An amusing sequence of hands

I get in the $9-18 game and it looks like I'll be there an hour tops before the must-move $20-40 starts. This one hand the guy on the my right [RHO] limps UTG and I raise with A-Q and it comes down to heads up after I bet the 3-3-7 flop and he check-calls. Turn is a nine and he check-calls again. The river is a seven, making two pair on board. He checks and I check behind and he turns over pocket queens. Hmmm. I looked him over. 50-something white guy, I don't think I'd played with him before. Super calm. No reaction whatsoever at the end of the hand, by him or anyone else, like this was just a routine thing for him, playing QQ that way.


Next round he limped UTG with K-2 suited and flopped trip dueces and check-called every street even after no flushes or straights came or anything. The river was three-way and everyone checked and he turned over his trips and it was business as usual. No comments or glances by anyone. I wasn't in that hand.


Then next round this hand came up, the reason I'm posting. He raised from UTG and I had QQ. I knew the best play for me was to call, just as I'd have done with 22, but man, I had QQ. I just wasn't fluid enough to find the call, so I reraised on reflex. At worst I'd at least be double sure where I was at if he capped it. And he did. Everyone folded to my reraise, and he made it four bets.


I figured the money's plenty right to go for a set, so I called his rereraise, absolutely planning to fold if I didn't flop one.


Meanwhile the $20-40 table had players circling and chips being bought so I knew I was done with $9-18 for the day.


The flop came all rags, and his hand was only half way to the top of his stack to grab a bet when I mucked out of turn, face up.


There was a collective gasp, but nothing from RHO. He slid his cards in face down and accepted the pot just like all the other times. He'd make a great Buckingham Palace guard. To the core, unfluffable.


Somewhere in the post-mortem table buzz, someone asked RHO point blank if he had pocket aces. RHO didn't even look at the questioner. I said that I think he must have had three of them. And I swear, as I was getting up to switch games, the corners of his lips went up just a smidge.


Tommy

T! what about the information war you (we)are constantly waging soldier? I don't care if you were playing lower than normal limits. Play your "A" game or don't play at all. KP duty for you my friend, and no weekend pass either!

I know that guy, Tommy. I saw him in every low limit game I ever played in. He usually doesn't find his way to the medium stakes tables, and I'm guessing 9-18 was the top of the line for him.


But I know something about that guy that you don't, since I don't think you see his type as often as I used to. He would play AKs that same way. So that plunge into the muck might have cost you a decent pot on a ragged flop. Especially since that guy plays AKs to the river too.

"Tommy Angelo" in this post speaks of:


1) playing two hands UTG+1

2) RAISING UTG+1

3) mucking face up

4) engaging in table discussion with another player

5) sitting to the RIGHT of a tight player


I'm calling impostor.

you're just trying to make him feel bad!

"I'm calling impostor."


The prosecution rests and the defense takes the stand. The attorney's beaded brow reveals hopelessness.


"1) playing two hands UTG+1

2) RAISING UTG+1"


The defense concedes that the AJ hand was an even money type situation that could have been shunned to protect against positional trauma. The QQ hand --- folding here is not in the client's playbook and as to the remaining options we implore leniency on our presumed shared sympathies toward the pump-it-or-dump-it mindset.


"4) engaging in table discussion with another player "


The defense questions this usage of "discussion."


"5) sitting to the RIGHT of a tight player "


No choice.


"3) mucking face up "


The defense pleads guilty and will spare the court a litany of lame excuses in exchange for waived jail time and a life-time probation during which subsequent infractions of the no-show policy will be punishable by creamless coffee.


Tommy

"50-something white guy" Watch out for them.


"Super calm" Watch out for them.


"I mucked out of turn, face up" Hmm. . .


"the corners of his lips went up just a smidge." Does this mean you had him pegged or that he had you pegged?

"Does this mean you had him pegged or that he had you pegged?"


I thought I had him pegged until I saw Bruce's suggestion that he might have had AK, but after seeing him limp with QQ earlier, I dunno, I just don't think he would have got that spunky with AK.


As to the what the grin meant, I think that was merely his way of laughing along with the "I think he had three aces" remark.


Tommy

On the AQ hand, you receive no forgiveness, and receive extra punishment for not continuing to bluff away all your money on the river.


On the QQ hand, I still believe that due to your fold of an overpair on the flop, you are actually Jim Brier (j/k Jim!).


In reality from these hands, I don't know if I would have done anything differently at any point in your case. Which is probably an indication you played them wrong (:

"As to the what the grin meant, I think that was merely his way of laughing along with the "I think he had three aces" remark."


i think he was happy you were leaving his table.

Tommy,


Were you playing 9-18 at Lucky Chances, by any possibility? In the last couple of weeks I got creamed by players who flopped straights and full-houses that didn't want to bet! They checked into me and DID NOT check-raise the nut hands. They'd even check on the Turn & the River! I had to stop playing because I always had the second best hand -- I can respect a raise, but only when it's given. I'm sticking to tournament play for a while.

More than once have I heard in low limit games "I'd rather have AKs than AA or KK." Maybe your boy heard it too and acted accordingly.


Geez, Tommy this man limped in from early position with K2s, and you don't think he could play AK with gusto merely because he limped with QQ?


The character-type from low limits is what I call the off-beat casual player. He really doesn't know the game all that well, and he doesn't really care to learn. So just when you think you have him figured out, he will turn in a totally different direction--BECAUSE HE HAS NO DIRECTION AT ALL!!


You rarely see this type of player in medium limit games, because they just don't care enough to risk that much money on a game they play for fun. We have to remember that in public cardrooms, most of the people don't take things nearly as seriously as we do. So falling into the "projection fallacy" is very easy.


And no I didn't tell you this to make you feel bad. I think you took great glee in mucking QQ face up and giving this schlemiel some feigned respect.

"We have to remember that in public cardrooms, most of the people don't take things nearly as seriously as we do. So falling into the "projection fallacy" is very easy."


yes yes yes!! this point is crucial and oftentimes overlooked i think. and this is completely and entirely true of many mid-limit players as well.

"Were you playing 9-18 at Lucky Chances,"


Yes.


"In the last couple of weeks I got creamed by players who flopped straights and full-houses that didn't want to bet! They checked into me and DID NOT check-raise the nut hands."


This sounds to me like good reason play.


Tommy