Why you should listen to that little voice in your head....

[Ghazban]

Party 1/2. I have ~$220 w/JJ on the button. BB has ~$180 and is in the BB.

2 limpers to me, I make it 10 to go, BB makes it 25 and its folded back to me. I decide I'm going to call and play for set value.

Flop (~55) K J 4 rainbow

BB checks ( /images/graemlins/blush.gif ), I bet 40, he calls. Gee, the voice in my head says, that check was pretty suspect. He must have flopped a set of kings.

NO! says my stupid rational side. You were playing for set value and got your set-- you must play a big pot here! Little voice, cowed, quiets down.

Turn (~135) K J 4 T (2 spades, I don't recall which two)

BB checks. Stupid rational side says... "hm, he might have AQ and just hit his gutshot". Oh well, I'm going to push and, if he does, I'll outdraw him on the river (you know, because I'm playing for SET VALUE and MUST NOT SLOW DOWN now that I hit my set and everything)

I push, he calls. The little voice is back saying "You'll be sorrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy......."

River is an eleventy-six of horseshoes, I get shown KK and lose most of my stack.

The lesson to be learned here is that you should never ever play like me.... oh wait, I mean the lesson is that everything the BB did made it very clear that I was behind. So what that I flopped the 2nd nuts? So what that I had this great "set value" plan? So what that there were very few hands that had me beat on the flop (6 ways to have KK, thousands of ways to have things I'm crushing)? I knew I was beat and yet I continued to bet my opponent's bigger set for him. Really a disappointing performance on my part-- I should be able to lose less on a hand like this.

</rant>

[Los Feliz Slim]

Sets are pretty.

We all make these mistakes.

Did we give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? No!

Hang in there.

[jkkkk]

ahh the little voice, we've had our moments

[sourbeaver]

I respect your little voice, but isn't this results-oriented thinking nonetheless ?

[Ghazban]

[ QUOTE ]
I respect your little voice, but isn't this results-oriented thinking nonetheless ?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not at all-- I've seen nothing but big pairs reraising out of the blinds in this game (blah blah small sample size 6K hands, etc.) and I've never seen anybody reraise and then check the flop without top set.

One thing I actually really like about the full ring 1/2 game on Party is that the vast majority of opponents are so ridiculously straightforward that I am rarely unsure of where I'm at. At the lower limits, people make such strange all-ins and calls that I have a hard time putting them on a hand. This isn't to say that my BB/100 is higher at the 1/2 (it isn't) but I am subjected to fewer guessing games and it keeps my variance down.

Poetic justice just came as I was posting this-- against the same person, I stacked off with 33 on a Ac3h5hAd4s board vs. his Ah6h (the money went in on the turn).

The little voice had no comment.

[sourbeaver]

Just checking, for your sake /images/graemlins/wink.gif
Listen to that little voice then, it will be good to you.

[Jazza]

[ QUOTE ]
I respect your little voice, but isn't this results-oriented thinking nonetheless ?

[/ QUOTE ]

this is a good point, it may not be the case for you Gazban, I too always seem to go against my voice in my head and loose, but I tend to forget the times I call *knowing* I'm behind, but get shown some piece of cheese and am too happy about winning the pot to care that my little voice almost made me fold a winner

[Jon34]

I've been there. I think when he check calls the flop, alarm bells do go off. He reraised, so he is either a complete moron, or has AA, KK, QQ or AK. AK and AA bet that flop for sure, if not they check raise (or are a moron). So its either a weakly played QQ, or a slowplaying KK in my book. Since I'm either way ahead or way behind, if I'm on my game, I'll slow down a lot, but still pay him off. Of course thats assuming normal stacks. If we both are deep and he wakes up on the turn or river, I'd like to think I can fold.