Weekly Donkley Poker Tournament Up Again
So, I played the Donkley after some time away from Harrahs. I love to play online poker, and it has been going well fitting into the fatherhood lifestyle a little better but I'll never quit playing live poker. Such a fun environment to play poker.
Course there is a huge difference between hand ranges in the two. When I play poker online I give my opponents too much benefit of the doubt and have to widen my calling ranges. In live poker you have to severely limit those ranges unless you get strong tells or obvious opponents.
Couple of hands of note. I resolved recently to open any pot in late position if folded to me to just get some experience playing a wider range of cards post flop. I was tired that wednesday morning and when on the button with an ignominous K2 offsuit it dawned on me that action was on me and 7 folders were waiting expectantly.
Well, I guess that means I'll open with a bet.
I 2.5 it and the small blind folds. The big blind calls. Perhaps, to give myself an additional way to win the pot I should adjust my bet sizes but oh well... The flop comes Ace high with two middle cards. He checks and I suppose I should have just c-bet but as he was a youngish player and I had diddly, I decided to check behind and see what happened.
The turn was a deuce. He led out. This is a classic case of me playing poker backwards. I guess had I c-bet life would have been easier but here I felt I might be good. Perhaps, I should raise but I opt not to. I determine to pot control a weakish holding and just call the river too.
The river is is a Q which is a little offsettling. Hence the need to raise the turn. He puts in a bigger raise. Now, I'm a little scared. Preflop I put him on one big card one little. A and Q out there are the big cards. My gut told me he had nothing based on the way he bet. After some thought and studying him I feel I have to at least call.
He sheepishly turns over K2. I show the same hand.
Okay, felt like it was going to be a good day.
Funnily, I watched the kid play a pot a couple of hands later and the board is scary and he's leading into it. An older gentleman is just calling him on every street. On the river it's bet call. The kid turns over a boat, and I was reading him for big time strength, and the old guy turns over basically rags. I guess he thought because of my call the kid was wild.
Later I got into a little bit of trouble from the button. I had 910 of hearts and put in big raise on some limpers from late position. The sb sticks around and so does an older tight gentleman. Flop gives me a gut straight draw. It's checked to me and I put out a pot sized bet to represent protecting my hand from the flush draw. The sb stews forever. He's barely got enough in his stack to make the call and then does. Oh.
The other player folds.
The turn makes the flush draw, we have a weird meeting of the eyes. He checks and I look at his stack, he can't fold here if I bet so I check. The river pairs the board. He checks and here I guess I should put him in but just about everything I put him on has me beat and calls. No, he shows queen high for a gutterball straight draw and the table is stunned I can't beat it. Not sure why he thought he should chase in that spot but oh well.
Later on... Bad Beat alert, I get busted when I move tables. Guy raises from early position he looks tight and older. The dude on the other side of the dealer, a regular, calls. Okay. Then I look at AK in the Big Blind. I got 6 times the bet. I decide to ship it.
First guy folds but has his hand almost halfway out into the table when he does. To me, if were the other dude on the other side of the dealer I'd see what he folded. That guy stews a bit and I say "I'm going to get called with AJ here." I get that feeling in the pit of my stomach as I know the tournament is about to be over despite "wanting" the call.
Still my bet is for most of his chips and this gentleman is normally pretty solid. He amasses the will to call and throws his chips in. I turn over AK and he seems less than flustered to show AJ. What?
The other guy says, "That's what I folded..." yeah you know it's coming...
Jack ball on the flop and that was it for Wild Bill.
Course there is a huge difference between hand ranges in the two. When I play poker online I give my opponents too much benefit of the doubt and have to widen my calling ranges. In live poker you have to severely limit those ranges unless you get strong tells or obvious opponents.
Couple of hands of note. I resolved recently to open any pot in late position if folded to me to just get some experience playing a wider range of cards post flop. I was tired that wednesday morning and when on the button with an ignominous K2 offsuit it dawned on me that action was on me and 7 folders were waiting expectantly.
Well, I guess that means I'll open with a bet.
I 2.5 it and the small blind folds. The big blind calls. Perhaps, to give myself an additional way to win the pot I should adjust my bet sizes but oh well... The flop comes Ace high with two middle cards. He checks and I suppose I should have just c-bet but as he was a youngish player and I had diddly, I decided to check behind and see what happened.
The turn was a deuce. He led out. This is a classic case of me playing poker backwards. I guess had I c-bet life would have been easier but here I felt I might be good. Perhaps, I should raise but I opt not to. I determine to pot control a weakish holding and just call the river too.
The river is is a Q which is a little offsettling. Hence the need to raise the turn. He puts in a bigger raise. Now, I'm a little scared. Preflop I put him on one big card one little. A and Q out there are the big cards. My gut told me he had nothing based on the way he bet. After some thought and studying him I feel I have to at least call.
He sheepishly turns over K2. I show the same hand.
Okay, felt like it was going to be a good day.
Funnily, I watched the kid play a pot a couple of hands later and the board is scary and he's leading into it. An older gentleman is just calling him on every street. On the river it's bet call. The kid turns over a boat, and I was reading him for big time strength, and the old guy turns over basically rags. I guess he thought because of my call the kid was wild.
Later I got into a little bit of trouble from the button. I had 910 of hearts and put in big raise on some limpers from late position. The sb sticks around and so does an older tight gentleman. Flop gives me a gut straight draw. It's checked to me and I put out a pot sized bet to represent protecting my hand from the flush draw. The sb stews forever. He's barely got enough in his stack to make the call and then does. Oh.
The other player folds.
The turn makes the flush draw, we have a weird meeting of the eyes. He checks and I look at his stack, he can't fold here if I bet so I check. The river pairs the board. He checks and here I guess I should put him in but just about everything I put him on has me beat and calls. No, he shows queen high for a gutterball straight draw and the table is stunned I can't beat it. Not sure why he thought he should chase in that spot but oh well.
Later on... Bad Beat alert, I get busted when I move tables. Guy raises from early position he looks tight and older. The dude on the other side of the dealer, a regular, calls. Okay. Then I look at AK in the Big Blind. I got 6 times the bet. I decide to ship it.
First guy folds but has his hand almost halfway out into the table when he does. To me, if were the other dude on the other side of the dealer I'd see what he folded. That guy stews a bit and I say "I'm going to get called with AJ here." I get that feeling in the pit of my stomach as I know the tournament is about to be over despite "wanting" the call.
Still my bet is for most of his chips and this gentleman is normally pretty solid. He amasses the will to call and throws his chips in. I turn over AK and he seems less than flustered to show AJ. What?
The other guy says, "That's what I folded..." yeah you know it's coming...
Jack ball on the flop and that was it for Wild Bill.
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