Hump Day & Full Moon Fever

On Wednesday, I opted to “work” from home and take care of some errands that I had put off for…well…ever. It was a bit of a catharsis that I had needed. Sick of the rainy weather we’ve been plagued with of late and tired of the monotonous drive across the Valley and into Simi, I just wanted to stay home…go nowhere fast. And a great decision it turned out to be. It was the first (mostly) sunny day in a while and, as the temperature rose, so did my spirits. By the end of the afternoon, I felt as though I had been pretty productive having gone to the AAA office to renew my delinquent membership and making a trip to Bed Bath and AFewOtherThings for some stuff from the beyond section. With renewed vigor, I made up my mind to go play some poker!

I hit the 101 a little before 9pm and arrived at Commerce Casino just around 9:20pm. This would be the first poker I had played since Vegas (excluding a spontaneous home game at Paul’s) and it was long overdue. It took about 10 minutes to get on a table (10 NLH). Once again, my first table broke after a little while and I went from a 5s where I had collected some good reads and a couple tells to a 1s where I would have to start over. But allow me to begin at the beginning.

The first table was a collection of average to below-average players. I recognized a couple of them as regulars who I knew have typically decent games but also have a few leaks. As usual, my plan was to start slow and figure out the table and try to pick up some tells. I managed to avoid getting involved with a few trouble hands early on and stuck to the plan. When the time was right, I started getting involved using a tight image that I had started building from the moment I sat down. It worked to my advantage as I got action on my pre-flop raises in position and was able to take down pots with continuation bets on the flop and, sometimes, on the turn. Aggression was the key for me at this table. I wasn’t concerned with building big pots or getting all my chips in like so many other players (but they’re not all players).

The most notable hand came with pocket queens in middle position. The second player to act (P1) open raised to $35. I was next to act and decided not to get tricky especially since this was the first big pair I had seen. First of all, I put P1 on A-K and figured I would get action from him if I re-raise. So I made it $60 to go. To my surprise, a rather smart player who had earlier told me he has a Bachelors degree in psychology (Freud) called on my left. It folded around to P1 and he called as well.

The flop came Ac-Qc-9c. This has become the story of my life. If I flop a set, you can be sure there is a flush draw or made flush on the board. This is certainly a spot where one should be cautious. But P1 checked and I had an opportunity to maintain control of the hand and, at the very least, find out where I was. I sized up a bet and settled on $90 into the $195 pot. I figured if either of my opponents held a large enough club, they would call down a pot-sized bet just as easily as they would a bet of $50 or $60. But $90 seemed like a measured amount that would represent both a big hand and a big draw and keep these guys on their heels.

Freud thought about it a bit and called without much fanfare. P1 apparently had a more difficult decision. He agonized for a minute and then threw his hand away. Interestingly, I thought my bet would move Freud out and more likely be called by P1. I thought Freud had a medium-ish club before he made the call. I wasn’t any surer of that after he made the call. The turn brought a red 6 and I found myself in the same situation but now heads up. I began sizing up Freud saying, “Ahhhh, the table’s resident psychologist.” Then he started staring at me as if to say, “Go ahead and have a good look. You’re not going to get a read on me.” That was true. “Its okay. I’m just thinking,” I assured him. But I did get a slight read of weakness from him. Or maybe it was a lack of strength. I already new with him, my bets had to be deliberate or he would read weakness and come over the top. This time, I decided $100, while relatively small, was the right amount. I immediately knew that was correct as Freud went into the tank. I actually got him rattled. He thought for a good minute and a half and squirmed a bit as he almost folded but changed his mind at the last second and, reluctantly, plopped a stack of 20 chips in for the call. Then he provided me with the ultimate tell…he tabled his hand!

Ad-8c. He had top pair with a weak flush draw. Now I understood his dilemma. Everyone at the table was shocked that he had revealed his cards. Someone said, “Its only the turn,” and, looking at the board, he realized what he had done. But, being a good sport, I told him his hand was still live just in case he really lost his mind and mucked. We went on from there with the turn bringing an off-suit rag. I decided not to value bet (another act of good sportsmanship; one I won’t always make) and showed my winning set. An older gent at the table commented on how nice it was of me to not bet on the end. True, but it wasn’t as much “nice” as it was not worth it. It was already a healthy pot well worth raking in. I didn’t have to show down a hand the rest of my time at the table as I picked my spots well and made good reads on my opponents. I would peak at about $820 at that table. Then it broke.

My new table assignment landed me in the 1s. I sat down while a hand was in progress with pre-flop action under way. The first problem with arriving at a new table is having to start all over. Sure, I get to bring my entire stack over from the broken game. But I have to go back to ultra-tight mode for the first couple of rounds while I get the feel of the new group. I certainly adhered to that approach this time but I was quite proud of two reads I made as I watched the hand-in-progress. There was a raise pre-flop from a guy that just had the look of a loose-wild player. He got two callers to see a small flop with two spades. This time, it checked around and the free turn card was an off-suit Q. Now the raiser made a decent-sized bet. One player folded and the other thought for bit before calling. At this point I had put the aggressor on A-K with one spade, most likely the Ks given his check on the flop. The other player seemed like he had a weak Q. On the river, the raiser continued his lead and put out a weak-looking amount that didn’t entirely look like a value bet. The other player quickly called. They showed down Q-J for the caller and As-Qh for the raiser. I wasn’t exactly right about they’re holdings but I was pretty close, impressive, I think, having only just arrived.

The rest of my time at that table was fairly uneventful. I took down small pots here a there without showing down. And I lost a few continuation bets that I had to abandon when opponents came over the top. I hit a high water mark of $860 and concluded at $813. Not an exciting cash, but steady and profitable.

Celebrity Sighting: Before leaving Commerce on Wednesday, I decided to stop by the top section and really inspect the action at the 10-20 NLH games. I really need to prepare myself to move up there so I was going to count how much each person had in play and figure out the low and average stacks. After surveying one table, I stepped up to the second and was shocked to see KG…Kage…Rage…Kyle Gass himself. I’m used to seeing celebs playing poker. However, they usually play lower and are not a cool as KG.

On Thursday, I decided to repeat Wednesday. I worked from home and got a few small things done around the apartment. It was an even nicer day so, once again, it was a good move to avoid being trapped in the office all day. I also felt up for more poker that night. A night hosted by a full moon. Actually, I only felt okay about playing poker. I decided to go because I know I need to make an effort to play more. I know the daily work commute and long, wasted office hours affect my desire to trek through L.A. to play cards but I also need to make sure I can handle going to play regularly…even when I don’t feel great about it. If I do ever make it my “job,” I will have to do just that.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I was in a good mood on Thursday and was confident in my game. I just wasn’t in that excited, itching-to-play state. (You know what I mean.) Well, I arrived at Commerce a few minutes after 9pm. It was another busy night in the main room and I would have to wait a while to get in a 10NLH game. After sitting idly for a bit, I opted to take a seat in a 5NLH game with my name still on the board for the bigger spot. I got in the groove at the first table in quick order going through the blinds twice and picking up one pot before I was called to a new 10NLH game. I left the lower table with the amount I bought in for.

The bigger game was brand new, which was good news. We started out even and some of the players would be pretty loose as they like to get right into action. I also recognized a few of them so I already had some reads. It was, however, rather slow going for me as I found myself pretty much card-dead. In spite of that, I managed to work up from $400 to slightly over $600. Then I really got cold. I couldn’t find a hand to play for several rounds. The table was allowing many limped pots, though, so I tried to join in when I found A-x suited or a small pocket pair from early position or late if there were other limpers already in. But most times I tried to limp, one of the blinds would make a huge raise and I would have to release. So my stack slowly dwindled to $480 when the following hand went down.

Two players had wandered away for a while so we were playing kind of short-handed with 7. Since I hadn’t been able to play a hand in some time and the missing players were the main aggressors at our table, I found a good opportunity to loosen up my starting requirements and take control of the table while the taking was good. Good timing on that thought as I woke up with A-8o in the cut-off. There was one limper ahead so I raised to $35. The BB called along with the limper. The flop came a beautiful 8-5-4 rainbow. The BB and limper checked and I lead out with $50. Once again, this seemed like the right amount (coming from me) to represent strength, not just a continuation bet. Then the wheels started wobbling. The BB raised to $250! The limper folded and I found myself in a very tough spot. I knew this player could make that play with any two cards and was likely to do so in any pot against anyone. He plays on feel. So he tends to decide before a hand is even dealt if he is going to make a play at it. But he would also make the same bet having flopped a set. I twisted in my chair, scratched my head, grunted and grumbled for a good two minutes. I was lucky no one called a clock on me (its quite common there.)

Now I know better than to get married to top pair, top kicker like this. But I had good reason to consider staying in this hand. I wanted to get away from it because I had invested only $85 to the pot and it was cost the rest of my $395 to play out the hand. With $200 to call, I would be pot-committed. So it was all-in or fold for me. After running through a ton of hands that I had watched involving this player, the database was empty and I resorted to looking for a physical tell. I found one…a lack of a tell. He was very calm. No pulse showing on his skinny neck. This obviously doesn’t mean the same thing for every player but I thought he fit the standard profile: Excited state with big hands; Mellow on a bluff. That bit of info paired with everything else I new about him lead me to announce, “Okay. I’m all in.” He quickly called and I moaned, asking, “Do you have a set?” He shook his head and said, “No, a big pair.” He stared at the board as I looked incredulously at him saying, “A pair? No you don’t.” I was sure he didn’t have an over pair, even after he had proclaimed it.

The turn and river were rag diamonds and I turned up my pair of 8s with an A. He revealed his hand to show that I had made a good read and picked off his bluff. He held 3-2…of diamonds…which, along with the one diamond on the flop, gave him a back door flush. So he made a massive raise on the bottom end of an open-ended straight draw against an extremely tight player and got even luckier than he had hoped. I sat in awe, tapped, as the dealer proceeded to deal the next hand. She left me out without asking so I had time to think about the beat while re-buying and waiting for the next hand. I looked at Mr. 3-2-bluff and gave him what has become a common phrase from me…”You’re a sick individual.” Of course, it comes with a smile and laugh. I know to expect anything and everything in poker. Anger has no place.

That’s enough for now. I’ll conclude Full Moon Fever in my next post. You won’t want to miss it.

SEEYa