Kind of Big Win

Went down to the Muck last night for my regular Tuesday night play. I got down there mid afternoon and they started a new $50/100 game short handed at 3:00pm. I have not seen this game go all year when I have been down there, so I was excited to see it go, and short handed to boot, my favorite. It was a good line up of about 5 people with two softer spots in it. Three of us were what I would consider good players. I got off to a horrible start, not many good starting cards and not much holding up when I did get them. I went straight down $3000 out of the gate. Ouch. I continued to play my game however and managed to get back to even and then up a little. Every time I did pick up a big hand it got cracked or outflopped. I had one hand with AQ hearts on the button and raised, both the blinds called me. The flop came 999. I thought that was a good flop for my hand. It was checked to me and I bet. I got called by the BB. Turn an 8, check to me, I bet and now I got raised. Crap I call. River an A, perfect. He bets I raise, he three bets I make the crying call. He shows me 6,9 clubs for quads. I am not going to put him on that 4 handed. You just loose that hand. I guess I could have saved $100 on the river or maybe even $200 by just calling but I am not going to put him on a 9 there so you just loose. I have to stay aggressive and if that means losing a few extra bets once in a while then so be it. Damn, back down I go. One bad player wins a few thousand and then quits. Crap that money was in play and gone if he stayed.

Then one of the good players went on a huge rush, the same guy that made quads with 6,9. He proceeds to tear up the game and me with it for about two hours. Finally, the luck box leaves at about 11:00pm, and now we are down to 4 handed, with two bad players. One Russian who was really passive. He just kept calling with second pair, bluffing at pots with Q high, and playing downright horrible for this limit. I knew he would eventually go bust and I wanted to be the one to bust him. I just kept picking on him until he did, and low and behold he did about midnight and I put most of his $3,000 in my stack. We picked up one more player to take his spot, Sean a very solid tight player who finished about 350th in this years WSOP main event, and an overall good guy to boot. I just when on a roll from there. I never really had big hands. I just picked my spots well and timed well with bluffs. I did win one really big pot with 6,8 suited in the BB. It was raised in early position, and there was one caller before me to price me into the pot. Now you might say 6,8 priced into the pot, WHAT? This is a four handed game, the first guy could be bluffing with a garbage hand trying to steal the pot, and Sean did not three bet which means he has a hand that he could see a flop with but not a pair or big A. If you hit this hand short handed you can win a big pot, so your implied odds go up, and if you miss, it is an easy lay down as you only have another $50 invested into the pot. I saw a flop of 6,6,J. GIN. I check early raiser bets, Sean raises, I smooth call, first raiser three bets and Sean caps. I call, a 4 comes off on the turn, I check again. First guy bets, Sean now dumps as he now puts me on a 6, and I now raise. Get called, and the river comes a 9, I bet and get called. He shows me pocket AA, and I crack them with my 6,8. He goes on tilt for while and puts another $1,000 in my stack trying to beat me with stupid hands.

I end up winning $3,562 for 35 BB, not a 50 BB night but a decent win nonetheless. I won 3.5 BB an hour which I am happy with. I am happy with my play right now. I wish I could run a little better but I am not going to complain as long as I win. I only saw AA once in the ten hour session and never saw KK. I am going to play again tonight as I have some free evenings for the next few days. Hope to keep the run going. Talk to you soon....SJ