Weekend quick hit #2

Where we left off: I'd run up a good deal of chips in the baby game, and then proceeded to get hurt by 3 big pocket pairs in a row in the $400/$1000s game. Then the crazy monkey game (CMG) opened up...

The game went short handed, and like usual, they busted me for the last $400 I had. So, I did what any gambler does - I said screw this shorthanded stuff and moved up to the CMG, since the crazy monkeys weren't there, and the only LAG at the table wasn't that great of a player. He's a decent O8 player, and the seat open was next to him, so I sat down there and smiled my smile and worked my magic to get PLO lessons.

I managed to mostly hold my own in PLO (ie, I didn't lose much money and actually won two or three pots), but I really made most of my money in the NLHE portion, go figure. Of course, most of it was thanks to someone who shouldn't have been in that game, but who am I to say no to free money. I think I took $3000 off of the guy in these two hands:

I'm UTG+2, I limp for $25 (1BB) with A6spades, which I'm prepared to fold to a big raise (see above for my strategy on aces, suited connectors and pairs) but I get in for cheap with 4 other people.

Flop: Ad 6h 9s. I know my hand is vulnerable, and I bet out $75 into the pot, and everyone folds except the 1 seat. Everyone else has put me on a big ace, I'm sure and the 1 seat does too.

Turn: 3s - I now have 2 pair and the nut flush draw, yummy. I bet $200, and the one seat raises me the min raise to $400. I take a quick look at the board and figure him for AK or AQ - that 3 doesn't hurt me and if he had A9, he's popping me on the flop, not the turn - that's the kind of player he is. But, I want to find out where I am, so I raise $400 to $800 straight. The 1 seat just calls, so I know I'm ahead.

The river: Jh. I absolutely HATE this card, as one of the cards I can put him on is AJ, but I really think AJ folds to the pressure earlier, there's $1900 in the pot, and if the guy goes all-in on the river, I'm calling ANYWAY, so why not take the pressure off me, and put it on him? I lead out for $1000, and he calls. I say before flipping my hand over, "Two pair." He says, "Me too." I flip over my A6, and he flips over:

... A3o. WTF was he calling the flop bet with that for? He then proceeds to moan, "Oh WHY did the 3 have to come on the turn???" Yes, these are the types of players we have at the $10/$25 NL limits.

Then, the VERY NEXT HAND, I get Th9h UTG, and yes, I'm limping in here for 1 BB, and 4 other people come along, including the 1 seat.

The flop: T T 6. Normally I check this hand, but I want to play it a little differently, in case someone's sitting there with the 6. I lead out for $75 into the $125 pot. Everyone folds except the 1 seat, who calls.

The turn is a gin card, the 9 which fills me up. I check to the 1 seat, who bets $150. I decide to sweeten the pot a little, and raise the minimum to $300 total. Little did I know that the 9 was the gin card for the 1 seat, who then came over the top and said, "All in." I say, "Ok, I call, I have the nuts." As I rake in the pot, the 1 seat says, "Oh man, can you BELIEVE IT?? That's twice in a ROW! I'll be back." And he stood up to get more money.

Sam, sitting to my right, leans over and says, "Was that even suited? Holy crap, he deserved that for calling the flop bet." No kidding. I took my $2500 in green chips and went up to the cage to color them up to sexy purple chips, as I was now up $3500 (in PLAY MONEY if you're the IRS), and couldn't cash all that out at once, so some was going to come home with me, theoretically.

I had to give Sam the Slim memorial humor dollar when the 1 seat came back with $4000 in black, and sat down at the table. Sam leans over to me and says, "You know, your friend should have just bought in with purple chips, since you like purple so much." Heh. Too bad I didn't get any more of his money that he so happily wanted to give me. Too bad I didn't get up and leave then, as well...