Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

I keep a journal. Here's my latest entry. I am a fish. Constructive criticism desired. The villian is likely a trout so if you are reading this, thanks for the lessons.

Bellagio Cash Game NL $10-$20 blinds

It was very late (or early depending on your perspective). Its 0100 and time to hit the tables. I buy into a must move game for $4000. We are five handed. I have played with two of the players before, but not much.

Hand #1 (I'm a suckout donkey)

I raise UTG with KdJd to $60 and the BB (a fairly aggressive player on the flop at least) calls. Flop comes three undercards with 1 diamond and he bets out $140. I know better than to play this hand but this guy could have anything so I call. Turn is another low diamond and he bets the pot again. For inexplicable reasons I call again. River makes the flush and he checks. I bet $600 and he decides to pay me off. Nice start.

Hand #2 (I fire the big boat's gun too soon)

I get QQ UTG and raise to $60. CO (21 year old kid with about $7K behind
him) and BB call.

Flop Q-8-3 suits unimportant.

BB checks, I bet $140, CO calls, BB folds.

Turn 3

I bet $300. Cutoff raises to $800. I do the Hollywood thing, reraise another $1500 and he folds. Nice pot, but maybe I should have just called…

Hand #3 (I'm weak-tight and the Milwaukee's best beer is going to fall on my head)

The players are being shuttled to the main game. I end up headsup with the “7K kid” I haven’t played much headsup in a cash game but I know enough to be aggressive. I raise on the button almost everytime as does he. Most of the time we see a flop and the first bet takes the pot.

He raises to $80 from the BB. He had been raising usually to $60, but I couldn’t really make that much of the difference here. I call with A9o. Flop comes A-T-5 rainbow. He bets $300 and I raise to $1000. He reraises another $2000. Yuck. I go into the tank. Options are really only to fold or go all in. Calling seems ludicrous. All I can think of are the hands I am behind. AK/AQ/AJ/AT/A5/TT/55/T5. When I list them like that it doesn’t seem too many really. While I’m thinking of playing for about 5 grand in the hand it seems like he must have me beat—why on earth would he bet so much without a really big hand here?? He laid down his hand when I reraised him with the full house earlier. He says something like “I know you really don’t want to give me this pot” He’s 21 years old, maybe he’s 22. What the [censored] is he doing with all this money anyway? I fold. He flashes pocket kings at me. I nod. I love it when I fold the best hand. Fantastic. We both move to the main game. 10 handed.

Hand #4 (One heart too many)

I get Th8h and limp. Flop comes 5-5-9 with two hearts. The pot is about $140 with 7 limpers. I bet $100 and get two callers including 7K Kid. Turn is the Ah, giving me a flush. I bet $300. I dunno if I really like this bet or not. Both players call. River is the ugliest little three of hearts. F-word. I check, player two checks, 7K bets $800. We both fold. I don’t see how I can call that there. He may have even had a boat on the turn. In retrospect, checking here seems weak.

Hand #5 (The coup d'grace)

I pick up AK in the small blind. 4 people limp, I raise to $120. 7K calls and everyone else folds. Flop comes A-4-4. I bet $260, he raises to $1000, I reraise to $2400 and then he goes all-in. So this is why I like to play no limit texas holdem in Vegas. The Cadillac of poker. So it will be all of my chips to call his raise. So what does he have? Well, the obvious answer is that he has AA and has flopped top boat. I mean, what else could he have? A-4 ??? I guess he could have seen a flop with that. If they were suited. How could he play A4 offsuit for a raise before the flop? That would be stupid, wouldn't it? Maybe he has quads? OK, so he pushed me off my top pair at the other table with his KK. Maybe he thinks he can push me around. Well, he needs a lesson. He should show a little respect for the grey hair on my head. In fact, he’s got to think that there is a chance that I have AA. I mean, I made the first raise, and I came out betting again. He’s got AQ here. If he has AA and he limped preflop well, that is a ballsy move. So be it. So can I lay this down? I might have given him a break when I had top boat with my Queens and raised him off the pot. I gave him a grand when I laid down the A9 against his Kings. I lost money when my flush was counterfeited. Nah, I’m not playing weak-tight anymore tonight! I call!

He flips over 7-4 of spades and then catches a 7 on the turn to rub it in….. I love this game.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

just FYI, the 7 on the turn in the last hand didnt do anything, you still needed an A or running Ks.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

[ QUOTE ]
just FYI, the 7 on the turn in the last hand didnt do anything, you still needed an A or running Ks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Pretty sure OP was aware of this. And it does make catching running Ks impossible

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

wow.

thats a lot of text.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

[ QUOTE ]
wow.

thats a lot of text.




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like i said, i keep a journal.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

#1 fold to lead
#2 turn -- less hollywood. pot river.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

what's with the min-raises PF?

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

Hmmm... don't like the KJs at all. The QQ set is also interesting. I think a call is in order here. Sounds like it was too soon for you to have a really good read on him, but it looks a lot like he thinks the board pairing might be scary for you. I think that's worth more of a call, since he's not outdrawing you--he's definitely going to have to show me quad 3's, which he obviously didn't have.

I really think the main lesson (and, believe me, I've done the same thing) is that the KK hand HU put you on tilt against this guy. He got under your skin and also knows you laid down an A.

On hand 4, I don't really like messing with a non-nut flush on a paired board. I'd just go away there (check-fold). The AK hand is rough given the history of bluffs. If you don't just lay down to the first raise, I think by that time, he's the kind of player whom you'd like to call down rather than re-raising.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

On the QQ set, I'd seriously consider check-raising the river. If you can get him thinking you're scared of the 3, I think he might try bluffing at it again. Or may a weak-ish river bet like 1/3 pot. I'd just have to have some kind of feel as to how hard this guy is going to push--tough without being there. True, the check-raise risks getting nothing more out of it, but I think you need to let this kind of player bet and show as much weakness as you can on a strong hand like that.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

good post, interesting reads.

him calling 120 preflop doesn't mean he can't have a 4 when you're that deep stacked.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

especially if you've made him believe you will go to the felt with top pair top kicker

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

does anyone else hate the raise o n the AT5r flop? What good reason is there really to raise that?

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

[ QUOTE ]
does anyone else hate the raise o n the AT5r flop? What good reason is there really to raise that?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking the same thing. What do you think is the best line here?

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

[ QUOTE ]
does anyone else hate the raise o n the AT5r flop? What good reason is there really to raise that?

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you need to raise there in order to let villain easier outplay you later.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
does anyone else hate the raise o n the AT5r flop? What good reason is there really to raise that?

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I was thinking the same thing. What do you think is the best line here?

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sitting out instead of being afraid of acting weak-tight. Once you dont do that; chk/fld flop. If you dont wanna do that; chk/call flop.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

I think a c/r defines heros hand pretty clearly and lets the villain play even more optimally against it, as he did in this spot.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
does anyone else hate the raise o n the AT5r flop? What good reason is there really to raise that?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking the same thing. What do you think is the best line here?

[/ QUOTE ]


sitting out instead of being afraid of acting weak-tight. Once you dont do that; chk/fld flop. If you dont wanna do that; chk/call flop.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hero can't check/fold in Hand 3 because he has position. If you are suggesting that he should have folded with top pair and position to Villain's initial bet on the flop, I strongly disagree. The proper play here is to call.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

I think that the 7K kid played hands 2, 3 and 5 very well, and knew almost exactly what you held in each hand.

Calling the turn raise is probably better in Hand 2, because of the possibility that Villain will make top 2 if an A or some such card hits on the river. It also increases the odds that he will "value bet" a 3 on the river. If he has a boat, you are get plenty of money in no matter how you play it.

Those who play a lot shorthanded would recognize your flop raise in Hand 3 as weakness, not strength. It fairly well screams, "I have a crappy ace and I really want to be able to check behind on the turn." He recognized that and rightly put you to the test. Calling (which is scarier to him than a raise) is by far the proper play here. Plus, he may try and value bet the river with a middle pair if the turn goes check-check, which it often will.

In Hand 5, the previous action (i.e. Hand 3) makes it more likely that Villain has a hand here, not less likely. I have absolutely no idea why you concluded that Villain didn't have a 4 based on his preflop play. With position, stacks this deep, and your prior history with Villain, I believe that Villain could literally have any two cards here.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

Nice Post.

A problem with the A 9 and A K hands is that they are hands that you normally don't want to play huge pots with.

With the A 9 hand, you want to keep the pot small. So just call on the flop. Also, his raise change from 60 to 80 you mentioned was very important. It turned out that he upped his raise because he had a premium hand. Anyways, by just calling, you keep the pot small with the A 9. Then you can evaluate on the next card what to do. I would maybe call another bet on the turn if it wasn't too big, but if he checks, I'd check behind. If he bets all 3 streets (not likely without you beat), I would fold to a big river bet. After you raised and were reraised, I think that you made a good fold. A 9 is not a hand to get a lot of chips in with normally.

After he has shown you the Kings as a bluff, he's probably a lot less likely to be making any big bluffs vs. you. for the rest of the night if he's a very good player. He might bluff small, but not likely with a lot of chips, becuase he expects you to call after he showed you a bluff.

As for the Ace King hand, it doesn't normally play well for a lot of chips if you only flop a pair with it (unless you are against someone who plays bad). I would have probably put him on a four in that hand and folded to the reraise. One pair isn't normally a hand to get your stack in with deepstacked in no limit against a good player.

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

this is such a genius joke post

very funny sir

reentitle "5 hands played perfectly" and i maybe piss myself

Re: Embarrassing Bellagio trip report ($10-$20 NL) 5 hands to discuss
 

[ QUOTE ]
this is such a genius joke post

very funny sir

reentitle "5 hands played perfectly" and i maybe piss myself

[/ QUOTE ]

Kagame,

Nosellout's logic wasn't entirely correct, but his play recommendations are not far off at all, and certainly not dumb enough to warrant your response.