weekend poker

Two Tourneys on Poker Academy last night - the first was a 6 man that was unremarkable – I lost a second best hand on a kicker that took a hunk out of my stack and got knocked out early (4^th).

Soon after, started a 10 man. Very first hand of the night, UTG+1, get dealt the 2 red Aces. Ok, this could be a short one. I hate getting dealt a premium hand first, everyone wants to play the hand and I’ll end up getting calls who have no business being in there.

I decide to raise a bit higher than normal for these reasons. I make it 70 with blinds at 10-15. One guy 2 to my left calls (I quickly look up his stats, he’s never played online before. Not good). Table folds around to the button, who reraises more than the size of the pot. Ok, then, do I want to call and try and drag along the bad player, or repop? I decide to shove all-in – pretty much advertising “I have aces”. I figure if I get them both to fold, fine, it’s the first hand of the tourney and the pot is nice already. Bad player folds, good players calls, with KK. Yes! I avoid the dreaded suck out and double up on the first hand, and I know KK guy is off kicking his dog or something, getting knocked out on the first hand, like I thought I was going to.

Tourney ends up being great – everyone is friendly, some good players (above me on the Poker Academy money board) and I’m getting cards. QQ in the big blind, 4 limpers. Healthy reraise, they all fold. I show to prove I’m not just the bully with the big stack. This helps me later with some rasies/reraise bluffs since everyone thinks I’m running hot. Then, AQo in early position, get a caller (same bad player who called the AA), flop top two pair AQx. Out of position, bet healthy for value, he calls me all the way down and auto-mucks at the end. I ask “A-T?”, he replies, “close, A-J”. Another AA vs KK, I’m not involved this time, AA holds up again.

I spend the whole tourney in first or second place. 3^rd place player is one of the good ones – he makes it tough, but finally bows out on a good second best hand. My heads up opponent is not experienced – checks when she doesn’t have a hand, bets when she has one, overbets/shoves when she has a good one. Final hand of the night – I have J4 of diamonds as the big blind, she completes I check, flop comes Qd 8d 5x. She bets pot (she’s got a Q, I figure), I decide to call and see if I can hit the flush. (I feel she’ll shove if I reraise to buy a free card). My draw comes in with the 3d, I decide to lead weak, she shoves, I call and get the win.

Friday night live game was profitable +19 in the cash game, took 2nd in the tourney for 20 more. Best hand of the night was a heads up opponent with AT with KKQ on the board. He leads, I
know him to be a decent player who will lead at flops he thinks I haven't hit, regardless of his cards, so I raise. He thinks for awhile and calls. Turn/River don't bring anything, we both show down, and my A kicker wins it. He had JT for a straight draw. Anyway, my raise bought my 2 free cards that won me the pot. Thinking back, he got himself 2 free cards to try and hit his draw as well, but I wasn't going to lead out with A high anyway.