Rounders, Inc.

Holding pocket tens can be a tough hand to play.

Here are two hands I was in the other night. Each time I had 9-9 up against inexperienced players, each with 10-10.

In the first hand, I am out of position, but raise big to represent something like Q-Q or J-J.

I get one caller pre-flop. I put him on a bigger pair than me or some kind of Ace.

The flop comes J-7-2 rainbow.

“I am all-in,” I declare.

“Why the push?” he asks.

“Because I do not want you drawing out on me for a bigger set,” I reply.

My opponent puts me on a set of Jacks and folds. He shows 10-10 like it was some kind of monster laydown.

A player at the table laughs and says, “Sammy probably just had pocket nines,”

“Hold it!” my opponent says, “Did you have nines?”

With his cards safely in the muck and the pot pushed to me, I show nines.

“The game is hold EM not hold IT,” I say with a smile.

He goes on tilt.

Hand number 2.

A player to my immediate right raises pre-flop.

The right play for me was call or fold. Most of the time, anyways.

To help tell the story of “I have K-K or A-K”, I need to re-raise before the flop.

Plus, I have position on this player.

He calls.

The flop comes K-7-4 rainbow.

My opponent does not seem to be bothered by the King. He bets.

I call.

As always, I studied my opponent as the turn card came out. I could tell he did not like it.

Without looking at the board, I bet half the pot.

My opponent folds and shows 10-10.

No speech. No speculation.

I fold the nines and see that an Ace hit the turn.

In both cases, my opponents made the right decision; the safe decision.

A stronger player with the tens may have read my play as making a play.

Then again, maybe not.

I was in a $1 - $2 - $100 spread limit Texas Hold’Em game the other night. Table 9, seat 9. A friend of mine was at table 5.

One of my key strengths is my ability to read other players’ hands blind. My accuracy is well over 90%. This has made me and saved me a boatload of money at the poker table.

There was a big hand at my table and a player whispered to me what these players had. I said, “No. Monica is holding A-K for top two pair and this other player has a club flush.”

When the cards were turned over, my read was spot on.

The table looks at me and another player said, “Sammy, you should play poker.”

I replied with, “I was looking for a poker game but could not find one. So, I ended up here.”

My sarcasm is justified on my experience that players at this level simply cannot play poker.

They cannot read other players’ hands. They cannot calculate pot or implied odds.

The reality is most players at this level play their own hand against the board and hope to get lucky.

Case in point: Let me describe a hand my friend was in that illustrates both bad play and the luck factor.

Everyone limps in and the action is on the small blind.

Let’s say the small blind is a below average player and limps in.

You are in the big blind and have A-K. You are a solid player and subscribe to the Doyle Brunson principle that A-K is a raising hand in the A-A and K-K category.

You raise to $40. Keep in mind that at this level, a raise to $20 pre-flop with A-A is par.

Everyone folds to the button.

The button is a calling station and plays any Ace. He calls.

The small blind now re-raises to $80.

What the fuck?

If the small blind had a big pair, say A-A, K-K, or maybe Q-Q, wouldn’t he have raised and not limped in?

Did the small blind have a read on the big blind that a raise was coming? Surely, the small blind would not want to risk 10 way action with a big hand.

In my opinion, A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and A-K are only good for heads-up action. Further, A-K is only good for heads-up action against a smaller pair.

What now? You know the button is going to call.

We are in the danger zone. A marginal hand, three-way action, and out of position because we have to act second with a calling station behind to “price-in” the small blind.

The flop comes A-K-10 rainbow.

Top two with $250 or so in the pot.

The small blind checks.

The question is this: Is top two pair any good against the small blind?

The small blind could have re-raised pre-flop with A-A, K-K, or 10-10.

There is a straight out there. Does he have a suited Q-J for the nuts?

Does he have Q-Q for a gutshot straight?

Why would the small blind check the flop after re-raising pre-flop?

Why no standard continuation bet?

Is he setting up a check raise knowing the big blind will bet anyway?

This has become a complex hand because of the texture of the board and the odd play of the small blind.

Check. Bet. Or fold.

The big blind bets $100.

The button raises to $200.

What?

The calling station is raising the original raiser?

Does the button have a straight or a set of 10s?

The small blind calls.

The turn card is a 4.

The small blind now bets all-in.

The big blind and button both call.

Everyone is pretty much all-in to the river.

Fifth street is a 10.

Now, there is a potential full house and potential quads on board, in addition to the straight or sets that could have been flopped.

I would have had a tough time calling the turn bet with A-K. I would have put one player on a straight and the other on a set of 10s or set of 4s.

I would have also been wrong.

I also would have been beat.

The small blind was holding A-10 offsuit.

Ace fucking 10. He raised to $80 pre-flop with a hand that is mathematically slightly better than 7-2.

He was a 12-to-1 underdog going to the turn and a 19-to-1 underdog going to the river to catch a 10 to beat A-K.

This donkey was getting somewhere between two and four-to-one on his money and got lucky on a longshot.

It gets better: the button had A-4 offsuit.

Ace four? The only way this guy could have won the hand is with runner-runner 4s. That is a 989-to-1 longshot. I am fairly certain he was not getting 989-to-one on his money to stay in the hand.

This fucker RAISED on the flop with an ace and no kicker with a STRAIGHT onboard.

Frankly, neither the A-10 or A-4 had any business in the hand after the flop. Aces are hard to get away from for most people. The right move for them was to fold.

Here is why: The big blind was the original raiser. I would have given him respect for A-A, K-K, A-K, or maybe Q-J suited.

Any of those hands had A-10 and A-4 beat.

The small blind played it wrong and got lucky.

The button played like a calling station. How he could think HIS two pair was good escapes me. But that is the kind of action I am looking for in this game.

My friend put the money in good. If the only way they can beat you is to get lucky, then take comfort knowing that luck runs out.

My wave of frozen cards continues. It is incredibly frustrating when one begins to run bad after running so good.

One of my rounder friends, “B”, is going through the same tundra as me right now.

I got unlucky on my first hand yesterday. Flopped a set against someone who could not fold Aces. She rivered the case ace for a better set.

Had pocket tens beaten by someone who flopped top two with A-Q.

Then, I started to play bad. Flopped bottom set and folded to a big bet that represented a bigger set. My read was wrong, and it was a bad fold.

On my last hand, I had trip 4s. Folded to a big bet that represented a straight. Turns out it was top pair only. Bad read and worse laydown.

They say that when you are going through hell to keep on going. I hope I am in the final stretch of the cold deck.

Talk about cold decks! Last night, it was frozen solid.

Here is pretty much what happened during a four hour session:

1. Q-Q: no callers pre-flop
2. 9-9: flopped a set but beat by a flush
3. K-K: no callers pre-flop
4. K-Q: no flop - had to fold
5. J-10: no flop - had to fold
6. A-Q hearts: took down small pot on flop with straight and flush draws
7. K-Q: no flop - had to fold
8. 4-4: all paint on flop - had to fold
9. 6-6: beaten by set of 5s on flop - had to fold
10. A-J: beat by A-A

Between blinds and missed flops, my entire stack evaporated in this session.

Hopefully tonight will be a better night!

I have the worst luck lately. Been running incredibly bad for a week. Here are a couple examples of what I mean:

I get A-A for the first time in five days. Big raise pre-flop and get two callers. One to my immediate left and one to my immediate right.

Flop comes J-10-4 rainbow.

The only thing that bothers me is a potential straight if I hit my set. So I bet big.

The player to my left raises me and the player to my right folds.

I re-raise.

The player to my left re-raises me.

I put him on pocket 10s and fold.

He shows the set of 10s.

A few hands later, I get 10-10 and call a pre-flop raise.

The flop comes Q-10-3 rainbow.

The original raiser overbets the pot. I put him on pocket queens and fold middle set.

He shows Q-Q.

And finally, I get A-K and raise.

The flop comes A-K-4.

Clearly ahead in the hand, I overbet the pot hoping to take it down “just in case”.

I get action.

The turn is a deuce.

I bet and get re-raised.

I call.

The river is another 4.

In my experience, three pair is useless.

My opponent shows 4-2 for a full house.

Lately, I have the worst luck.

I am in three-way action on the button with J-8 diamonds.

Normally, I would not play J-8 anything, but I am on the button against two players I know I can outplay with the right flop.

First to act is a young kid that can’t be more than a few hours older than the mandatory 21 to get in the casino. He has a deer-in-the-headlights look.

Next to act is a young female rounder that I know will give me respect.

I put Mr. 21 on a big hand like K-K or Q-Q.

Ms. Rounder has a hand like a weak ace in the blind.

The flop comes J-8-4. All hearts.

I flopped top two pair, but I know it won’t be any good by fifth street if another heart hits the board.

Mr. 21 bets the pot and Ms. Rounder raises.

With two players in the hand, it would be bad etiquette for me to talk. Here is what ran through my head:

Best case scenario is I have three jacks and three eights left in the deck to beat a flush. I am a 60% dog on the turn and an 88% dog on the river.

Worst case scenario, Mr. 21 flopped a set of jacks and I am drawing dead.

Neither player has a flush yet, but Ms. Rounder most likely has the ace of hearts. If Mr. 21 is holding a red wired hand, they each have 7 outs to hit the flush.

If I am ahead right now with top two pair, they each have roughly a 30% chance of hitting a flush on the turn and 15% on the river.

If the kid has a hand like K-K or Q-Q, he has two more outs to make a winning hand.

I am clearly ahead. The math says come over the top.

My gut says both players are now pot committed.

I only have $25 invested in the hand. Do I want to put another $200 in and risk getting drawn out on?

I fold.

Mr. 21 goes all-in and Ms. Rounder calls.

The turn card is another heart.

Mr. 21 shows two red kings. Ms. Rounder shows Ah-8c and rakes the pot.

I grin knowing my read was right on and the fold was the right decision.

Mr. 21 then goes on a rant about getting kings cracked. So, I tell him nothing matters until the flop and I laid down top two pair where they were both big underdogs to win the hand and that they both got lucky catching another heart.

Mr. 21 left the game and Ms. Rounder stayed out of my pots for the rest of the night.

Sometimes a big laydown that turns out to be the right decision earns respect at the table.

A few hands after the one I want to share today went down like this:

A player raises to $15 pre-flop and gets two callers.

The flop comes all clubs.

The first player checks and the second player bets the pot.

The original raiser comes over the top another $100.

The first player folds and the second player calls.

The turn pairs the board.

There is a $100 bet.

The original raiser two-bets and the bettor calls.

The river is a queen.

Both players end up all-in.

The first bettor flopped a flush.

The original raiser shows pocket queens for a runner-runner full house.

This donkey play happens more often than not where a player cannot lay down a big pair and outlucks the better hand on the flop.

Back up a few hands to one that I am in and not watching like the one described above.

I limped in with 5-6 clubs. A player to my left makes it $15 to go.

A calling station calls and the action folds around to me. I call.

The flop comes 10-8-2. All clubs.

The calling station checks.

I bet the pot hoping to take it down right now.

The original raiser to my left comes over the top for another $100.

The calling station folds.

I am faced with a tough decision, so I talk it through with the player hoping to get a read.

Here is what went down:

I tell the table, “Sorry guys, I need a minute. I need to think this through.”

The reason I am polite with the table is I don’t want someone calling the clock on me while I think out the hand.

Then, I look at the player and tell him straight up, “I flopped a flush. I don’t think you have a flush or you would not drive out the action. Why would you raise me with a flush? Besides, the odds of two players flopping a flush are so remote, you are going to have a tough time selling me that you have a flush too. But you just committed over a third of your stack on this hand.”

He is quiet.

I continue, “Do you have a set? I can beat a set. But you have two draws at pairing the board for a full house. That means you are a 28% favorite to hit it on the turn and 22% or so on the river.”

No response.

“You don’t have a set. I think you have a big pocket pair. Queens? If you have the queen of clubs, you are about 28% to win the hand on the turn and 14% on the river. If you don’t have the club, you have to hit runner-runner for a boat.”

Nothing.

“I cannot call. I either need to fold or come over the top and put you all-in. It is only about 25% of my stack to put you all-in.”

Still nothing.

“I think I have you crushed right now. You are way behind and I am getting two-to-one on my money as a three-to-one favorite to win the hand.”

Absolutely nothing.

I ask myself if my 6-high flush is a $350 hand. My hand is the best it will ever be right now. It can only get worse on fourth and fifth streets.

He potentially has 14 outs to my no outs.

If I just call and another club comes on the turn, what then? Does he it a better flush and I flush away $100?

If I just call and the board pairs on the turn, then he has 10 outs to my no outs to hit a full house and I hit the poor house.

“If I fold, will you show?”

He says “sure”.

I tell him I don’t want him sucking out.

I show him the flush, and he shows me two red queens.

I apologize to the table again for taking so much time and I congratulate the player on outplaying me.

He says, “I did not outplay you. Your read was spot-on and I just could not lay down queens.”

I agonized over that hand for hours. I still don’t know if I made the right decision or not.

When the runner-runner suckout happened a few hands later with the same flop scenario, Mr. Queens and I just looked at each other and smiled.

The biggest laydown of my poker life? Laying down pocket aces on the flop. Here is what happened.

A loose player in early position that sees every flop and calls just about every bet raises to $25 preflop.

The player, not a very good player at that, next to him re-raises to $50.

I am on the button with A-A. I re-raise to $100.

Everyone folds except the two raisers.

The flop comes A-Q-J rainbow.

The first player bets out $75.

The second player raises to $150.

I am staring at top set with two calling stations in the hand.

I am thinking one of them has a straight or a straight draw. There is no way I can bet either player off a straight draw.

I fold. Yes, I folded a set of aces on the flop.

Turn card is a 7. The first player goes all-in. Second player calls.

The river is a king.

First player shows pocket 10’s for a straight on the river.

The second player shows A-Q for two pair.

I had both players crushed until the river card. I got away cheap.

But laying down pocket aces when I flopped top set still breaks my heart.

I get dealt J-J in the big blind and make it $20 to go.

The guy under the gun calls and everyone else folds.

This player started with $200, built it up to $400 in the first hour, and worked his way down to $80 in the second hour.

He just called 25% of his stack on this hand.

The flop comes 9h-6-s-2d. Completely harmless to my hand.

I am in a good mood against a short-stacked player that seemed to be pleasant to have at the table. I decide to check it down. So, I check.

He bets all in.

I show him the pocket jacks and ask if he wants the action.

No response.

I tell him, “You have ace king and you are way behind. Do you want me to call or fold?”

No response.

I then say, “Hey bro, I don’t care. If you tell me my read is right and to fold, I will fold. I don’t want to take your last sixty bucks.”

No response.

I call.

Turn is a blank. River is a blank.

He shows A-K clubs. And walks away mad.

I would have folded. Really, I would have. Honest.