Poker Night

Played in my first real game since leaving school tonight...and I want to get my thoughts down before I forget. I went to a club called the Ace Point on the upper east side with a friend from my regular game at Yale. I bought in for $200 and ended the night up about $75...but at one point I was down more than $125, so (especially considering several months' rust) I'm pretty happy with my performance. (The game was $1/$2 no-limit hold'em.)

I could have won quite a bit more...but for a few interesting developments. First, there were the maniacs. Two of the original players at my table, and one more that joined a bit later, played virtually any two cards they were dealt, and played them extremely aggressively. During their stay at the table, it was practically impossible to see a flop for less than $20. The most obnoxious of the lot, on two separate occasions, raised more than $20 from under the gun preflop holding first a Q7s and then a K6. I tried to tangle with these guys, but after dropping around $30, I figured out what I was up against and decided to only play the nuts or close to it as long as they were around. One of the other players at my table, who seemed to be adopting the same strategy, did just that; he finally moved all in against one of the maniacs with top set, to be called by middle pair with A suited, that (of course!) hit a runner-runner flush. Why were they playing that way? Because they have inordinate amounts of money and zero respect for the game. People like them should be banned from card rooms. Fortunately, the manager of the club opened up a $2/$5 table nearby, and they left the rest of us to go play their craps-shoot masquerading as poker.

Second, there were the hands I misplayed. Not misplayed in the sense of lost a large pot by making ill-timed moves. Misplayed in the sense that I failed to sell my hands as well as I should have. For example, on one hand, after limping from the small blind with QTs, I flopped a flush draw and gut shot draw. I bet $10, got several calls, and then turned the nut straight. I then bet $40 into a pot around $50, scaring off mediocre hands that I probably could have won calls from had I sold my hand for a lower price. My error here reflected a larger mistake in my strategy; I knew from early on that I had higher starting and betting requirements than my opponents, yet I failed to press that advantage as well as I should have. And I failed to recognize that they were betting for value mediocre hands that I would likely never have played. To take another example, I was given a free roll from the big blind holding a T4. The flop came with a T as the top card, and I bet more than the pot in hopes of taking it down there, but instead was called by one player and raised by another. Not liking the strength of my kicker, I got out of the hand; much to my chagrin, the turn was a 4; even worse, both remaining players showed down with nothing but pairs lower than T.

Last, there was my sob story hand for the night. Not quite a bad beat, but an unfortunate situation for me. I was able to play a 78 cheaply from late position, and managed to flop the low straight, 9TJ. A very loose player to my left (who looked about 80 years old) bet $25, which I quickly raised to $75. However, the big blind, who had gotten a free roll, immediately went all in over the top. The original bettor, somewhat to my surprise, folded. However, the raise was just $9, which I obviously had to call, despite a suspicion that something was awry. There were only two possibilities. Either he had managed to squeeze out an awkward two pair, or else he was holding Q8. Given the nature of the game at that point, KQ, the nuts, would have been too strong a hand to check from the big blind. Thus, left with no possibility of folding, I put in the remaining chips and found the Q8.

On the other hand, as having a winning night would suggest, there were quite a few high points. I advertised myself as a tight player, and my opponents bought that advertisement to an extent that allowed me to take advantage of them. They knew that my requirements for making plays was generally high; thus, using positional edges to full advantage, I often had opponents checking to me on the flop after I had raised pre-flop, enabling me to steal the pot with reasonable (less than pot-sized) bets on the flop. The majority of my comeback was earned through the equity of these plays, as well as a couple of semi-steal plays and one rather bizarre hand towards the end of the night.

My favorite hand the entire night needs to be placed in some context. On one hand, about 4 players had limped in. I was in the small blind, holding J8s, and decided to limp as well. The big blind considered whether to check or raise, and finally raised to $10. He got several calls, a pretty clear indication that I had no further business in that hand. However, with a rainbow flop in which J8 were the top two cards, I was cursing (in my mind , of course) that bastard in the big blind who wrecked that pot for me. On the very next hand, I was dealt KJ on the button, and with no raises but a couple of weaker players limping in front of me, I raised to $12. The small blind, i.e. my former nemesis when he was the big blind, made a protracted call. Everyone else folded. On the flop a J was the high card, and the two cards below it were both suited. I bet $25, and the small blind eventually made a crying call. Then, when the turn paired the 9 that was the middle card on board, precluding the flush possibility, I immediately moved in for (I think) $101. My opponent once again pondered a call, but this time mucked his cards. I had put him on a flush draw, and felt confident that he didn't have a 9 (if he did, his preflop and flop calls were very loose indeed). He told me later that he had put me on a 9; I concluded that my play in this hand was pretty much optimal, and my best played hand of the night.

The oddest hand came near the end of the session, when I was dealt AA for the second time that night, in this instance, under the gun. I bet $10, before the flop, and to my shock, got 5 callers. The highest card on a flop with no straight or flush draws was a Q. First to act, I tried to figure out the right amount to bet. And in doing so, I began to have flashbacks of the large pots of lost while holding AA: more sets than I care to remember, a couple of long shot straights and flushes made (thanks R**erry, you cunt!). I decided, out of frustration with my past experiences with AA, to simply take a stand and move all in. The first player to act after me, holding a short stack of around $50, called the bet. Everyone else folded. He turned up a Q with a weak kicker, but as soon as the turn created an open-ended straight draw for him, I thought, "Goddamn it, here we go again with the aces." But my hand held up, the remainder of the table was thorougly puzzled as to why I would overbet the pot more than 3 times with a monster hand and no real draws to worry about.

Basta. Time to get some sleep.