This is a thread for talk about poker. It had been a relatively inactive topic on the old AO lately, so I’m combining everything into one thread.
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This hand happened to me last night.
$30 tournament. Top 4 pay. 5 players remain
Blinds: 400/800/100 ante
Action folds to villain. He raises to 1600.
SB folds. Hero has KQcc on the BB, effective stack 7000. Pot is 3300
Decision 1: Hero calls
Flop: 9c - 8c - 2x. Pot is 4100
Decision 2: Hero stacks for 6200
Result: Villain calls and flips over aces. Brick hits turn, King on river. GG bubble boy.
Would you play it differently at either of the decision points? Or is this pretty much a done deal from the go? If I C/R all in, same result. I could C/call, but villain tends to bet large, so I’m probably calling off half my stack. I guess I could fold the turn? I just have a hard time feeling like I can get away from this.
(EDITED after correction.)
I’m losing that as well.
You half-hope that the player folds, half-hope you make your flush (without villain somehow making a boat, 'cause rigged).
You had two choices from the beginning of this hand with <9 BBs: Push or fold pre-flop. You’re out of position, a player with a seemingly higher stack has seemingly min-raised at this point in the game, either to press you to push or fold regardless of his hand. If he had a shitty hand, he folds to your aggression, possibly not losing much (you do not note his stack size and the other stack sizes, which are also critical to your decision (and my analysis)). If he had a huge stack (60BBs) he might play ATC, because losing 8BBs doesn’t mean as much as possibly finally making actual money in the tournament.
I mean, you have only 20 hands left. You’re going to have to play one of them, and maybe another player gets knocked out before then. If you’re the ONLY short stack left, you’ll need cards. These are pretty good cards. First in, I’d push. Facing a min-raise, it’s a much tougher decision. I’d have to convince myself that he’s bullying with nothing, push, and hope he folds or hope the board favors me. This depends a lot on how this player has played, what he has min-raised with in the past.
Sorry for the delayed reply. I don’t normally go into the Games section. Need a poker subsection instead.
Good catch - blinds were 400/800/100. I updated the post.
Lol just had an amazing hand.
Deep in a big tourney.
Blinds 5k.
Guy goes all in for 25k with his 66.
I shove my 45k with KK.
Called by another guy with KK.
Yep - 6 on flop and I’m drawing dead.
Played in a random 5 card draw winner-take-all tournament the other day. Down to two players, I’m dealt ace high flush. The other guy had been spewing like crazy so I just min-raise. He shoves, I call instantly and stand pat. He draws one and picks up aces full. 
At an Injun Casino recently, playing 1/2, as the 2/3 list was interest-only from when I got there until I left, and a lot of them were playing at the 1/2 tables.
Have to get by security temperature scan to enter casino.
Seven max at the tables, with plexiglass everywhere. Nearly everyone wearing a mask. Only ones not were an old guy in a wheelchair and his caregiver, both playing, both eventually losing in sum.
One guy sits down and somehow runs $100 up to $500 in about 15-30 minutes. Then, starts getting aggressive.
I ended up breaking even after being down $160 or so. Tripled up on trip-three’s when my Jack kicker (I was SB) beat some other guy’s 8 kicker (he was BB), and a third guy just couldn’t believe that another player (out of two, still playing to the river) could have a three.
Saw two other player’s Aces get cracked. Loose table for the most part.
This first happened years ago on pokerstars. It happened again in a cash game the other week.
Dealt KK
Flop is Kxx
All chips go in
Villain has TT
Turn is T
River is T
I was 99.98% favored to win on the flop.
FML
I have questions about reporting gambling wins and losses.
If I play online, the company doesn’t report anything. How would Uncle Sam know what I made/lost?
On top of that, deposits and withdrawals are done with BTC. Again, how would Uncle Sam know what I made/lost?
I have a devil on one shoulder telling me I could get away with not reporting. The angel on the other shoulder says report and pay even if it hurts!
Unless they are willing to legalize and regulate it I’m fine with not reporting anything related to online poker.
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Hi! Hope all is well! A friend of mine who plays cash games recreationally at casinos doesn’t. I assume there’s no way a casino could track how much he wins/loses.
Bump, for an unbusy weekend.
So, in a couple of Saturdays (12/11), I have a no-wife weekend. She’s off to Palm Springs with some girlfriends from college, and I’m home alone.
After air-guitaring “Old Time Rock and Roll” in my underwear, I’ll put some clothes on and head to a casino.
The Bike is holding a WSOP Circuit event, but that day is the Main Event ($1000+), and I can’t afford the buy-in or the time. Probably just sit in for a cash game at Commerce or Hollywood Park or go Tribal.
Well, I played stupidly, got what I deserved: a quick bust out of a tournament at Hollywood Park Casino. Slow-played two pair on the flop and both my opponents had the same hand and then overbet the river while they made Broadway. That crippled me so I was stuck going all-in or folding the rest of the tournament.
So, I sat down at a $3-$5 cash table (which they and most LA County Poker Rooms) refer to as a “$100-$300” table noting the buy-in range, meanwhile there are also $1-$3 tables, so naturally there is confusion… anywho…), doubled-up my stack (also the buy-in of the tournament) on 77 with quads. I raised middle position, was reraised, so I called. Had a set on the flop of 7-9-10. So, I check. Player on my left goes all-in for another $25. Player on HIS left calls. I check-raise to $55. He calls. Turn hits quads. I check, he checks. River who cares, so I start to pull out another $50 and he says, don’t bet too much or else I’ll fold." So, I pause, then continue my bet. He calls. So, I’m even overall for the day. Ended up about $100 up after about three hours.
Might go back this week, as I’ll be in the area.
Thanks for the trip report DTNF. Nice spike on the quads 
TY
The rake is freaky high ($6 post-flop, plus $1 pre-flop), so either there is a lot of action, or they allow up to a three-way chop (one limper and blinds) pre-flop.
Went back today. Plus $500
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On my way to camping, stopped at the card room.
Ended up +$200
Way down from the start. Had JdTd, two diamonds on the flop, d on the turn so I turn it up. Then d on the river and the guy next to me goes all in. I fold, he shows me Ad7d. Had me beat the whole time, saved me 100 or so.
Later, I double up hitting an inside straight. Had implied odds, but also getting low and tired of losing.
Then I limp and call a raise with 55. 599 on the flop. I check. Same guy I beat with the straight bets 40. I raise to 80. He goes all in and I call. He’s pretty steamed after that. I leave about 20 minutes later.
So, on the way back home from RV Camping, I hit up the poker room again. This time started at a $1/$2 table, and as usual, can’t push anyone off a pot there. Turned trips, only to be rivered by a flush.
Moved to a $2/$3 table where I flopped two sets getting paid on both. Ended up another $200 up.
Went to a local tournament last night, it’s a several-day affair with the Main Event being a $400 buy-in. I played in a $100 satellite (top 20% get seats) because it’s been a while, I’m not willing to plunk down my whole poker bankroll on one shot, and, you know, reasons.
First, I had to wait in line about 15 minutes to register, as there were way more people there than they expected, or so the story goes. Then since you apparently need a Player’s Card, I had to skip out of line and go to the cage and get one of those, then back in line to register, so I don’t sit down until about 25 minutes have elapsed from the tournament. And since they’re trying to get this done quickly(ish), levels are 15 minutes, so all of us at this new table are behind everyone else by about an orbit. No biggie, blinds are still small.
Guy left of me says he got AK busted on the very first hand of his first table, when he flopped top 2 pair, and the other guy had 5-2, but the flop included a 3, and then a 4 came on the river for his wheel. Oof.
Several memorable hands:
Early on, small blinds like 100-200, I’ve got 97 in the BB, one limper, this isn’t anything to sneeze at but nothing to raise with, so I check my option. Flop is 779, so I’ve got a full **** house on like the 3rd hand! I bet small (400), hoping he’ll have an overpair and think I’m trying to steal from the blind, but he folds. Maybe could have slow played a little, but I don’t think he would have put it all in, he seemed pretty disciplined.
Blinds are something like 200-400. I have AcJc in late position, flop is Axx, and am planning to put in 1500, when the guy to my right (we’ve been laughing and joking for the whole hour so far) makes it 1500. So I go all in for something like 7500. He says, “You’re an asshole!” and I just say, “Yup!” He folds, shows an A, and I don’t show anything at all. He says, “You’re not gonna show even one?” “Nope, I’m an asshole, remember?!?!”
I’m in SB, about 8k stack, but now blinds are up to 600 or so, I get JJ. I complete, the BB makes it 1800, which is reasonable for me given that we’re in the blinds, so I complete. Flop comes out Qxx, all diamonds. The Q isn’t so bad, sure he could have a Q in the blind, but the diamonds are more frightening. Check, check, I’m putting him on a diamond flush or a Q, so I’m ready to lay it down if he bets. This is the same guy whose AK got busted earlier. In my head is the old wisdom, Don’t go broke with Jacks. Turn is J! I’ve got a set. Except… it’s the J of diamonds, so now he only needs one diamond for his flush. I check, he bets, and I fold. After I busted out I asked him, and he said he had it on the flop. We both played that right, I guess. If it’s the other J, I’m definitely going all-in. That diamond saved me a few more orbits.
Strangest (?) hand: I’m in early position, small stack (5k on 800 BB), and look down at AcAs. Sweet. Let’s get it in. Small raise, to maybe trap someone else, and a dude in late position (7.5k stack) who took a hand from me very early raises to about 4k. Alright, I’m all in! Got what I wanted, yes? He looks at me like I’m crazy, and I flip over my hand. And then it hits him, and then it hits me, because he flips over AdAh. No flush on the board, so we take back our stacks and split someone else’s blinds. What a sucky runout. I would rather the aces get cracked than split the pot, at least that way you’ve got a better story.
Busted out in a very low stack when I had Qs9s, and a big stack jumped in with 10-8 offsuit just to try and knock me out. Flop is Q-J-K, so my Q plays, but he needs a 9 or an A to get the straight. Turn is a blank, but the river is his A so he gets the straight and I’m out.
Felt like I played well, didn’t get stupid, made good folds when it was probably right to do so. The 15-minute levels, I understand because they need to get the tournament done quickly, but I just didn’t really like it, felt like I was always on a shorter stack than I could actually play with. So it goes in tournaments.
15-minute blinds suck. Especially if someone thinks it’s OK to think for two minutes on every decision.
That’s a quick satty, and it requires a ton of all-in pre-flops.
That first hand, you have to slow-play, hope he doesn’t hit his overpair hand to out-house you. Or, if you prefer, to “Jaws” you (he gotta bigger boat).
Yeah, I made those up. Yeah, I’m a Dad.
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