Worse than a Tell & You Decide #12
Friday, July 08, 2005
I won $20 at Robbie Hole's house. I was actually up about $40 when I ran into a disasterous hand (I was the cause of this disaster). Earlier in the night, I also had a monster suckout in my favor. These two hands together showed one thing: I was not playing good poker. I made some moves. I got value for some of my bets. But in general, I never got into a groove and my play was mediocre at best. I could blame it on the intoxicating substances that so often join poker games, but in the end I have two choices, stay sober or stop complaining.
The Suckout
I don't remember all of the betting, but Jefe, a friend of Hole's bet pre-flop to $2. I had AJs on the button, and decided to call. Big Mark (another pal o' Hole) in the SB called as well. The flop was AKQ. This was both good and bad. Jefe had been agressive all night, so I wasn't sure what he had. Mark was a very random player, so I couldn't place him either, really. I had top pair, top kicker, but someone certainly could've had KK, QQ, KQ, AK, or AQ, which would put me in the doghouse. On the other hand, these players could've raised with JJ, TT, 99, 88 or even suited connectors (loose table). Mark bet $2. Jefe thought for a minute and raised to $7. He had $10 more in front of him. I knew that it was now or never. Jefe, being aggressive, was probably on a steal. I thought I could push Mark out with a stong re-raise (he would be facing a raise, re-raise situation). At the very least, I had it in mind that I had the straight draw. That's a slim out, but one to consider. I put Jefe all-in for another $10 ($17 total). Mark saw the shit going down and folded. Jefe called, and I showed my cards. Jefe had AK. I was sunk. The next card was a 7. I was dealer, and before I dealt the last card, I said, "Show me that miracle ten." TADA! The next card off the deck was the ten. I apologized perfusely as I raked in Jefe's chips. I'm rarely on this end of a suckout.
You Decide #12: The Literal Tell
Earlier in the evening, I mentioned that I used to try to control my tells. I said that tightening up was boring and difficult for me, so instead I just let it flow. Well, maybe I should pay a bit more attention in the future. I was in the BB with 58s. To my right was Jefe's girlfriend, Steph, who was playing extremely well all night. She was catching cards, but people were paying her off. On two back to back hands she hit trip queens when the board was QQx. I hadn't seen her bluff yet, either.
So the hand starts and there are a decent amount of limpers. The flop is 9TJ, and I have an 8. I hate drawing to the dummy end of a straight, but when Stef checked to me, I threw out a modest $2 bet. All fold except Steph, who calls. The next card is a 7. I hit the straight. Checked to me, and I bet $3. Steph raises it to $8. I call, and say, "I could raise, but I think we have the same cards." The flop was an Ace. She goes all-in for $47. F-U-C-K. I did this to myself, you see. I'm playing in my head what has happened so far. She's been very lucky. She's been pushing hands and getting paid off. I also know that she isn't a mark. She knows what she's doing, even though she is a 21-yr-old, pixie-ish chick. And she HEARD me say we had the same hands. I ran through the possibilities. She might have an 8, in which case we chop. I didn't think about the probability of this in my head, ala Sklansky or Harrington, but I should've. If she had the 8, the all-in was a very mature move. She "knew" she couldn't lose because I just about announced my hand. Okay, so an 8 is a possibility. She could've had 8Q, or QK for a flopped straight, in which case she thinks I have a Jack high straight AND I think she has the 8 only, so an all-in could get paid off. I watched her for tells. She was chatty, but not too chatty. She laughed about something and seemed sincere. It was going to be one of my last hands in the night, and I was up about $20 if I folded. If I called and lost, I'd be down $30 or more. I folded begrudgingly and asked, "At least do me the favor of showing your cards." She obliged, A8. SHIT! I gave respect. She played great that night. I spoke to Rouss about the hand. He would've called. I ask you now, with all the info that was out there, with all of the info that I put out there, should I have called?
On a side note, the real answer to the hand is: KEEP MY FUCKING MOUTH SHUT! I did my self no favors by ACTUALLY ANNOUNCING MY HAND! I will kick myself in the ass for a week over that stupid slip. I felt at the time that Steph wasn't the type of shark to actually hear, analyze, and move on something like that. I was wrong.
So, what's worse than a tell? When you TELL your actual F'ing cards.
I suck. SNG Challenge, here I come.
posted by Jordan @ 8:48 AM,
3 Comments:
-
At 11:20 AM,
GaryC said...
-
Hey bro,
Thanks for the kind words, you are always my first read of the morning as well. Keep up the good work.
I sent you an e-mail about PSO.
G -
At 12:16 PM,
GaryC said...
-
J,
I forgot to give you my take on your "You Decide."
I don't think you can make that call in that situation. Like you said, had you not said anything, maybe you can call it quick without trying to put her on a hand. But, after practically telling her what you had, I couldn't call it, unless you just wanted to pay her off.
I think she deserves a tad bit more credit in the future. I think she played the hand brilliantly. The only thing you did wrong was talk, which is always bad at a live table, IMO.
G -
At 1:48 PM,
Jordan said...
-
GCox:
You are right. I shouldn't have said what I did. I don't think I'll ever be able to totally shut up at the table though. I'll try it at my next game and see how it goes. Thanks for supporting my decision to fold.
