6/2/2005 - Odds 'n' Ends

So apparently there's a poker boom going on.  I know, I know, I was shocked, as well. 

For as many poker TV shows and coverage and whatnot there is about poker, though, what really drove the point home was my recent visit to the dentist (no pun intended).

First was the awkward part--I had to tell them that I was moving and wouldn't actually be returning in six months.  Wow, I felt like I was breaking up with a girlfriend; the parallels were staggering. 

Dentist Appointment Person: "Great seeing you again!  When you come back we'll see how so-and-so trouble spot is progressing.  Want to go ahead and make an appointment now?"

(Girlfriend Equivalent: "Great seeing you again!  Next time we'll talk some more about that one issue.  Feel like hanging out this weekend?")

Me: "Er, well..."

(Me to Girlfriend: "Er, well...")

Me: "I actually won't be coming back.  I'm moving."

(Me to Girlfriend: "No.  See ya.")

Dentist Appointment Person, looking glum: "Aw, really?"

(Girlfriend: "Aw, really?")

About here is where it diverges, as the Dentist Appointment Person stayed calm and rational, and even said that if I ever returned to Austin, I should definitely swing in to have my teeth cleaned.  I think the equivalent girlfriend scenario is quite obvious, and I think we all know it doesn't usually work like that.

But anyways, I mentioned (to the dental people, not this fictional characterization of a girlfriend) that I was in fact moving to Las Vegas in an attempt to be a professional poker player.

Dental Woman #1: "Wow, really!  My cousin plays poker online all the time.  He keeps losing, and he won't stop.  He just keeps playing and playing and losing and losing."

Me, feeling like a complete ass: "Er, well..."

Dental Woman #2: "Really?  I just had a hold 'em weekend at my house.  Two straight days, and all I did was win!"

Me, thinking: "What is this world coming to when a random 50 year old woman is excited about holding two-day poker marathons?"

They then of course proceeded to ask if I would be playing in any tour events and I had to explain that no, I would be playing cash games, and they obviously had no clue what that even meant.  Jumpin' Jebus.

But, yeah, at that point I fully realized the complete poker saturation undergoing American society.

"Unrestrained Aggression"

So, when posting Tuesday's comment I glanced at the hands I posted and realized that I was either betting or raising at every opportunity.  I looked more closely at a few past hands I'd posted and, sure enough, I was betting and raising at every opportunity.  Thinking about that, I realized that people might be getting the idea that all I do is, well, bet and raise like a maniac.

Sure enough, Wednesday night I'm talking to a friend and he mentions exactly that.  I'm paraphrasing here, but he basically asked "Is there anything more to how you play than unrestrained aggression?"

Yes!  On the rare occasion when I'm not a maniac, I can actually finesse a pot a bit.  I'm sure there might be better examples out there, and perhaps how I played these hands some would call "standard," but here are two hands from the last time I played that I remembered well enough to go dig up from pokertracker.

Hand #1:

Party Poker 15/30 Hold'em (10 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ad, Ah.
7 folds, Hero raises, SB calls, BB calls.

Flop: (6 SB) 4d, 4h, 8s (3 players)
SB checks, BB bets, Hero calls, SB raises, BB 3-bets, Hero calls, SB calls.

Turn: (7.50 BB) 3s (3 players)
SB checks, BB bets, Hero calls, SB calls.

River: (10.50 BB) Js (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets, SB calls, BB folds.

Final Pot: 12.50 BB

Results:
SB has Td 8c (two pair, eights and fours).
Hero has Ad Ah (two pair, aces and fours).
Outcome: Hero wins 12.50 BB.

Very, very passive.  No, I wasn't worried that one of them had a four (too much so, at least) but rather I recognized both players as intelligent enough to know when I have a real hand.  I felt that raising at any point would probably do nothing but knock them out, and I really didn't want to knock them out--let them hit two pair, there's no real flush or straight draws out there.  I figured I'd let them keep betting their 8's and then raise the river.  I unfortunately didn't get a chance to actually raise the river, but looking back I think I got about as much as I could expect out of the hand.  Despite the T8o the SB showed down, he was in fact a pretty good postflop player, and I have little reason to believe he would have held on through a call-reraise on the flop, or a turn raise. 

But who knows.  The point is that I was able to do something besides sit there and click bet/raise the entire hand, as much as the restraint pained me.

Hand #2:

Party Poker 15/30 Hold'em (8 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Kh, Ad.
1 fold, UTG+1 raises, Hero 3-bets, 5 folds, UTG+1 calls.

Flop: (7.66 SB) Kd, 5h, 3h (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets, UTG+1 raises, Hero calls.

Turn: (5.83 BB) Tc (2 players)
UTG+1 bets, Hero calls.

River: (7.83 BB) 8d (2 players)
UTG+1 bets, Hero raises, UTG+1 calls.

Final Pot: 11.83 BB

Results:
UTG+1 has 9h Kc (one pair, kings).
Hero has Kh Ad (one pair, kings, ace kicker).
Outcome: Hero wins 11.83 BB.

Once again, quite passive until the river.  The thinking here is that the guy doesn't have two pair or a set or else he would have waited until the turn to pop it.  So either he has something like QQ or JJ or smaller and is trying to push me off the pot, or has a K, in which case I have him outkicked, and it's very unlikely we're splitting since he didn't cap it preflop.  So I figured I'd string him along, and if the board looked nice enough, I'd pop it on the river.  And sure enough, the board was nice.  I definitely did not expect him to show down K9o, but I figured KQ was the most likely hand, perhaps KJ.  Anything but a Q on the river and I was going to pop him.

Once again, I may have cost myself some bets because he may very well have been willing to cap the flop and keep going on the turn, but in my estimation the 15/30 players in general are not as aggressive with their TPGKs and so I figured stringing him along was best.  Especially if he had something like QQ or JJ or a flush draw but hit a pair, then by raising on the river the pot is big enough that he'll probably end up calling anyways, whereas if I three-bet the flop, QQ or JJ or below is going right into the muck. 

So anyways, for what it's worth, on occasion I can do something besides be a maniac.  I don't like to but, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. 

Comments

[April]

See, when I have moments like that (the losing people) I want to find out where they play. When my best friend told her husband and I about a friend's son who routinely lost hundreds online, her husband and I demanded she find out where he was playing and his screename. But I guess I'm evil that way. :)

As for the poker saturation...the other day there was a poker game (rigged, of course) featured on the soap opera Passions. That's when I knew it was all over.

[poker_wannabe]

Oh at the poker table I'm completely heartless. But away from it, I guess I like to feel that most of the people who are losing money are people who can afford to lose the money. It's entertainment expenses to them--they log onto Party Poker one night a week and sometimes win, more often lose, and overall average a typical night out's worth of expenses--maybe losing $50 or something.

When I hear about some guy blowing through tons and tons of money and going into debt, and continuing to play to try to get himself out of debt, I feel bad.

Until I sit back down at the tables, that is. ;)