Getting Greedy at Walker Hill

I made my way to the tables on Friday night around midnight.  The poker room at Walker Hill was full, but I got a seat at a make-shift table that was set up for overflow.  $5/10NL, $2/5NL and I think 3 $1/2NL games were running full.

I wasn't happy with the action at my table, so I asked for seat changes and table-hopped for a couple hours until I got into the "main" game, which was more deep stacked than the others.

I had originally bought in for $500 but was down to $300 after losing $200 in my first round of play at the overflow table.  I held 44 and the flop came 874 rainbow after I called a sizable under-the-gun raise in late position.  The original raiser led out for $40, and seeing that he only had a little over $100 left I raised him all in.  He gave a lengthy speech, bemoaning that he new I'd flopped the straight.  After a couple of minutes he finally called, showing 88 for top set.  Shocked that he hadn't insta-called, I doubled him up with no 4 on the turn or river.

But now, finally getting to the main game I played pretty tight.  I grinded my stack back up to a little over $500 with basic no-frills play.  My first major boost came when I was dealt KK in early position...

I raised to $22, and got 4 callers behind me.  The flop came QJ2 with 2 clubs.  The pot was over $100 at this point so I led out for $60 on the flop since I was looking at a somewhat-coordinated board.  I got an immediate min-raise to $120, the other two players folded and action came back to me.  I couldn't put this guy on AA QQ or JJ because I would've expected a re-raise preflop, and QJ didn't seem a likely calling hand to my sizable preflop raise.  Figuring I was ahead to AQ most likely, I reraised all-in and got called, putting the other guy all-in.  I flipped over my KK and he grinned, flipping over A5 of clubs - nut flush draw and 3 ace-outs.  Blanks came on the turn and river and I scopped a pot of over $1000.

My only other big score after that was when I was dealt 44 again.  UTG raised $20 preflop, middle-position player called, and I called on the button.  Flop came AK3 rainbow, a horrible flop for me.  To my surprise UTG led out for only $15, less than the original preflop raise.  Middle-position called, giving me about 6-to-1 pot odds and even better implied odds if I could spike a 4 on the turn.  I called, knowing I was beat, and miraculously a 4 comes on the turn.  UTG checks, middle-position checks, and I fire $50 - about half the pot.  UTG insta-raises all in for about $100 more and middle-position folds.  The thought of AA  or KK slowplaying the turn crossed my mind, but I had gotten what I wanted on the turn and felt comfortable it was the best hand, so I called.  UTG showed AK, top two pair.  He shook his head when he saw my turned set, but showed class in confirming my thought that he should've bet more on the flop.  I nodded, and took the pot when no A or K came on the river.

This definitely would have been the time for me to leave.  I was at about $1500, it was 4am, and I was starting to feel tired.

Greed took over and I stayed.  I ended up staying until 7am and didn't go home with ANY of my $1500 in chips.  Three main hands did it to me.

Hand one. ($1500 in chips)
New player at the table immediately to my left sits down with $500.  50-something Asian guy with round purplish sunglasses.  A few hands in I'm on the button and limp into a near-family pot with Q7 spades.

Flop comes 762 rainbow.  Everyone checks around to me, I bet $15, slightly over pot.  New player raises from the SB to $45 and everyone folds around to me.  I don't know this guy, have no idea how he plays, but it seems a weird check-raise and his purple sunglasses have me thinking "bluffer."  So I call.  Turn pairs the board with a deuce.  New guy fires $75, I call.  River brings a 10, no flush out there but now a possible straight.  New guy again fires, this time for $200.  I take my time to think now.

My guess was this guy thought I'd been position betting the flop on the button when it checked around to me, so he trusted his gut and put in the flop-raise to get me to muck my bluff.  If he had flopped a monster, I'm pretty sure he would've fired out from the SB on the flop with so many limpers that could peel a turn for free.  After I call the flop, why fire on the turn if he's bluffing?  If he's putting my on the straight draw (really the only draw out there), he's figuring I'm not getting the right price with a $75 bet on the turn.  Plus, with the board pair, if I am drawing to the straight, I might fold, figuring I could be drawing dead if he filled up.  The river $200 bet doesn't feel like a full-house value bet, it's too big.  And the way the hand played, I can't put him on the 98 straight.  If he put me on the straight draw, why is he betting when one of the straight draws just got there?

I thought for awhile and decided the most likely scenario was that this was a river bluff he had to make knowing he couldn't win a show-down.  So I called.  He flips over 10-7, two pair.  My Q7 got rivered.  We both had the 7 the whole way, my Q being the superior kicker.  10 on the river.  New guy looked sheepish, but took down the pot of $650.

Hand two.  ($1100-ish in chips)
Super-drunk guy sits down two to my right at about 5:30am.  He's only got about $300 in chips, but goes on a belligerent heater and gets up to about $600.  I love the fact that this drunk has the chips, as he's likely to make mistakes and spread them around the table.

He raises to $15 in early position and I decide to call with J10 off, hoping to get lucky and extract a lot of chips.  2 callers behind me and we see a flop of J-10-5 with two hearts.  Drunky bets $25.  I raise to $75, the 2 callers fold, and Drunky min-raises to $150.  I don't want him to fold if he's bluffing, so I just call.

The turn is a deuce of hearts, completing a possible flush.  Drunky checks and I fire $200 into the $350+ pot.  Drunky looks at his cards, groans, looks at his cards, and groans some more.  "I now you flopped a set," he says.  "I hate this hand I always get it cracked."  With those two comments he has just announced that he definitely has an overpair, either AA or KK.  He looks at his card again, perks up and calls.  At this point, I know I'm winning, and am 99% sure he's got AA with the ace of hearts for the nut flush draw.

I don't recall the river card, except that it was a blank heart.  The worst card possible for me.  I have top two with no heart.  Drunky insta-all-ins and looks right at me.  I ask him if he has AA with the ace of hearts.  He makes the "who knows" shrug and looks at his cards.  "Nope," he says.  "They're both black."  I tell him he can't possibly be bluffing here and I know I'm beat.  "You never know," he says.  "I'm pretty drunk.  You better call."  I told him now I was certain I was beat and mucked my J10.

He proudly showed his AA (with the heart) to the table and scooped the pot of $750, with me down to $700-ish in chips.

Hand 3 ($600-ish in chips)
About 7am, the $2/5 game breaks and a few of the players move to our $1/2 table to fill our empty seats.  I'm very tired at this point and am not pleased with the results of my last 2 hours of play.  I've given more than half my chips back to the table, though I am still up about $100.

The first deal comes out with the new players still getting settled.  New guy from $2/5 to my right raises to $25 in middle position.  I wake up to QQ, thrilled knowing how loose-aggressive many $2/5 players play, and re-raise to $75.  The action folds around the table back to New Guy, who re-raises to $200.  I pause to think.

It's 7am.  Most players are tired, drunk, and very mentally fuzzy right now.  This guy has over $2500 in front of him that he's brought from the $2/5 game.  $2/5 is a notoriously crazy game where many players love to gamble and are capable of making reckless moves.  It's his first hand at our table, so there's a chance he trying to make a statement to us lowly $1/2 players.

I decide there's a very high likely-hood I have the best hand.  If he's got any smaller than my queens, I've got him dominated.  I don't take long to say "all in."  He insta-calls and I know I'm crushed before he even flips over his AA.

 Nice hand, I say and flip over my QQ.  The flop brings hope with J-10-9.  I've just quintupled my outs.  But blank, blank on the turn and river send me home.