Rounders, Inc.

I don’t know why. Maybe I was getting frisky to play a pot after a big laydown the hand earlier. It just felt right.

I get Q-J offsuit in middle position and limp-in.

What was I thinking? I never play this garbage hand in middle position.

We go to the flop with four players. One ahead of me and two behind.

The flop comes 10h-9-h-8d.

Wonderful. I flop the nuts. My hand can only get worse from here if we see more cards.

What do I do now with a straight flush draw on board when I am holding the nut straight.

The first player over-bets the pot: $35 into a $8 pot.

This is a solid player. I put him on Q-J. He bet exactly what I would have bet hoping to force out the draws.

I raise him another $100 hoping to take it down right there.

My hopes were dashed when a loose player behind me who has been losing all night re-raised me $100.

The fourth player calls.

The original bettor calls.

Now what?

One of these guys is on a flush draw and one may have the low end of the straight.

I have $137 invested in a $848 pot.

I know three things: I have the best hand, we are going to the river, and I am pot-committed.

I go all-in which puts my three opponents all-in.

Of course, they all call.

The loose player to my left shows 6-7 off for the low straight.

The last player to act shows A-J hearts for the nut flush draw and open-ended straight draw.

The first player to act shows K-J.

Fortunately for me, fourth street and fifth street were blanks.

I am still in disbelief that the solid player called off all his chips on a gutshot.

Three outs at best put him at a 9-to-1 dog on the turn and a 13-to-1 dog going to the river.

He was only getting 3-to-1 on his money.

That is what I play for … big pots holding the big nuts.

There was a young man at the table last night to my immediate left playing a live cash game for the first time. I want to be the first to call him the Colorado Kid. He has alot of potential to be a great cash game player. I would love to coach him. Hell, I would stake him. [You know who you are - if you are reading this, please contact me through this site.]

On my last hand of the night, he asked me how I arrived at my decision to call a bet on the turn. Here is what went down:

I am in the big blind with J-7 diamonds. I would normally not play this hand from any position. I could not even limp in from the small blind. But, tonight would be different.

A wine-drinking middle-aged loose player from middle position makes it $17 to go. He has literally played 98% of the pots and raised 99% of those. Let’s call him Mr. Merlot.

An AARP-card carrying gentleman one off the button calls.

A new player that impresses me to be a rock is playing his second hand in the small blind. He calls.

Getting three-to-one, I call the extra $15.

The flop comes 9d-7s-5d.

Middle pair with a flush draw is pretty good, but comes in second to anyone with 6-8.

The small blind checks. If I was heads up with Mr. Merlot, I would make a play for the pot right here. But, the small blind could be slow playing a straight.

Mr. Merlot checks, as does Mr. AARP. I love getting free cards.

The turn is a 3s to put two straights on the board.

The small blind checks again.

I am not motivated to put any more money into this hand, so I check.

Mr. Merlot bets out $50.

Mr. AARP snap calls.

The small blind folds.

My first instinct was to fold.

I felt like I had Mr. Merlot beat with a pair. I felt he did not have a straight. At best, he had two small pair that I could beat with another 7, Jack, or the board pairing such that it did not give him a full house.

The problem was Mr. AARP and his insta-call. I thought he may be drawing to a straight. Or, perhaps he was getting tired of Mr. Merlot’s loose style.

At this point, I let the math take over.

As always, I tell the table, “Sorry guys. I need a minute to think this through if you don’t mind.”

I don’t want someone to call the clock if they think I am Hollywooding. Like most times, someone says, “Take your time Sammy.”

Now, if you think too long, you are wrong. So, I step through the decision out loud. I have to be careful on what I say because there are two players in the hand. If we were heads up, I pretty much have free reign on what I say.

“I think I have the best hand. I know I have you beat [Mr. Merlot]. But I am not so sure about you sir [Mr. AARP].”

Mr. Merlot pipes in with “If you think you have the best hand, then call.”

He is trying to represent strength, but he is telling me he is weak.

Besides, if someone flopped the straight, they would have bet with the flush draw out there.

The turn put another flush on board. If someone was there, I would think they would bet more than $50 and take it down right there.

In other words, if Mr. AARP turned a straight, he would have raised to protect against the two flush draws.

My pair just might be good. But, I am not sure.

Time for Plan B.

There is 4 x $17, or $68 in the pot plus the 2 x $50 bets on the turn.

I have pretty much ruled out either one of these guys having a straight.

If I am behind, I can make a better hand with another 7, Jack, or diamond.

There are (2) 7s, (3) Jacks, and (9) diamonds left in the deck giving me 14 outs on the river.

If the turn card gave either one two pair, I may have three more outs to river a better two pair.

The pot odds are 16 x 2.2, or 35%.

Basically, I am a two-to-one underdog.

I need to get at least two-to-one on my money to make the call.

I have to call $50 into a $168 pot. I do the math in my head and figure I am getting over three-to-one to call (3.36 to be exact).

Since the math is in my favor, I call.

The river card is Ad.

I bet $100 into the $218 pot.

Mr. Merlot says, “If you have the diamonds, you got me. But, I call.”

Mr. AARP folds.

I show the flush. Then I get a speech.

“I had you beat”, he says.

“Did you have a straight?”, I ask.

“No, but I had a good hand,” he replies.

“So, you had bottom two pair.”

He looks flustered. So I continue, “You priced me in Sir. I was a two-to-one underdog and you were offering me over three-to-one on my money to call. If you bet $75, I would be getting less than three-to-one to call and I would of had to fold.”

It is that simple.

But, I got lucky.

As it turns out, the small blind folded K-x d. A flush draw only on the river is a five-to-one underdog best case scenario. Even if he anticipated my call, he would still only be getting four-to-one.

The small blind correctly folded.

And I took down the pot.

I am playing a $1-$2 game yesterday in seat 3 and get dealt A-A.

After seat 1 raises to $15 with J-J, I re-raise to $50.

Seat 5 behind me re-raises me by going all-in for another $200.

Everyone folds around to me.

I know this player has K-K. Yet, I get the sinking feeling that he will spike a set if I call.

But how can I fold knowing he is dominated?

I call and say “Your kings are way behind”.

He shows pocket kings.

Before the flop I make a comment that K-K is a $30 hand not a $300 hand.

“Well, I did not know what you had. We have not played together before.”

Exactly. It is tough to put me on a hand. But how about some respect?

He outlucked me on the flop with K-4-2.

I lost the hand and alot of chips.

So, I sell him a steaming tilt story that was convincing. He really thinks I am after him.

I told that story so I can tell you this one:

Seat 1 and 2 leave the game.

As you already know, seats 9 and 2 are my favorite.

Mr. Kings moves to seat 1!

I am thinking, that is the worst poker move one could make. Losing position to me.

Perfect.

I slide over to seat 2 so I can quietly jaw on him a bit until I get a hand that cracks his.

A half hour later, I get my shot.

Mr. Kings gets A-A and raises to $20. He probably wants some action, but he seriously under-valued the hand.

I will call any two cards if the pre-flop bet by him is anything less than $50.

I have 9-3 offsuit. And call.

Questionable call, but I know I can outplay him after the flop. To me, the cards did not matter.

Miracle flop of Js-9s-9c.

He bets the pot.

I reraise 3x his bet.

He freezes.

After about 30 seconds of him contemplating what to do with his A-A, I pull a trick out of my hat.

I offer to show him one card.

He eagerly agrees.

I show the 3 of spades.

He puts me on a spade draw or maybe pocket threes.

Mr. Kings says, “I am …”

And I say, “Call!” before he could mutter “all-in”.

He then looks at me and says, “your other card is a 9.”

I cracked the aces and we got back to where we started.

And, I may have earned some respect as well.

I just finished a miracle session of no limit Texas Hold’Em. The miracle started after a decent session.

All night long, the table I was seated at would break up. The rule in most casinos is you take all your chips to the new table. Not this night. I could only take the maximium buy-in. So, instead of going to the table with 3 - 4X the maximum buy-in, I was placed at a disadvantage to joining an existing table.

In most games, this would be considered going south. Floor management got it wrong. But I was ok. Just had to grind harder longer.

I join a table at 6 AM with $500 after pocketing $2,000 from the broken game. My first hand is in the big blind and I am dealt pocket 10s.

Everyone limps in, so I raise to the pot value, making it $90 to go for everyone. At this point, I am happy to take down the small pot.

The table folds around to the button. The button reraises me another $100. Small blind folds.

I ask this player how the value of his hand went from a $10 limp-in with 9 players ahead to $200. Putting him on a weak hand making a position raise, I call.

Flop comes A-K-Q rainbow. I bet $100 into the $500 pot. The button re-raises me another $100. I call.
The turn is a Jack. I check my straight. The button goes all-in for his last $100, which is my last $100.

The river was a blank. I show pocket 10s for the straight. The button? Shows me pocket Queens.

It took me about five minutes to stack the chips. Long enough to hear the speech on how unlucky he was. I agreed. But, if he raised before I acted, I most likely would have folded the 10-10 preflop.

This kicked off a miracle session. For the next four hours, I could not lose a hand. I earned another $1,500 in profit before leaving for the day.

I have been running bad lately. Real bad.

Card dead for a week. And it is getting expensive.

I know running bad is part of the game, but it is getting ridiculous to the point of deja vu.

The problem with playing low limit games is dealing with donkeys that call anything. They cannot do the math and seem to never know how far behind they are.

These donkeys think they have a flush draw on every rainbow flop.

These donkeys think they have a straight draw when they are three cards to a straight.

Every night for the past week, I have lost all my chips on Q-Q. Yesterday was no different.

After waiting three hours for a playable hand, I get dealt Q-Q under the gun. I get four callers.

With $100 in the pot and a rainbow flop of 9-6-3, I push all in for another $180.

The two biggest donkeys at the table call. I know at this point I am both ahead and behind.

Fourth street is a 5 and fifth street is a 7.

One donkey turns over 5-7 offsuit. He went runner runner for two pair.

The other donkey turns over 8-4 offsuit for a runner runner straight.

How can anyone call $20 preflop with these garbage hands in a $1-$2 game?

The bigger question is how can I get so unlucky when I am clearly the favorite all the way to the river?

Bad is bad.

I was playing the $200 - $500 No Limit Hold ‘Em game at MGM Grand Detroit the other night.

Seat 1 is a loose player and makes it $25 to go pre-flop. Seat 3 had not played a hand in two hours. He min-raises to $50. Getting two-to-one on my money, I call from seat 9.

Pre-flop, I put seat 1 on nothing significant and seat 3 on A-Q. I have 4-5 off on the button.

The flop comes A-3-5 rainbow.

Seat 1 bets out $50. Seat 3 min-raises to $100. I call and seat 1 folds.

At this point, I know I am beat by the ace, but I have 9 outs to make two pair, trip fives, or a straight. Plus, I am getting three-to-one on my money.

Fourth street is a 6.

I now have an open ended straight draw and four more outs. Half the deck.

Seat 3 bets out another $100. I call with 13 outs and now four-to-one on my money.

Fifth street is a 7. Seat 3 bets out $100. I raise him all in for another $150.

He calls.

Before he shows his cards, I say “You have ace-queen. I have a straight.”

He shows the A-Q and begins a 30 minute commentary on how me being in the hand, on the button, with a loose player and a good read on the tight player was a donkey move.

If taking down an $1100 pot with a $50 pre-flop investment and 13 outs is a donkey move, then hee haw baby!

I am at MGM Grand Detroit the other night. There was a guy with a deep stack of about $900 in seat 6.

I am in seat 9 listening to seat 7 and seat 10 talk about how you need to have quads or better to win at this table because of the sick one and two-outers this guy is hitting on the river.

Sure enough, for the next two hours, his chip stack doubles - all from one and two-outers on the river.

The first playable hand I get is pocket Queens. I flop quads and double up. I don’t see another playable hand for an hour, so I leave and head over to MotorCity Casino.

At MotorCity, I sit down to a table of familiar faces. The lady to my right is a solid player at a table of loose players.

She makes a comment about the only way you can win at this table is to have quads or better. And, as it turns out, the only hands she has won at this table were quads.

An hour into this session, this person hits quads. Again.

Two hours into the session, I have not had a single playable hand. As I am thinking about calling it a night, I get dealt pocket Queens.

The Quads lady is in the hand to my right and to my left is a notoriously loose player.

The flop comes A-2-2 with two spades. The lady is first to act and checks.

I immediately put her on 2-2, given her track record on this night. I ask her “why did you check?” before betting out $50.

Mr. Loose calls, and Ms. Quads calls.

The flop is a Queen. Ms. Quads bets $100. I ask her if she has quads already, then I call.

Mr. Loose folds.

The flop is the case Queen. Ms. Quads checks. I make a value bet of $50. Truth be told, I hoped she had A-A or 2-2. The Bad Beat Jackpot at MotorCity pays on Aces full of Jacks or better getting beat as long as both hole cards play. Quads over quads would have paid out about $40,000.

Instead of a bad beat, it was bad news: she asked me if she could see one card. “No, not tonight” was my reply.

“Should I call or fold?” she asks me.

“If you have pocket Aces or pocket deuces, then call. Otherwise, fold”, I reply.

She calls and shows a dry Ace.

Two playable  hands at two casinos in four hours happens to be quad Queens.

What are the odds?

At table 2, seat 5 is a bully player that is sitting on about $375. I am in seat 9 with $300.

Earlier in the night, he bet all-in preflop and showed 5-7 off after everyone folded.

From early position, he makes it $100 to go. I put him on 2-2 or 3-3. I call with 8-6 hearts knowing the rest of the table would fold around because they were playing tight.

Seat 5 then pushes $275 all in dark.

Flop comes 9h-7-h-4s. I call with my open ended straight flush draw. He shows A-A and starts celebrating. Bad read on my part.

The hoopla was short-lived when the turn was a 5 for a straight. I not only turned a straight, I turned a bad read into a great call.

A very loose, aggressive player comes to my table with a $75 buy-in. She does not play a hand, not even her blinds, for about a half hour. I find this to be particularly odd since this player typically plays hands dark.

She is in seat 1 and I am in seat 9.

Finally, she moves all in. After 30 minutes of blinds, she has about $65. I put her on a small pocket pair.

Action folds around to me and I call with Q-2 spades. I flop a queen. She shows 5-5 and asks “how could you call $65 on queen deuce?”

I look at her and say, “About six months ago, you called my $50 pre-flop  bet with 5-7 off. I had pocket aces and you got lucky on the flop with two pair. You told me any two cards are good.”

Even though it was a small pot, felting this player after waiting six months for the opportunity was sweet!

I hit my target of $600 in chips and am getting ready to play the button then rack up and leave for the night when I am dealt 8-8 in the small blind. With seven people limping in, I make it $25 to go.

Action folds around to the button, he calls. I have played with this player before. He is a 50-ish Asian gentleman that is known to aggressively play any two cards. We have done battle before with each of us beating the other roughly half the time. That said, I generally stay out of his pots unless I have the nuts.

The flop comes 8-3-10 rainbow. I bet out $50. The button raises me to $100. I put him on pocket 10s, but call anyway. My reads during this session were spot-on. At this point I am confident I was beat on the flop.

Of all the quads I have had, most have been quad 8’s. I want to see the turn card, hoping for the case 8.

Turn card is an ace. I bet $100. The button raises me to $200. I momentarily put him on A-10. Two pair to my set, and two over cards. I still have a nagging feeling he has a set of 10’s. The problem is I am now pot-committed. I call.

The table talk after the hand reveals that this gentleman put me on A-A preflop, so he thinks I have a set of aces on the turn.

The river is another 10. “He has quad 10’s,” I think to myself. Odds are he does not have quads, but anything is possible in a cash game. I check. This confuses the button, but he bets out $100 into a $650 pot. I can’t fold with the pot odds, but I can’t raise him all-in for another $200 if he has quad 10’s or 10’s full of aces.

I was so focused on him having one of those two hands, I thought he was making a small value bet of roughly 15% of the pot instead of pushing all in for what would have been about half the pot. Convinced I am beat and he made a value bet on the river, I call.

I immediately show 8’s full of 10’s. He stands up. Slams the cards face-up on the table with a loud “ahh!”. “He is celebrating taking down the biggest pot of the night,” I think to myself.

My eyes turn to his cards. He had pocket 3’s. Pocket 3’s for $100 on the flop with two over cards? My first bad read of the night basically doubled me up.

Time to leave the game … a winner.