Adventures of a Riverboat Gambler

[MaxPower]

I am in St. Louis for business, so last night I went to the Ameristar Casino in St. Charles to play some cards. The game was fairly loose and very passive pre-flop. pre-flop raises were respected. The game was also fairly passive on the flop, with it getting checked around frequently. Most players played a very straightforward style. Very unlike your typical online game. I was getting no cards and playing very few hands and it was noticed by some at the table.

This was a 5/10 game.

Hand 1

The UTG player in this hand had decent hand selection and was one of the more aggressive players in the game. He raised UTG, the CO called, I reraised with AA on the Button, they both called.

Flop: 2 /images/graemlins/heart.gif4 /images/graemlins/club.gifT /images/graemlins/spade.gif

Checked to me, I bet, UTG Calls, CO calls.

Turn: 5 /images/graemlins/club.gif

Checked to me, I bet, UTG raises, CO folds, I 3-bet, he says, "You have the straight already?" and calls. I think, "Yeah, I always 3-bet with A3."

River: 3 /images/graemlins/club.gif

Check, I bet, he says, "I'm beat, I'm beat, I'm beat" and calls.

The CO finds it remarkable that I 3-bet on the turn. I laugh.

Hand 2

The BB in this hand had a little book where he would take notes after each hand. I assumed he was writing down how much he won/lost with each starting hand and other notes. Despite this, I hadn't seen one hand that he played decently.

One EP limper, 1 MP limper, I raise with AKs on the Button, BB calls, limpers call.

Flop: K /images/graemlins/club.gif 5 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 2 /images/graemlins/spade.gif (I don't have spades)

Checked to me, I bet, BB check-raises, folded to me, I call planning to raise on the turn.

Turn: 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

BB bets, I just call

River: T /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

BB bets, I just call again.

Hand 3

UTG (Guy from hand 1) limps, Button Limps, I complete the SB with A /images/graemlins/diamond.gif7 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif, BB checks.

Flop: 6 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 5 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 3 /images/graemlins/club.gif

I bet, BB calls, UTG raises, Button Calls, I 3-bet, BB caps, everyone calls.

Turn: 9 /images/graemlins/club.gif

I check, BB bets, everyone calls.

River: 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

I check, BB bets, UTG folds, Button calls, I replay the hand in my head, I call.

Hand 4

I raise AQs in EP, guy to my left calls two cold, 1 late position caller.

Flop: Q /images/graemlins/heart.gif 4 /images/graemlins/heart.gif 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

I bet, called by guy to my left, LP player folds

Turn: 4 /images/graemlins/spade.gif

I bet, call

River: 8 /images/graemlins/heart.gif

I check and call

[J.R.]

Hand 1: I play the same

Hand 2: I would raise the turn or river, I think the 2 on the turn is a good card. I would probably raise the river as I would not think a check-raise means spades, so free/cheaper cards are not that expensive.

Hand 3: The flop 3-bet is good with the A overcard, gutshot and flush draw (even if somebody else probably has two of your flush outs) and image is important live. I can't imagine putting someone on 43 of diamonds because of a call-re-raise on the flop and just calling the river bet.

Hand 4: I like this river play if the opponent is aggressive but against passive types I prefer betting and folding to a raise, as a garbage Q will not bet but will call and not raise on this river and a small flush may not raise either.

[Joe Tall]

[ QUOTE ]
"Yeah, I always 3-bet with A3."

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't either, but 63 is a different story. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[ QUOTE ]
CO folds, I 3-bet, he says, "You have the straight already?"

[/ QUOTE ]

This is the classic bad player's lack of observation of what the action was previously. I find it amazing when players do this.

Hand#1
Very well played.

Hand#2
Where's the raise? I don't think the pair plays, rasie the turn and watch out for further resistance.

Hand#3
[ QUOTE ]
I replay the hand in my head, I call.

[/ QUOTE ]

And you saw a really strange guy check/call with the nut-flush who is seeing monsters under the bed, on the river, right?

Hand#4
I'd still bet the river. I find more cold calls w/QJ than I do with flush cards.

Peace,
Joe Tall

[MaxPower]

Whoops. I screwed up hand 3. The 2 on the river actually paired the board. So I think it was actually a 2 rather than a 9 on the turn. That might make my river play seem more reasonable.

[CrackerZack]

It does.

In uber-passive games 3-bet in hand 1 might be excessive as his turn C/R says "Hey you, I have TT". Any other type of game, i'm 3-betting.

Hand 2 I'd go through with the raise the turn plan.

Hand 3, see top line.

Hand 4, I'd rather bet.

Edit: answer changed on hand 4.

[MaxPower]

Thanks for the comments

Hand 1 - I think I played it well. I was amused that the CO thought my 3-bet on the turn was gutsy. This one I won.

Hand 2 - In retrospect, I would prefer to 3-bet on the flop. Lost to 5s full.

Hand 3 - The Big Blinds call/cap on the flop meant set to me. I felt that I had to call the river due to pot size. The Button had a lower flush. The BB had a straight flush. Wrong read but it didn't matter.

Hand 4 - I agree that betting the river would be correct. I lost to quad 4s.

[whiskeytown]

LOL - I don't call the Ameristar a riverboat casino...that's a building built over the river with a moat...LOL

if you're in downtown St. Louis, you can play 1-4-4-8 holdem on the President's Casino riverboat....but otherwise, Ameristar was a better room when I visited it..

RB

[J.R.]

[ QUOTE ]
Hand 2 - In retrospect, I would prefer to 3-bet on the flop.

[/ QUOTE ]

I curious about this. My first thought would be the check-raise likely means you are behind (passive player check-raised in a mannner that shuts out everyone else), but you do have outs against 2 pair. By 3-betting you open yourself up to a cap against a probable better hand. 3-betting may make it easier to fold the turn without improvement though, but I'm not sure if that makes the 3-bet better. But I dunno.

[MaxPower]

I'm still not sure. I called the raise on the flop, planning to raise the turn, but then changed my mind. There were only a few hands I thought he could have - Pocket Aces, AK (if he had AK of spades he was freerolling), a set, or a King with a lower kicker (two pair is a remote possibility). The only one I can beat is K with a bad kicker. He wasn't the type of player to check-raise with anything worse than that.

If he just calls my 3-bet on the flop and then check-calls the turn, it is pretty clear that he is outkicked. However, if he caps the flop and/or checkraises the turn, I'm not sure what to do. I'm not sure I can lay down this hand no mater what his actions are.