Ron's move reconsidered

I've sat over the weekend and had a think about my hand and what I should have done against Ron. I know I got unlucky in so much as I was favourite when the money went in and Ron didn't have the odds to call, but the problem started much sooner, when he raised me blind. With my hand, I was 55% to beat a random hand, so technically, calling $500 into a pot of $1,300 is perfectly sound.

In fact, lets look at the rest of the maths...

By the time the flop comes down, I'm now 81% against a random hand! That's great odds, but I know that I want to end this here and now, as I don't expect Ron to do anything else than call me to the river and then put me all in (his favourite play).

So I go all in. That's 3,700 more into 1,800. To call Ron needs 67% or better. With his 8 outs, he's actually only 33% to win the hand! He has no right to call, but Ron doesn't play the odds, I do. And that's why I lost.

The problem with the whole hand was that it got me to gamble, something I'd been deliberately trying not to do with Ron and exactly what he wanted me to start doing. Hell, he'd have put his hand down after I went all in if he didn't have a draw and I'd have risked everything to win $1,800, but you can be sure he'd have kept me gambling until I lost it all.

So every play I made was mathematically correct, but actually wrong. My biggest weakness right now is playing against players who are technically "weak", call a lot or are new to the game. That's why I keep playing in games against them, to try and sort this out. I have to learn to read the opponents games a lot more. (BTW, I'm not calling Ron "weak" I actually think he's very crafty, but he does call a lot!)

I obviously have a way to go yet as, on Thursday, I played the re-buy at Twickenham. My £5 got me 1,500 chips and by the break, with no re-buys I was up to 12,500. I was sitting on about 14,000 when my table broke and I sat with a new bunch.

I was dealt TT straight off the bat (and UTG) and raised it to 4x the BB. I got one call from the blinds a player I'd never met before who looked a little uncertain about what was going on but had a large stack of chips in front of him. The flop was QXX and he checked to me. For some reason I felt the need to bet out for 4,000! He flat called and I was left in that horrible limbo of the undefined hand, especially when he checked the turn 7 to me. I bet out again, figuring a second bullet would let me know either way. Flat call (and now some giggles from the table). Nothing of any interest on the river and check, check and he shows me his Q2o. Wow, that's filthier than I play!

The problem though wasn't him, it was me. I made assumptions about how I would play this hand if I was him and projected them. Jim's told me many times about making sure I play the player as much as the man. So the practice goes on.

In that vein, if you want to make a bunch of cash, just come and see me down Twickenham and play loose. I'm likely to tilt like a tower in Italy!

Playing a "Blind" Player

I had an interesting hand last night in Twickenham against a blind player.

Ron, for those of you who don't know him, is a spritely bus pass holder who brings a level of fun to the table with him. He also brings at least a bottle of wine and an element of absolute unpredicatabilty.

I've had to sit to his immediate right twice before (from the off) in this game and on both occasions his insistence on calling with filth and position trumped my filth and no position every time. Even when I'd have a good hand, more than likely Ron,s going to have sucked out.

Last night was no exception. Ron came a bit late, with only two spare seats, he was either going to sit to the left of me again, or on Steve Claiden's table. So he was next ot me then.

I've learnt from experience though and played fully 3 hands in the first hour, winning 2 of them and making a nice profit from Ron by check-calling the best hand all the way (I know he's going to bet a river).

Others weren't so lucky though. Try to give Ron no odds to call his flush draw, and see if he folds. No, he'll just catch it on the river and put you all in instead. He also called with Ace high to a King high board when bet into on both flop and turn, only to catch a river ace and induce an all in call. The muckiest one was he played 94off, the board is 10 7 4, turn a J, river a 4 and he check-raised the river all in and got a call which we never did see on it's way to the muck.

So as we got to level 6, I was still playing dead tight (even anouncing "rock"). Ron was in the big blind for 400 and I the small.

It was folded around to me. I looked at my hand, Kc5d and I made up the 400.

Now Ron hasn't so much as touched his cards and announces he's going to raise me blind, 500 more.

I have 4,200 chips left after my previous bet out of a starting stack of 4,500. Ron has amassed a fortune of over 12,000.

Question 1. What would you do here?

I called the extra 500.

The flop comes down

Kh 10d 4c

Question 2. Assuming you're still in like me, what now?

I decided to push all in (Ron still hasn't looked at his cards) as I figure I'm either going to win the pot right there, or have a damn good chance if Ron calls me of a double through (Ron had previously called a raise pre flop, and an all in bet from a shortstack on an ace high flop that he'd missed by a country mile with his 93o, "Because I can").

So the bet was 3,700 to Ron, pot now 5,500 and Ron has stacks, remember?

Question 3. Now assume you're Ron. Do you call blind or look at your cards?

Ron didn't fancy calling blind (although I wouldn't have put it past him. He looked down at QcJs

Question4. If you're Ron, what do you do?

Ron called with his draw.

The turn was a 10 but the river was an Ace and he'd spiked his Broadway to put me out.

I'm moving

I've decided to keep the poker and the rest of my life seperate, so from now on, all poker related gubbins will appear here. Everything else I get up to will appear on the old chocolateTV site.

So if you're reading this, you're probably a poker play, or just that little bit nosey!