Posted on 12th June, 2008 by Poker Bob
I busted in the 3rd level of the 2nd day. I had a shot, but couldn’t fade the 15bb drop, which is a vital skill if one is going to win a limit tournament.
The day started rather stressfully, because we had a hard time getting a cab and then the traffic was awful. What should have been a 5 minute trip took 20. My buddy and I joked that even though it was only actually an 11% chance that I’d be in the BB, we both knew that it was more like 89% since it was me. Sure enough, I get there a minute too late and miss the chance to defend my big blind, and in the process concede 3% of my chips. Wonderful.
3 hands later I get A4o in the hijack and open. The button coldcalls, and the BB calls.
Flop comes AT3 with 2 spades.
I bet, button calls, blind folds.
Turn is a red ace.
I bet, button calls.
River is a red 8.
I check, button bets, I call.
My suspicions were immediately confirmed about what this guy had when he hesitated as I called. He tapped the table and said “King high.” I decided not to torture him and just opened up my hand. My guess is that he was shocked to see that I didn’t bet trip aces on the river. Whether or not he was on the level to understand that I knew he had nothing and knew he’d bet it, I’m not sure. This hand helped me forget about arriving late and helped me get focused.
The most interesting hand I played came a bit later when a new player was moved to my table. He was obviously an internet player, and had a cockiness about him. It wasn’t over-the-top obnoxiousness, but there was some smugness in there. He seemed to understand limit hold’em rather well from what I had seen of him up to this point, and was not afraid to play aggressively.
This guy opens in MP and I elect to just call in the BB with AQo. I toyed with 3betting, but decided I didn’t want to play a big pot out of position.
The flop came A84. I do not think there was a flush draw on the board, but I’m not 100% sure.
I check, and he checked behind.
Well, now I know that he doesn’t have an ace. The turn is a K. I am not thrilled with this card because (a) he could have kings I guess even though I suspect he’d bet the flop with that hand and (b) if he is indeed being stupid with an ace, now I chop if the board pairs the 8 or the 4. I want to get value from bluffs and pairs, both which should be betting the turn if I check again. So, I do and he bets. I call.
The river comes a 9 putting a flush draw on the board.
I check hoping he will bluff or value bet a pair, as I have shown no strength at all here. He does bet, I check/raise, he flies out of his chair with a “What the hell?” look on his face and after 2 seconds of studying the board says “3bets. I 3bet.” Then I know that I have been unlucky and fold. He is totally baffled and turns over two kings. I smile and say, “Nice hand.”
I’m not sure if betting the turn and calling down a raise is any better than what I did, and I surely didn’t want to bet/fold given that he may interpret a turn bet by me as a hopeless bluff at a pot that he seemed disinterested in. I could have just check/called the river after I check/called the turn, but I felt (and given his reaction on the river I think I was correct) that if I did check/raise the river I’d get a lot of “What the hell? Your line makes no sense” calls out of one pair hands. Plus, I like people being afraid to bet rivers against me. Whether any of this matters in a tournament setting, I’m not sure.