My return to the home game

After a month of recovery from surgery (and then a week of work) I finally got to play some poker with the guys as Scott's home game resumed, and it was great to be back.

I lost almost half my buy-in after about 30 minutes (missed draws, TPTK vs. overpair). I stopped the bleeding for a while but then I kept making the second-best hand and was growing very frustrated. I had the guys laughing pretty hard when I dropped a few "Unbelievables!" and the occasional "Unreal!" But my ensuing expletives really got them rolling on the floor, and that's when I realized I was minus-$63, down from $100 at noon to $37 by 2:30 p.m. That's also when I knew they'd think I was on tilt, which I wasn't. I like to vent my frustration when I play, but it doesn't always make me play less than optimally. At this point I remember thinking that I was just glad to be there after what I went through and that I was determined to have a winning session. So I bought another $60 in chips and buckled down.

I went on a rush that got me almost back to even when the following hands came up, and they're partly the reason I'm posting. The game was Juarez (pronounced War-ehz). Not familiar with it? It's a hybrid of Omaha/8 and Double Flop Hold 'Em. We were taught this game by a dealer at Binions during our Ante Up! Meetup in Vegas last summer.

Everyone gets five cards and, like Omaha, you MUST play two from your hand. But here's the twist: There are two boards, four cards on top, four on the bottom, and then only one river card is dealt and it's used with both boards. There's just one high hand and one low hand overall, and you must play each board individually without combining cards. So here's an example and I won't use suits to keep it simpler:

Your hand: A-3-Q-Q-J
Top Board: 2-4-7-9
Bottom Board: Q-5-9-4
Community River: 4

You've made the nut low (A3 makes a wheel on the top board and there's no low on the bottom board to compete with it) and you've made the nut high, your queens full on the bottom can't be beat on either board. Now, there's just one overall high and one overall low, so you would scoop. If someone had the case nines in their hand they'd have a boat on both boards but neither is strong enough to beat your boat, so you win the lone high. Still confused? Sorry. Maybe we'll do a show on it someday.

So here's the first hand:

I have K♣ K♥ J♥ 10♠ 9♦. It's not a fantastic hand in that I can't scoop if there's a low, and in Juarez there's almost always a low because there are two boards. But I was in a blind and got to see the flops for free. The bottom board was inconsequential but did make a low. The top board came K-4-8 rainbow (or something similar). I flopped top set, and like I said the other board didn't have a pair or an ace so I had the nut high at the moment. I bet and I got a few callers. The turn was another 8 on my board so now I have the nut boat. I bet and again got like two callers. The community river card was an 8 as well. I made a mistake here and bet out. I got raised and then there was a call. So I knew someone had the nut low, but I was hoping the raiser had the low as he's apt to bet out when he has the nut low in split games. So I just called and said: "You have the 8?" And of course he did. One-outer. Cost me a bundle. I didn't know his other cards, so it's hard for me to criticize, but I hope he had something like a wrap or a low draw on the other board to stick around to catch the 700-1 shot to beat my high. I think I said "Sick!" at that point, which made everyone chuckle again. But I was cool because I was about even at that point and knew if I continued playing my game I'd be a winner by the end of the session.

One rotation later this hand came up, and again it's still Juarez:

I'm dealt A♣ 2♣ A♦ K♦ 3♥ on the button. This is a MONSTER hand in Juarez. I have two nut-flushes covered plus the nut low and a backup in case I'm counterfeited. So a few players limped and I raised. Why did I raise? Well, Scott mentioned it on Friday's show: You raise to thin the field or to build a pot. I did it to accomplish both of these tasks, and it worked. I got the blinds to fold and the limpers called. Then I got dream flops, and I may not have the exact cards right but it won't matter: 4♣ 7♣ 10♥ came on one board and I flopped a set of aces on the other board. That board never paired, however. Anyway, it got checked to me so I bet and got called in a couple of spots. The turn was the 5♣ giving me the nut low-flush-high hand on both boards and a chance at a steel wheel (A-5 straight flush). I can't remember if someone bet out or if it got checked to me again but the betting was heavy. The river was a blank so I had both nuts, or so it seemed. I said "I got the nut low and the nut high flush, both on this board." I thought I was scooping a huge pot and that's when Steve said "You have the nut flush? I have the nut flush." And he turned over the 6♣ 8♣. It could've been some other combination but he made a straight flush to beat my ace-high flush. I took the low and split it. Another one-outer cost me again essentially because if any other club comes I have the nuts, but that one club cost me half the pot. My set of aces on the other board likely would've been good for high even if no club came.

This beat was easier to take because (1) I still won half the pot, unlike the other hand and (2) I was just grateful it wasn't NLHE. But these two hands were brutal and could've set me off completely. Instead I just stayed the course and continued to play good poker. Ultimately I won $60 on the session, which isn't too bad considering my start and those brutal beats. There were some other beats and second-best hands that cost me pots as well (plus I had AA in the BB once when it got folded around to the SB and we were on automatic-chop mode all day) so it could've been an incredible session, but I'll take it regardless.

This is the type of session I'm most proud of because of a few reasons: In the old days I would've just donked off my whole stack and left. Or, I might've re-bought and continued to spiral down to an inevitable losing session. But I was able to vent, make the guys laugh, have fun and still turn a negative start into a positive session, and all of this while suffering some pretty horrendous beats.

I may not be a pro, but at least I'm still getting better.

Are there any sessions you're proud of? How did you do over the weekend?

-- Chris

Comments

[Snuffy]

I love it when I have the near lock on high in Juarez and 3 others are battling for low. That was a monster pot.

[Erwin Blonk]

Trivia: I know 5 card Omaha as Courchevel under which name it is played at the Aviation Club in Paris.

This weekend I moved my bankroll to Full Tilt. Bad idea. Micro-limit PLO is played very loose but the looseness on FT compared to PS makes it a bingo game. Probably I can turn a profit like I do on PS but due to the looseness the swings are insane. Needless to say I blew halfy bankroll in a few sesions which in effect was the money I made in the weeks before on PS (to put it in perspective, we're talking $20 - but it's the principle that counts, innit? :D ).
I was able to play a PLO SnG succesfully on FT, so I might SnG on FT and cash game on PS.

Interestingly PokerTracker told me 2 things: FT tables are 50% looser (especially in pre-flop raises) and there are no long term winners, so everyone is shoving piles of quarters to each other, minus the rake.

[Erik]

I think I played ok at the game Saturday. I played pretty straight forward. I never really had a situation that caused me to have a tough decision, etc. During the last 2 hours or so I couldn't get much of a hand, and every time I did have a good hand I'd either have to chop or everyone would fold.

I enjoyed it though, thanks for the invite.

[aces88ss]

Are there sessions I am particularly proud of???

How did I do over the weekend you ask?

Now Chris, you know that you can not measure your value as a poker player with just one session. But, if you could...Well, I am still giggling over my Friday night session. and it's about 60/40 as to which is more important, the money or the accomplishment.

So, only because you asked, I will brag to the nation...I won Full Tilt's Friday night HORSE tournament. $1100 plus in one game. By far, my best showing ever in HORSE

[Croker]

We're getting a new Sunday afternoon game started and yesterday was our first session. We played only NLHE with $0.25/0.50 blinds. I ended the session up about $80.

What do you think of this hand?

We were playing four-handed and I was in the big blind with J9o. I had $70.50 in front of me and all three of the other players had me covered.

UTG raised to $2 and both the button and small blind called, as did I.

The flop came QJT with two diamonds. The small blind checked. With middle pair and an open-ended straight draw I had to decide how to play the hand. UTG is a good player with a strong post-flop game. I felt I needed to force him to define the strength of his hand so I decided to lead into him with a $5 bet. He immediately raised to $15 and the button and small blind folded.

With the action so far I put my opponent on AA-99, AK-AT, KQ-K9, and Ace-rag in diamonds. I discounted AK because I thought this particular player wouldn't play the flopped nuts quite so fast but instead would give me rope to hand myself with. This guy also doesn't tend to play his draws very fast unless he 14+ outs, so I narrowed his range even further to the likely holdings of AA, KK, QQ, TT, 99, AQ, and KQ but kept the original range in mind as less likely but still possible.

Against the narrowed range I was behind to most of the hands but this guy is capable of laying down top pair hands so I felt I only needed to worry about QQ and TT.

Calling wasn't much of an option as it would put $38 in the pot and leave me with only $53 behind. If I hit my straight card and all he had was a pair he didn't think he would pay me off. If I missed the turn he was going to bet enough to push me out of the pot.

Folding was certainly a valid option. I had a decently strong hand that was likely behind and would need to improve to win a showdown. Besides, I only had $7 invested in the pot and would need to commit the rest of my stack if I was going to continue.

Given the player and his ability to lay down a hand like top pair or even a pair and a draw when faced with significant pressure, I decided to push back and re-raised all-in.

He thought things over for a couple of minutes before declaring that he didn't think I had the made hand yet and called. He turned over QJ for top two, an 8 fell on the turn and a deuce on the river made sure the straight stood up.

I was very surprised that he had a hand like QJ. I never even considered that he might have two pair. QJ and JT were as good as a flopped set considering the hand I actually held.

I made the wrong move at the right time. It's easy to see the donkishness in other's play, but the picture is never as clear when I look inward. Did I play the hand like a donkey?

[Chris Cosenza]

I have to admit I thought he had QJ. It just seemed like the reraise HAD to be something better than just an overpair on a VERY coordinated board. I think I would have called because a shove tells me you don't have the straight either. If you had the straight why would you want to scare him away? A smooth call works two-fold: It makes him think you might have a monster by just calling and it gets you a card for much cheaper and allows you to get away from hit with your roll intact.

[Rant2112]

Well, since you asked...

I had a terrible poker weekend.

Friday was our company birthday party at work. We got a poker game going in the afternoon.

The game was soft with some players that just barely knew how to play and others that were quite drunk.

It was a $0.10/0.25 NL $20 buy-in and I managed to drop $60. Nice. This was frustrating considering it was a very soft game.

I got no cards, my draws never came in, I got sucked out on. A representative hand - I got someone to put in their whole stack with a gutshot against my TPTK and lost when the river made their straight.

It was a long ride home.

And then...
Saturday night my wife and I went to a wedding shower. I was stoked because instead of a standard gifts and stupid games thing they had a poker tournament. Sweet.

I taught my wife how to play in the car on the way there. We started the tourney at the same table and she took all my chips.

The first hand she had a set over my two pair. I knew she thought she had a good hand but I didn't know if it was top pair or something like a set. At least I managed not to lose too much.

The second hand I got all in on the turn with TPTK against her 2nd pair. She sucked out by hitting her other card on the river.

This was another frustrating night where I got no cards or got sucked out on in a very, very soft game. There were tons of drunk people and tons of people that had never played before. To give you an idea - it took me quite a while to convince two people at the final table that a K high flush beat a 7 high flush. They weren't sure if it should be chopped because both people had flushes. Ha.

My wife ended up finishing 4th out of about 25. By that point it was late and every had pretty much given up.

... cursing the poker gods.

[Croker]

Really? I don't think his raise really indicates strength as often as it is protecting a hand like AQ. The raise was only 3x my bet amount, so I don't think it necessarily represents strength.

And I would definately shove there with the made hand. Calling his raise and then leading the turn indicates a lot of strength. Calling and then checking the turn will likely just get him to check behind. I think the only chance to make money with the made hand is to shove against his flop re-raise.

Then again, I'm no pro...

[Chris Cosenza]

You say "only" 3X your bet. What amount would you expect a raise to be? Does he HAVE to shove like a WPT final table to make you think he has a hand? I think 3x your initial bet is perfectly exceptable there. He read you perfectly and got his money in good, getting you to commit your whole stack on an iffy draw. He had top two, how much more does he need?

[Berliner77]

Croker, when you raise all-in, the only hand that your opponenet ISN'T calling you with might be an AQ, AJ or A10, and there still is a chance he will call you with those hands.

His raise told you that you were behind. Given the flop, he most likely either had you dominated, or had a pair and straight draw similar to you. I don't agree with pushing your stack in here, you knew you were behind.

But there are a growing breed of poker players who simply can not lay down any "two way draw" (i.e. pair and flush draw, pair and straight draw, straight and flush draw). It's like, if they hit one of those flops, they are going the route no matter what. Well, oftentimes they end up going on Route 95 back home after they ran into a set or two pair, killing half of their outs.

[Croker]

Thanks for the input Chris and Berliner77. I played the hand poorly but still won. I knew right away that I had played it poorly and that this hand would get lots of thought and analysis.

I'm not trying to defend my play, just trying to explain it. If I defend it, I can't learn from it. But if I explain it I have a basis from which I can begin to analyze it.

I royally screwed the pooch on this hand. I got everything wrong from narrowing his range too much and too quickly to over-estimating his folding range to mis-interpreting his raise to over-estimating the immediate and potential value of my hand.

In the couple of conversations I've had with folks about this hand that nobody has commented on the bluff aspect of the play. Is there no legitimacy to a bluff in this situation? Does the situation gain bluffing legitimacy if I don't have a redraw?

[Berliner77]

That's a tough board to bluff on considering the way the action went. By bluffing, you can represent a variety of hands:

If you had AA, KK, QQ, JJ, or TT, you most likely would have re-raised pre flop. Even if you did have AA or KK, you're behind. And like I said, the chances of you having QQ, JJ or TT are small because you didn't re-raise, and the fact that your opponenet had QJ makes it even more unlikely that you have QQ or JJ.

If you are bluffing representing KQ, JQ, or J-10 and your opponent puts you on one of those hands, which given the action is feasible, then your opponent knows that he is ahead.

The only hand you could really represent here where your opponent may think he's beat is 8-9.

[Rant2112]

Croker - this is a terrible board for bluffing at. There are WAY too many two pair and combo hands he can have. I don't think he is going to lay it down to a bluff often enough.

[Chi-Guy]

With four 12 hour sessions in Vegas over the last two weekends, I have lots to talk about. I had good times and bad but overall, I ended up a huge winner playing $3-$6 hold 'em. I am most proud of a similar thing that I did to what Chris was talking about.

I was having an average session, winning a little and not getting killed. Then, the table lost o few fish and the remaining players were good so I moved tables and they were also good. I have read Ace on The River and Barry says, there is very little reason to play in a game with good players, where there are bad players to be found. Not an option in a home game, or even in most local casinos. However, in Vegas, you always have the option of hopping into a cab and moving.

It isn't something easy to do, since the casinos are much farther than they appear but I knew I couldn't kill the game, so I had the discipline to get up and move. It worked out nicely both times I moved winning over $450 combined in my 4 sessions. The last session was a $2-$4 game. The only reason I left the table was that I was falling asleep from the 12 hours of free beer.

Brian

[Chi-Guy]

OH,

And, here is a hand I am not proud of but it worked out nicely for me. I am on the button, first to act raises, with one caller. I almost never enter a pot without raising, especially on the button so I look down at 2 red nines and re-raise, hopefully, to isolate or see a flop with a bunch of low cards. The first to act raises again and the other player calls. Now I am thinking he's got a higher pocket pair but I have to call, hoping to get a 9. If I do hit a 9, the higher pocket pair will have to call me all the way down to the end.

The flop comes down 2,5,5, two hearts. Not a bad flop for pocket 9's. The initial player bets, the next player raises. Could she have a 5? Flush draw? Either way, it looks to be like I am crushed here but the pot is getting to where putting in $3 to hit a two outer is worth it. There is already alot in there and the expected return looks to be huge if I am against aces or kings and someone with a 5. The turn brings a 7. I still have my dead overpair and the first player bets out. Next player raises, like a donk, I call and the first player re-raises and she re-raises. I am dead. I know it. But, look at the size of the pot!!! Let's go for it. Call. My nines are dead.........Until the most beautiful 9 of spades I have ever seen hits the river. I just hit a two outer with a $200 pot sitting in front of me against KK and A-5.

I put both players on tilt, took down a monster and never looked back. Can't feel guilty though. The guy with KK hit a gutshot on me twice in the hour before that hand.

Brian

[Jan]

Something of which I'm quite proud was last night's H.O.R.S.E. tournament at my place. Not so much how well I did in that tourney, but the fact that there actually were contenders -- just two months ago, NLHE was all they (and I) knew :).

[One *monster* pot involved me betting and reraising with AK during the Hold'Em rotation, hitting nothing, only to get called all the way by a guy who, before making the river call said "you're bluffing"; he turned over AQ for a worse Ace-high. Yes, we both thought it was funny.]