Cash Game Theatrics after Donkley

Couple of interesting hands. Probably will do a post for both...

Sometimes playing poker is like running in the mud. It's an intractable slog that is a tension filled grapple with yourself and a table where you can't seem to get a break. Or it's 20 kids in front of you kicking mud into you face. People start keying on that and it just gets worse. That's when you should stand up. Some go play blackjack, but me no I stayed in the mud.

After getting run down with some premium hands, I get Aces (but thankfully the way my day is going) during Aces cracked. The board goes four to a flush and I've commited only $74 to the pot. On the river my opponent shoves for $164. Which is an odd place for me. On one hand, because you get $100 back if your aces are cracked I'm only risking $64 to win a pot that is over $300 before I call. Obviously, I don't have the flush. This would be me if I were to play online blackjack, sitting next to the dealer with a tough decision and the whole table stuck waiting for me to make up my mind. Course the only one i'd hurt here is me.

I flip the aces over to him, and this guy who I've got a long history with starts doing these theatrics, like he's beat, he's bitching and moaning and shaking his head. He's had a bit of a rough day, and I know him to be a solid winning player so this throws me off. Is this genuine or not?

Part of me thinks it was genuine because he's like oh no, he shoved to win the pot, and I have rockets during aces cracked so I have to call him and his ruse can't work. So, since I HAVE to and will call why not be genuine... however, I clearly was thinking about it, so unless he's been running bad all week (not just that day), you'd probably think he'd still contain his emotion. He was acting like he was the guy who sat down to play blackjack online without an opponent watching him.

The other part of me, seems like this is just a ploy to induce a call. It's just weird because I haven't seen him go into acting mode before. Which suggests call, but the only hand I beat is Ak, where the Ace is the non spade Ace. In one perspective I only need be right what 1 out of 5 times for the call to be worthwhile (?) but in the other perspective if I'm beat, I'm beat.

I ask this rhetorical question: what's the point of getting information if you don't know what to do with it?

Here's the action. I raise my standard (at the time $12 bet) from middle position. The people who are with me in every pot with meager holdings who I want action from fold. The two good players who only play against me in position, are in position and they go fold... reraise. Basically a Min-raise to 30.

Long time ago, I played this guy and laid down Kings to his Aces preflop. I haven't see him reraise all day preflop and that's the only other time (when he held the Aces) I've seen him repop preflop any other time I've played with him. Aces or Kings for a threebet, though despite him being tight, I know he's good enough that I'm not 100% his range is that limited (though I've only seen it as thus).

Is the situation now reversed, me with the Aces him with the Kings? Am I now crushing him. I decide to flat call and hope for a no face flop. Board comes out K high, three spades... ugh. I don't glance back at my cards as I'm fairly certain I don't have the Ace of spades and don't want to tip him that I'm spade hunting.

It goes check-check.

I don't like it when he checks. The King, could have given him a set. Which based on our history is what I'm putting him on. Though you'd think he'd protect there. I'm hoping for AK but with the spades, I'm hoping to keep the pot under a $100 and be on a freeroll.

The turn is a brick and I think about a blocking bet but I don't want him to shove over the top. So, I check. He bets $44. I call.

River is the fourth spade. I check, he shoves.

I won't tell you what I did, but I will tell you he racked up after the hand (obviously that means he had some chips). What do you do?

Sometimes I wish I just played from a math perspective, then I don't let these physical factors come into play. At the very least, when in a quandry I could just go to math as a default. Though, once it gets robotic why not just play blackjack for a living (another rhetorical question).

Oh yeah... it should be noted and this plays into the next hand I'll discuss, I put myself on a budget of rebuys and the call would basically forced me to play with a shortstack or pick up (yeah, a mistake I know).

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