Saturday, 18 October 2008

US Trip - October - Commerce Cash

I have come over for a repeat of the stag weekend trip earlier in the year. Mr B is here and we will be looking for action.
First night (or should I say morning) I play about 90 minutes of $5/10 with a buy-in of $400 dollars.
Early on not much happens. There is a lot of limping and I get value on a couple of draws which don't hit.
I only get dealt three premium hands:
1 - TT on the button - I raise a couple of limpers and all fold.
2 - KK in the BB. I make a $60 raise after 4 limps. Only one caller - flop is 998 two clubs I bet all in for $140 and he reluctantly calls. Another club comes but his big ace is no good.
Before relating the final hand, to give you an idea of the weird play, this was one of the biggest pots. There is a cowboyish type who has a big rack of chips - clearly he has been hitting flops, because he is a bit clueless. This pot also influences my last hand. There is a raise from mid position by Mr Arabian to my right and it is called by cowboy on the button and tight local on the BB. Flop is AQ6 all spades. Pot is about $80 and tight local goes all-in for about $120, Mr A reraises all-in to about $300.
OK - you are Mr Cowboy - what hands can you call with? I would have thought you need to have a spade or a set. Oh no - he calls with A9 clubs! and surprise suprise the other guys have AQ. However they split since even when 4s comes on the river neither of them has a spade either.

Equally weird is when I called a min raise to $20 on the BB with J9d. A flop of TJQ all hearts looks nice at first so I lead out for $60 into an $80 pot expecting to get raised by someone with a heart and then I can fold. However only one caller - the button. Turn is Kh - oh dear - surely my straight is no good here. I check - so does he. Likewise on the river which is 4d. I show and he mucks. Eh? How could I win there? He must have had a pair without a heart I guess or may be KQ, but how you can call a flop bet without a heart I will never know.

Anyway - to my last hand.
I am looking to leave so I have found a rack for my chips - I am about $50 up so I have $450 in front of me and will play until I am about to post my blind. I get JJ in the cut off and after 2 limps (including Mr A) I raise to $40. The cowboy reraises to $100 from the SB and then Mr A raises it to $200.
Mr A has up until now played quite straightforward. I thought that if he had one of the 3 pairs that beat me, he probably would have raised the original limper. Also he has been involved in a few pots with Cowboy and I would think he figures cowboy could be raising with anything. 3 options:
1 - fold - against 2 tight players - may be - but not in this spot given the history
2 - call - possibly to try to see a flop, but I would rather be heads up. Cowboy could reraise and if Mr A calls perhaps I would have to fold.
3 raise - and it will have to be all in. I think I am likely against Ax big or may be TT/99.
I go for 3 and Cowboy folds. Unfortunately Mr A has the Aces and I don't get lucky.
So $400 down...time for bed

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