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You Decide #41
Friday, August 18, 2006

This is a hand that occurred a couple of weeks ago. I was perusing my "Drafts" on Blogger and came across it. When I type a hand history, I usually cut and paste the hand history into Blogger first and then come back the next day to turn it into something readable. I don't knock anyone who posts a bare hand history, but for my tastes, something a bit more narrative is always preferrable. Since I don't remember this hand and I sure as hell have not reviewed it yet, I'm going to be reading this thing as I go. Let's see where we end up.

It's an $11+1 tournament, in the 2nd level (15/30), so it's probably a 45-person Turbo SNG. I'm sitting on 1455, so it looks like I've been folding for the first level. Butchy has 1380. I'm on the button with 6d8d. I can already tell that this is going to be fun!

Butchy in MP limps. Cinch in the CO calls. I call. The blinds call as well. Five to the flop.

The flop is As 6c 8s. Now, right away, we are dealing with the good and the bad. The good is that any strong Ace will think that he is in good position with TP good kicker. The bad is the flush draw out there. The great thing is that both suggest one thing: bet big. You can push out the draws and keep the Ace in the hand this way. It checks to me, and since I'm in position, any bet will appear like a steal. I bet 200 into a 150 pot. Butchy calls, but the rest fold.

The turn is a Qh. Overall, this is an awesome card. The only thing it helps is AQ, but most players would have raised preflop with AQ. It certainly doesn't help the flush draw. It's checked to me, and right here, I'd suggest a bet of 550 at least, which is the size of the pot. With only 1224 left though, I actually push all-in. It's not a bad move. Checking is out of the question. Any pot-sized bet will commit me. I can get the maximum value by looking weak and tempting the Ace to call with top pair, while scaring away the draw. The pot is 550, so if I win it straight out, its still a nice profit for an early hand.

Now, here is when things get interesting. I guess I didn't push all-in. Instead, I Hoy (all-in except for 1 chips, so you can chat). Then I start goading butchy. My exact quotes are, "bring it" and "come on butchy." Sure enough, he calls...with Qs9s. The river is a Td, and he misses his flush. I take down 2850 with two pair.

Not much to say about this hand. The goading was a bit ballsy. Perhaps someone has a different opinion. I'm sure I'm going to hear someone say something about how stupid it is to play gap suited cards in the early stages of an MTT, but the position mattered a lot, along with the copious limpers and the potential to fold easily if I miss. Chew on it, give it a little taste, and then tell me what you think.

Oh, and I'm glad I won the hand. I generally put real F' ups as my You Decide, so maybe this will convince some of you detractors that I'm not a complete donkey.

posted by Jordan @ 12:02 PM,

8 Comments:

At 1:05 PM, Blogger Dave said...

I agree with one thing here - you had good position and a chance to see a cheap flop. That's the kind of opportunities you look for and ya while most of the time you're going to be chucking your hand away, you do sometimes get that great flop. Grats! That's what taking a chance is all about.

 
At 1:12 PM, Blogger WillWonka said...

no comment... well done!!!

 
At 1:28 PM, Blogger SirFWALGMan said...

You got somewhat lucky to win this as he had alot of outs.. but well played.. That is the good and the bad of a bottom 2-pair hand, it can be really good and it can turn really bad quick.

The goading does nothing IMHO. If someone is taunting me I usually assume they want a call.. I would need a better hand than Q9 to call either of your bets.

 
At 1:45 PM, Blogger John G. Hartness said...

Winning this hand does nothing to make us think you're less of a donkey :). I can't see a single thing wrong with the way you played it or with your thinking throughout the hand. Looks like a textbook example of flopping a monster with crap and getting paid off huge, which is the best part of NLHE, in my less-than-humble opinion.

 
At 2:41 PM, Blogger Jordan said...

Ah, Chi, I didn't think of the AQ raising on the flop. Good point. There was even more of an indication that I was safe from AQ. I didn't even consider a set, which is why 'sets are golden' so often...people often ignore the possibility.

Waffle, two of your comments sort of oppose each other. You say that I got lucky since he had a lot of outs, but that talking is a tell that someone wants a call. Well, if he had tons of outs (and I suppose he did, 16 in total with one card to go) then I sorta want him to fold so I can take the pot immediately. In that case, talking is good if it convinces him that I want a call. So, I don't think either of your concepts are wrong, but the question is, what am I trying to do here?

It's actually quite similar to the KK v. Q2 (QQ2 flop) issue. Do I want to get action, or cut off action. With KK v. Q2 the issue is preflop. In this case, it's on the turn.

I believe that traditional thinking states that in tourneys you want to protect big hands, as opposed to cash games, where you want to milk them.

 
At 3:03 PM, Blogger Pokerwolf said...

Quality job with this hand, Jordan.

You had odds to call, plus position, preflop and from there you played it perfectly. Here's a question for you:

How would you have played it if you were re-raised on the flop? I can see a number of people with A-good kicker (AK, AQ, AJ, AT) re-raising you here to try to take over the hand and/or claim the pot on the flop.

 
At 3:20 PM, Blogger Jordan said...

Good question, Wolf. I'm inclined to think I'd push all-in. I'd want to punish the drawer and capitalize from the strong ace. If I had a read on a player that he was smart, I might reconsider. However, the two-pair is so well-disguised that it might be a no-brainer. Because I hold the 8 and 6, a set of either is unlikely. A set of Aces would involve balls-to-the-wall slowplaying preflop. I'd mostly be worries about a better two-pair, but in the end, I'd push and pray.

 
At 1:38 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Personally, I like playing hands like the one you had - the one gap suited. I agree with your betting on this hand, but I can't agree with the caller on this one, just a terrible play. Would you really have gone all-in if someone bet off the ace? You wouldn't just simply raise, and give yourself room for error?

 

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