Final tabling Poker Donkaments is fun part four
Where were we? Ah yes, Keith had just made his comment about me having a decent poker hand and that raised the ire a bit of the button.
Bad Hat admonished him suggesting he had a better one which is standard conversation in live casino poker. Which immediately closed his hand range to me. Aj, A10, maybe AQ at the best or some mid-level pair but I don't think those poker hands are as likely for him to make a comment and over-represent his holding. Hmmm. A monster hand certainly doesn’t suggest he has a big hand. So if I was pipped it was only slightly, and I’d have opportunity to steal from the guy too.
Flop came Ace high with two diamonds.
I bet, Bad Hat raised, okay he's got me beat right now, I call. Turn is a nine. I shove my stack in and he deliberates for a while and then calls me with AJ. I hit my flush but didn't need too. That was a big hand... again, a lucky one base on starting Texas Hold 'em hand strength.
Bad Hat talking about the strength of his hand made me think... it's no monster. I noticed he chatted a bit about his hands and it actually enabled me to accurately put him on what he held most times. He tried to run a bluff on somebody and said something during the action that made me think… he’s going to try and bluff this pot. Sure enough he did and lost all his chips. It’s kind of strange that the older poker players are more likely to have these live leaks in their games.
The new kids who learn poker online don’t participate in the verbal gamesmanship, probably because it’s too much a bother to type it in the chatbox they come up with, and are actually harder to get the money from because they keep their mouths shut. You’d think the older guys through talking would better disguise their hands but it’s just the opposite. So weird, that players that should be better at the nuances and opportunities of live poker are actually handicapped by them.
Overall it was a very weird tournament, I flopped some BIG hands in the first couple of levels and got nothing. I got AA and dragged the blinds. I flop a set and bet the turn and can't get a caller from three people. I flop a full house and got absolutely nothing checking it on the flop and turn and betting an uncalled bet on the river. That was frustrating.
Later after playing so tight during a dry spell I picked up a requsite number of pots with air to get me back to stable chips stack size and rode things out. All day I was trying to trade 10% with Reid G but he his backer wasn't down with it. As we got closer to the money and then to the final table, I'd ask again and always the reply was the same.
I got to see Monkey and Brandon Jarrett and at one time low on chips I was at their table when everybody was loaded on chips. The other players were nothing to sniff at either so when I got pulled it was a welcome reprieve. One positive for me throughout the recent tournaments was my blind play. I really owned the small blind as the big blind and took down some big blinds with nothing from the small.
I like to give a new big blind a walk, to show them I'm selective about my hand ranges but then that also allows me to with any two cards and garner a fold. Another thing I've done successfully recently is limp from any position when the blinds I think are weakish players. I love having position on them post-flop and I think they will identify the strength of their hand pretty easily. Plus, my limp allows me a bit of protection preflop as players are always wondering what I'm limping with from early position.
It's not quite stealing as the limping allows me to take cover if another player enters the fray and I am allowing them to see flops, but it's almost like a limp and run.
Bad Hat admonished him suggesting he had a better one which is standard conversation in live casino poker. Which immediately closed his hand range to me. Aj, A10, maybe AQ at the best or some mid-level pair but I don't think those poker hands are as likely for him to make a comment and over-represent his holding. Hmmm. A monster hand certainly doesn’t suggest he has a big hand. So if I was pipped it was only slightly, and I’d have opportunity to steal from the guy too.
Flop came Ace high with two diamonds.
I bet, Bad Hat raised, okay he's got me beat right now, I call. Turn is a nine. I shove my stack in and he deliberates for a while and then calls me with AJ. I hit my flush but didn't need too. That was a big hand... again, a lucky one base on starting Texas Hold 'em hand strength.
Bad Hat talking about the strength of his hand made me think... it's no monster. I noticed he chatted a bit about his hands and it actually enabled me to accurately put him on what he held most times. He tried to run a bluff on somebody and said something during the action that made me think… he’s going to try and bluff this pot. Sure enough he did and lost all his chips. It’s kind of strange that the older poker players are more likely to have these live leaks in their games.
The new kids who learn poker online don’t participate in the verbal gamesmanship, probably because it’s too much a bother to type it in the chatbox they come up with, and are actually harder to get the money from because they keep their mouths shut. You’d think the older guys through talking would better disguise their hands but it’s just the opposite. So weird, that players that should be better at the nuances and opportunities of live poker are actually handicapped by them.
Overall it was a very weird tournament, I flopped some BIG hands in the first couple of levels and got nothing. I got AA and dragged the blinds. I flop a set and bet the turn and can't get a caller from three people. I flop a full house and got absolutely nothing checking it on the flop and turn and betting an uncalled bet on the river. That was frustrating.
Later after playing so tight during a dry spell I picked up a requsite number of pots with air to get me back to stable chips stack size and rode things out. All day I was trying to trade 10% with Reid G but he his backer wasn't down with it. As we got closer to the money and then to the final table, I'd ask again and always the reply was the same.
I got to see Monkey and Brandon Jarrett and at one time low on chips I was at their table when everybody was loaded on chips. The other players were nothing to sniff at either so when I got pulled it was a welcome reprieve. One positive for me throughout the recent tournaments was my blind play. I really owned the small blind as the big blind and took down some big blinds with nothing from the small.
I like to give a new big blind a walk, to show them I'm selective about my hand ranges but then that also allows me to with any two cards and garner a fold. Another thing I've done successfully recently is limp from any position when the blinds I think are weakish players. I love having position on them post-flop and I think they will identify the strength of their hand pretty easily. Plus, my limp allows me a bit of protection preflop as players are always wondering what I'm limping with from early position.
It's not quite stealing as the limping allows me to take cover if another player enters the fray and I am allowing them to see flops, but it's almost like a limp and run.
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