Does anyone lose less money than me on this hand?

[cferejohn]

This was at Party Poker last night (Sunday). Homer_Jay, who I think is our own Homer J. is at the table:

I just 'sat down' and I don't know any of the players in this hand.

I'm in the small blind with A/forums/images/icons/heart.gif A/forums/images/icons/spade.gif. UTG+2 raises. UTG+3 calls. I re-raise. BB calls 2 cold. UTG+2 caps. All call. 4 see the flop for 16 small bets.

Flop is 6/forums/images/icons/club.gif 7/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif 5/forums/images/icons/spade.gif. I bet, BB calls, UTG+2 raises. UTG+3 folds. UTG+2 and I cap it, with BB calling every bet. At this point, I think that I am either going to split w/AA or beat KK at the showdown.

Turn is 4/forums/images/icons/club.gif UTG+2 and cap it again, with BB calling every bet.

River is K/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif. Dammit, the hand I was hoping to be up against just beat me. I check, UTG+2 bets, I call, BB folds(!).

UTG+2 turns over 8/forums/images/icons/spade.gif 6/forums/images/icons/spade.gif for the turned 1 card straight. On the turn, I was worried that the BB might have had a pair of 8's and was letting us bet his hand for him (he claimed later to have 7/forums/images/icons/club.gif 2/forums/images/icons/club.gif; I don't necessarily believe him, but it seems pretty clear he had 2 clubs), so maybe I should have slowed down. After we capped the flop, I never even considered that UTG+2 might have anything but KK, QQ, or the other AA.

Clearly I think any one of us is going to the river here. Is any one of us letting up on the pressure before the K falls on the river?

After this hand I played about 2 more rounds then decided I'd better call it quits for the night down ~$100 because I couldn't stop thinking about the hand.

[Bob T.]

You lost the minimum, but you left the game where a guy open raises 86 suited preflop? I think you should have stuck around and tried to isolate him and get some of your money back.

[elysium]

hi cf
well, you should get into the habit of slowing a little on the turn when it's 3-way with a 4-straight on board. the BB could have a low end and you have to consider the possible 88 out there as well. people play all kinds of crazy hands and you can't limit your read so precisely. even if the UTG raised in, and you have AA say, if the board is 772A, and the UTG who raised in keeps firing, you must consider the possibility that perhaps the ol buzzard has 72; at some point in time, your opponents action takes precedence and at least broadens the scope of possible holdings to include some holdings that don't seem logical.

[eh923]

Pocket AA's can lose you a lot of money. However, from your post, I think that you brought some of it on yourself.

I'm not sure that I would have capped the flop w/ a 3-straight on the board. In LL, lots of people will play ANY two connectors, so a straight, as well as 2 pair is very viable at this point. Also, it seems that there was NO WAY of driving either of these guys out.

On the turn, that 4 terrifies me. The straight potential is the key, even though someone could have a shot at a flush also. At this point, I'd probably bet, but then would call it down...or even fold if two raises were coming at me.

The river wasn't that scary to me. Sure, KK would have you beat...but it is far less likely than running into a made straight or two pair. At least a flush was out of the question!

Comments on other guys:
- UTG+2: What the hell was he thinking playing that crap? Oh well, file that away for the next time you see him!
- BB: I put him on AQ /forums/images/icons/club.gif . If that was his hand, then his play wasn't the worst that I've seen. He probably shouldn't have stayed around on the flop, but a lot of bad players would. Until he folded, I would've thought that a low set would be very possible also.

Anyway, even w/ AA, your job is to see this result coming and slow down appropriately. A bluffer probably wouldn't reraise on multiple betting rounds, and a drawer would want to stay in cheaply.

[cferejohn]

That was my thought too, but I had been playing quite a bit that day, and after that hand I could feel my concentration/dicipline waning. I was also pretty much on the opposite end of the table from him, so isolating would have been difficult. I've made a note of him and will look for him at future tables (hopefully all his money isn't gone by then).

[cferejohn]

Point of order: if the board is A77, and I have AA, I *want* him to have 72. It's 77 that scares me...

[Homer]

Yeah, that was me. Without BB in the hand your play becomes more reasonable, but with BB in there I'd slow down at some point, probably after I get raised on the turn.

The winner of the hand was Szan Panie, who used to play 15/30, but now plays 2/4 and 3/6. In case you didn't know, he raises way too much preflop (I have him at like 15 or 20% in my DB) and pushes marginal hands to the river.

-- Homer

[cferejohn]

Wow. If he always plays like that, he must have hemmoragged a lot of money at 15/30 long term.

[Homer]

Yes, I'm sure he did (hence the reason he is playing with us low-limit folk now). I remember a few months ago people talking about how he plays insane but always seems to win. I guess his luck finally ran out. I actually feel bad for him...hopefully he can afford to lose this much money.

-- Homer