Who Do I Have to #@*& to Get a Normal Game?
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Man, I must be playing at the wrong places. Lately, whenever I am at a home game, I am playing with loose rookies. To make it worse, they never play in any shape or form that is discernible. It makes my head spin. Who do I have to shtup to get a normal game with experienced players?
Okay, now that the complaining is done, let me add this. I won $40 at Robbie Hole's Birthday Poker Extravaganza. The players were mostly newbies. There is nothing more tedious than explaining the blind structure on every hand...EVERY hand. It's like, "Guys, its nothing new by the 40th hand!" Fortunately, I know how to play against rookies (usually). The key is to do nothing fancy. Bluffing should be minimal and saved for situations in which you know no one has anything. I mean anything, including bottom pair.
One player in particular, T-Money, was driving me and most of the table nuts. He would bet $6 pre-flop in a game with .25/.50 blinds. In fact, he bet $6 relentlessly. 9 times out of 10, we all folded. T was apologetic and even offered to stop doing it, but I told him to just play how he wants. It was his money, he had already won a big hand early on, and he had every right in the world to bully. Plus, I was waiting for him to bet into me when I was holding the nuts. It didn't happen, but he did eventually lose it all in a hand in which he flopped two pair, As and 3s. Another player made the wheel (A2345) on the turn, while someone else made a 7 high straight to take a monster hand. The 7-high straight guy had called a $4 pre-flop bet with 6-7 off suit. See what I mean? Crazy.
On the final hand, I was down $2. I took the hand, and won $40 for the night. Here is a basic rundown of the hand. I held QJ under the gun. I limped in, because I was getting antsy, and I had to leave. This is never the way to play, but it did pay off. There were 8 players at the table. Rouss called, T-Money (who was now short-stacked) raised it to $2.50. Andy and Randy (no joke), the SB and BB, called. I called, just for the hell of it.
The flop was TT9. I had an open-ended straight, which I've been overplaying lately. I checked. Rouss checked. T checked. Andy raised $4. Randy folded. I begrudgingly called. Rouss raised it to $8. T-Money called and was all in.
The turn was 8. T-Money, who lacked all poker decorum, announced, "I can't lose now." Rouss seemed to feel the same way. I hit the nut straight. Joy of joys. But I was certainly aware of the full house possibility. Even so, I felt confident enough. T-Money was already all in, and I didn't have much left to lose anyway. I raised $4. Rouss raised it to $8 and was all in. Andy called (surprisingly) and was all in. In case you haven't figured it out, at this point we were all a little shortstacked. I called, fearing the full house.
R0uss had KT. T-Money had Tx. Both had a set of tens. Andy was smart enough to not show his cards. I took down the monster pot with my straight.
I shouldn't have played the QJ with a pre-flop raise and out of position. I shouldn't have called the $4 flop raise, and the $4 re-raise, with an open ended straight in my hand and a possible full house on the table. I got lucky, I suppose. I can't say it any other way. But at least my winnings for the year gets a bump. I'm at $345, and looking to get to $400 on Tues, at Desi's game.
One last thing. My fiance, Kim, came to Robbie's with me. She hung out and waited patiently while I played. I am very lucky. I know she would've prefered spending the night doing just about anything else. But she was a trooper. Thanks Kim.
Good luck everyone. I'll be back soon to discuss more poker mayhem.
posted by Jordan @ 12:20 AM,
2 Comments:
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At 11:21 AM,
said...
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Just keep being patient with those loosies... and get your fiance to start playing, that would be the ultimate wifey!
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At 11:35 AM,
Jordan said...
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Thank god for loosies, or I wouldn't have any wins at all. As for the fiance, some people are made for poker, and others aren't. Unfortunately for Kim, she is too nice of a person to play poker. She couldn't lie/bluff to save her life, and she doesn't have that aggression that is required. Oddly, those are the same reasons why I love her. Thanks for posting, Steve.
