In the Darko
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
I played at the Wall Street Game last night. It was a .50/1 NLHE cash game, and by the time I arrived, the first table was setting up. It was full with 11 players, so I just sat back with Christine, one of the regulars, and played some Chinese Poker while we waited for enough players to break into two tables. Most of the time, I hate waiting for poker. This time, I was all for it. Truth be told, I'd play at a shorthanded table any day over a full one. I figured that the second table was the place to be. I assumed that our table would have lollygaggers showing up late because they just aren't that into poker, action junkies showing up late throwing money around because they felt like they are late to the party, and Chris and I. I wasn't entirely off. While the players didn't fit my expected archetypes, I can only assume that it was a preferable table to the other one. For one, Darko was at the other table, and I didn't want anything to do with him.
Darko is one of those players who plays a very loose aggressive game. For instance, while watching the other table, I saw a player in EP raise the $1 blind to $5 and get four or five callers. When the action got to Darko, he raised to $65. $65! I mean, come on! Thats one of those bets where you go, "Well, it must be bullshit, because why would anyone bet that high!" And then you think, "Wait a second. Maybe that's the point! Who would bet that big without the goods. He must have AK at the very least, if not a high pocket pair!" And then you think, "But its Darko, and he may just be making a play. He plays a wide range of hands!" Followed by, "But with all those callers of the $5 bet, how can he think he can bluff 5 players?!" And, "But they are all just callers. A major hand would raise, so he's only really betting against the initial bettor, so he doesn't need a good hand." But then you remember it's a $60 bet and you just fold meekly anyway. Jamie was the initial bettor, so when everyone folded, he said, "I bet we had the same hand." Darko replied by laughing, "I don't think you could've bet preflop with my crap cards." It just leaves you wondering WTF just happened, and therein lies the greatness of Darko's game. The man plays in a way that is utterly confusing. I simultaneously envy his playing style and loathe playing against him.
The rest of the night is whatever. I won $50, playing well. I made a couple of light calls with two overs only to hit, but I only took those chances when I thought the bettor was bluffing. I took a tough beat late when I couldn't get away from the second nut flush. The worst part was that I went into a speech about how my opponent probably had the nut flush, but I couldn't stop myself anyway. It sucks breaking Jordan's Number One Rule of Poker: "When you know you are behind, fold." I also made a poorly timed bluff against another player. Other than those mistakes, I played well, squeezing value out of hands when I could. I suppose it's good I noticed all of these mistakes. At least I know what I need to work on.
That's it for today. Tonight, I return to the WSG for a 2-table tourney. Wish me luck.
Until next time, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 8:42 AM,
1 Comments:
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At 1:47 PM,
RedXBranch said...
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I see straddlers make that move all the time.....4 or 5 callers of the straddle and then the straddler raises to $30....everyone folds (including me)because if I had a $30 hand I'd have raised instead of calling. I hope to someday have the balls to make that move with ATC like I'm sure the straddler is most of the time. Cool blog you have here, been following for quite a while.
