(conversation continues)
OPN:
I’m recounting the No Limit Texas Hold’em hands that cost me the most money but also leaving out some 10/15/20 hands that I lost where I just made bad preflop calls or lacked the guts to continue or just spewed money. I definitely need to get back to my tighter style at that game, I’ve loosened up a bit too much lately. Plus, we’ve had a variety of players in and out of it, I’m hoping it gets back to more of the regulars.
I’ve had some unfortunate luck with big pairs lately, particularly kings. The hand I had them yesterday where the ace flopped, I was trying to trap one of the Friars, an older rich guy who would call me down if he hit anything. He open raised to $15, which is a huge raise in that game to open and I decided to trap from the SB and just call. Well, I trapped myself when the A flopped, I checked he bet and I folded. Very weak play of such a big hand, I know. You’re probably going to mention that an open raise to $15 smells like JJ or 1010 more than Ax, but I don’t think so with that guy. I think he had AK or AQ.
-Brownstoner
Brownstoner:
Depends on the player of course. Generally, a big raise means it’s a weaker hand JJ1010orAJ sometimes AQ–of course there are no hard and fast rules. I find it’s people that have trouble with a hand tend to play it worse by trying to win it preflop. Of course there are some people who bet bigger with big hands and you have to learn quickly who they are. My friend PokerBat spends a lot of capital with crap hands setting up when he’s got a big hand so he can open for 20 and build a big pot and keep going. Not my style, but effective for building a HUGE stack if he runs good. If he doesn’t good bye buy-ins.
An older gentleman I play with, Gramps, and I disagree so extremely with how to play when a Ace hits. I think he’s incredibly wrong on this but he’s so results oriented whenever he tries my way he fails and gives up on it. He generally folds to any ace.
That mentality makes me want to tell Gramps, you might as well just load up the online casino and play roulette or blackjack on it. To me there is no difference between deciding to play casino online games than not being exploitable in poker. You have an edge in poker by playing real opponents who make mistakes. What you don’t want to do is play one way hard and fast. You should always vary your play. In fact, the only thing you should always do is raise the nuts on the river with no one to act after you. You play casino games online to get lucky and have fun-if you win money all the better. You play poker online to minimize the luck factor and win money–if you have fun all the better. Gramps doesn’t get the difference.
My thinking… What did the guy bet? Let’s say the pots 30, did he follow up with a pot sized bet? Did he repeat the 15? Those both can be weak bets depending on the player. 15 can be a probe bet (or a build the pot bet), 30 can be an ill-conceived get out of my pot, please don’t have an ace, maybe you’ll fold a bad ace or I have a hand I want to get paid on it. Gramps folds KK or QQ if an A or, an A or K, hits the board. He’s so exploitable. Any time I think he’s got a big hand, if I were to play against him, I’d know except when he has aces I can steal it if an A hits, sometimes when a K hits, and win it when my hands hits.
You probably made a good fold if your read is the guy has AK there. Trust your reads, whenever I respond it’s not to challenge them it’s just to give a different perspective.
Something to consider in the future against other opponents is to make the c-bet call, or raise, check-raise the bet. I’ve tried to tell Gramps that. It’s hard for them to keep betting if they don’t have the Ace. Also, your tight image might get you two checks on later streets and you can see his hand. If he checks twice and he’s good enough to fold sometimes you have to put in some bluff steals on the river. Not only that on the rare few times you hit your hand when another King peels off, you are in a good position because most of the time he’s going to have a big hand too and get married to it. In effect, when you add up the times he’s c-bet and the few times you hit and win big pots and the fact they see you aren’t afraid to call with second pair… there is a lot of value.
Again, sounds like this wasn’t that scenario. So don’t count it as playing bad. If the guy most likely had AK you lost the minimum.
When I’m running bad, it’s hard not to play bad either. You find yourself in uncomfortable spots and instead of dictating action you’re chasing it. Best to leave, don’t want to do that since you normally kill the game, so just tighten up and bitch about how bad you play and how bad you are running to give your opponents some hope in the future.
Hope it was helpful,
-OPN
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