove turns that improve me, and I can bluff some rivers if he checks back (though I may not need to).
The turn is the 3d. I check, and he bets $320, which solidifies my conviction that he’s just trying to push me out of the pot. The trouble is that I have K-high, no draw, and only about $150 to shove over his bet. I shove anyway.
He groans and asks the dealer, “How much more?”
“Not much more,” she says as she reaches for my chips.
What the fuck!? It’s a little tricky to keep a poker face through her unsolicited and inappropriate commentary. Thankfully he finds the fold button anyway.
I’m sorely tempted to show my hand. It’s the rare case where showing something so wild really can influence the dynamic of the whole table. Ultimately I didn’t do it, though, because I could also feel the desire to brag (which I guess I’m giving into anyway by making this blog post) motivating me.
bluffing with the best hand.
Did you tip the dealer?
Probably. Still want him to fold two live cards getting that price, even if they are smaller than mine.
Yeah I did tip, I pass in a dollar chip along with my cards without even thinking about it. Maybe I wouldn’t have if I’d thought about it, but I don’t like being petty/spiteful either.
Did you say to the dealer about how that was inappropriate? Would you have done so if he’d called with a hand he may otherwise have folded (like 22)?
How terrifying to hear the dealer say that. The odds he was getting to call ‘not much’ were just ridiculous too!
You should have said something to the dealer. Probably away from the table.