The Backstory
I’m currently in Maryland visiting family and have been to Maryland Live a few times. It’s been quite busy; even when I arrived around 4 yesterday there was already a long list for 5/10 and 10/25 and no open tables to start a new game. So, I ended up playing 2/5 for a while.
Maryland Live’s poker room has two stories, and I was in a 2/5 game upstairs, which is annoying because when they call you for another game you have to go downstairs to lock up a seat (or try to get a floor’s attention upstairs, but that’s hard to do). This will become relevant in a moment.
There’s also a bit of history that’s relevant to the hand in question. Just a few hands prior, Players A and B had limped and called a raise from me. We all checked an Axx flop. On a turn Q, Player A bet, B called, and I folded. The river went bet-call again, Player A had A8o, and Player B flashed a Q.
The Hand
Player A ($600) is in the BB. UTG1 ($350) limps, Player B ($950) limps in MP, and I ($1200) make it $25 with Kh Ts on the CO. The BB (Player A), and both limpers call.
Flop (~$100) Ac Qh 6h. Everyone checks.
Turn 9c. Player A bets $60, and the other two call. I raise to $260. I am way less capped than anyone else here, as I can plausibly represent sets and AQ, and judging from prior history these guys are capable of showing up with a ton of weak hands after this action. The biggest risk IMO is that UTG1 has an Ace and just goes with it, as I’ve bet basically his entire stack, but his turn call didn’t seem too confident.
Only Player B calls, leaving about a pot-sized bet in the stacks. Although I was (obviously) bluffing when I raised the turn, I now think there’s a good chance I’m ahead and he’s on some sort of draw. Still, I’ll probably jam a lot of rivers if checked to, just to be safe.
River (~$740) 2h. Villain thinks for a while, moving a lot while he does so. He changes posture a few times, leans his head on his hand, etc. Then he bets $375, a bit over half his stack.
As soon as I saw the river, my first thought was that I should call a shove. The Kh is a very significant blocker to his value range, and I’d expect him to have either a flush or a busted draw if he shoves. I suppose there’s an outside chance I get owned by Kc Jc or a pair with a club draw, but even with that risk it seems like a profitable call.
However, I also have a habit of stationing too much, especially against smaller stakes players who tend to be really risk averse in big pots and to bluff at less-than-optimal frequencies. His body language seemed confident, as generally people who are bluffing will try to avoid looking uncertain or drawing attention to themselves.
Results
As I was pondering this, I heard them announce “ABC for 5/10, second call.” I must have missed the first call, which is another annoying thing about playing upstairs: it’s a bit harder to hear announcements. That frazzled me a bit, as I didn’t want to take up too much time and miss my spot in the 5/10, so I just folded. Villain proudly tabled 8c 3c, and I just barely had time to tell him “Nice hand” as I rushed downstairs to lock up my seat.
It’s not actually a big deal, but man, that would have been such a fun hero call to make. At least I got some “blog equity” out of it anyway.