Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

A hand from this past weekend at the Borgata 20/40. Amidst my cold session, I came across this hand and a pretty nice sized pot and figured with how tight I was playing I'd take a stab at stealing it. Looking for thoughts on the hand and the play.

Table is a mixture of uber loose passives and 1 or 2 loose aggressives.

Main player in this hand is a young asian kid, regular, who is quite an aggressive player and whom I haven't found to be overly creative and seems to oddly fluctuate between calling down when he knows he's beat and making what I consider to be ridiculous folds. My assumption and hope in this hand is that I can push him off his.

Here's how it went down...

I'm dealt A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] in the SB.

Everyone, yes everyone (6 players), limps to Young Asian Kid (YAK) on the button (10th player actually got up for a bathroom break or something but he would have called two cold here) and he raises, I call, BB calls, everyone else calls.

So nine of us to the flop for 18SBs.

Flop is 6 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] T [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

Everyone checks to YAK, who pauses momentarily and says "I'll take a shot" and tosses out 4 reds. I contemplated raising here, but feel it won't accomplish anything because all of the LPs behind me are certain to call even a raise with overcards or a T. So I just call (?!?) looking to evaluate the action and see if I can pick up a heart draw on the turn, but more so based on the turn really plan on CRing any "safe" card if it gets checked to YAK again and he bets. And once again, everyone calls.

Onto the turn with 9 players and 27SB (13.5BBs) in the pot.
Turn brings the 8 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] with a board of 6 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] T [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

Again, checked to YAK who thinks for a few seconds but does not verbalize, looks at the pot like he wants it and quietly but quickly makes two stacks of 4 reds.

I immediately say raise, push out a stack of 20 reds and pull off 4 from the top...

Thoughts thus far?

Re: Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

I think trying to blast out 8 players is futile.

Re: Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

I don't mind peeling on the flop since the pot is large, but you're basically looking to catch perfect. When everyone calls on the flop, you should know it's VERY unlikely you will win making a play on the turn. A 10 is not folding in a loose game, an overpair is not folding, a 6 is possible since all those people called the flop. If you won this pot, it was a miracle and DON'T learn from it. Just check and fold the turn.

Jeff

Re: Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

[ QUOTE ]
I think trying to blast out 8 players is futile.

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

Hopeless.

Re: Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

If some of the flop callers are as "uber" passive as you say then I think betting into them is absurd. If they are weak that is one thing but a passive player who has a 10 will probably call you and so will a str8 draw and a flush draw.

Hell, one of the LAGs might even three bet you.

With a pot that size and a board with that texture I would be shocked if you took the pot right there and you will certainly have to bluff again at the river.

My guess is that if some of the players did not hit their hand at the turn, a number of them just picked up more outs to give them the pot if they hit a card at the river.

I'm guessing at least 3 went to the river.

With a game as described, I happily muck the turn when the heart does not fall.

I would LOVE to hear someone say this is a good move and then go on to describe why. I'm all for thinking out of the box but I can't see where the turn CR makes sense.

Re: Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

Tilt.

scrub

Results and Follow-up
 

OK, it looks unanimous...I'm a fish! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Results in a minute, first I want to go over a few thoughts...

1) This was relatively early in my session, about 1-2 hour mark, and I had not shown aggression on ANY hands yet. This was a relatively big factor in my "move", as some players were aware of this and some commented on it.

2) I was not on tilt at all (scrub [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]), I had a balanced line of thought in approaching this hand based on the players and specifically the aggressor and my position relative to his.

3) Most of these players will bet their made hands, none are very tricky. My sentiments were that most all of them would call a single bet and a single raise (2 cold) on the flop but probably not on the turn without a made hand or a strong draw.

4) The YAK's flop bet screamed "well if you are going to check to me, I'll take a shot", hell he even verbalized it...and yeah he was serious. When it gets checked to him on the turn, and he looks at the pot like "I want this pot, but really don't want to bet my hand but have to if I want to win it" and bets, I figure I have an excellent chance of pushing him off his overcards.

5) As far as the rest of field, I'm pretty certain they will not call without a 6 and *may* fold a ten considering I haven't played a hand yet and I've now CRed the turn, which looks alot like I have a 6.

6) The key to this hand is my position and the board. I'm in the SB, so I have credibility for having a hand containing a 6. Even the most oblivious players in the 20/40 game will at least *think* about this and consider it before calling with any hand, including hands containing a T. The board is pretty much ragged, there is a turned straight possibility and new flush draw but overall, there aren't many hands they can put me on other than a made straight, a boat, or a 6...again considering I haven't played a hand aggressively (i.e. raised any hand or any street) in nearly 1-2 hours of play. Again, I believe these players were aware of this.


So on with the action...

YAK bets the turn, I raise in the SB and immediately see YAK cast a look of "why the hell did I just bet, I knew that was coming" and hold his cards between his fingers ready to muck them, BB (who is one of the semi LAGs) hesitates and thinks for a second with a look of disgust like he wanted raise but now folds instead...and as he folds a T accidently flips over and is exposed by the dealer. UTG calls 2 cold, the rest fold, and YAK folds.

So its HU to the river, and I am not sure if UTG (who is exceptionally loose and exceptional weak) is on a draw or has a T or a 6 himself. Either way, I have to bet the river and fold to a raise, as he is not capable of bluff raising a river and at that point I'd have to fold. My only chance is to fire again and get him to fold a missed draw, possibly even an A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]x [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] draw where x is bigger than my 3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].

So river is an Q [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] with a final board of 6 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] T [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Q [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

I bet, UTG ponders for a few moments and folds...and the pot is pushed my way.


Now the reason I bring this hand up is because I am wondering if *this* is the kind of "creative" plays I should be making in these type of games when I recognize such an opportunity? I felt I had a solid read on YAK as being weak with overcards and hesitant in his play, and was reasonably sure I could win the pot right there (which at the time was approximately 15BBs) by CRing the turn, but not by CRing the flop.

I was also reasonably confident that those to act behind me really didn't want to call a raise on the turn based on their previous style of play to call any number of flop bets but often give up on the turn when they have nothing. Add that to the fact that many of them would bet but not raise their made hands on any given street, and I was pretty sure no one had a 6 (felt it was unlikely) and I had a decent shot at getting a T to fold.

Clearly it is a raise or fold situation, but if the heart came...I think it suddenly becomes an easy calling situation. So if the turn was different, specifically an overcard to the T I would have folded. Likewise if it were a heart, I would have called to keep other players in those times I hit.

So here I am, at the time feeling good about the play, but felt it was worth posting on here to get humbled by the knowledgeable whom could point out the error of my ways.

So my final question, when do you make a "move" such as this? I had other opportunities in games where I felt I could have raised and won a pot, but didn't and in fact if I had raised...the way the hands worked out I could have won the pot.

I'm trying to find areas to improve my game, and get away from being a "standardized" poker player. Specifically in live, I am trying to use the benefit of live reads and players actions, emotions, reactions, etc to gain an edge.

Was this just simply not an edge to push? Did I really just get lucky in the end?

While I do agree trying to push out 8 players with a raise is fruitless the great majority of the time, how often are you going to have a HUGE pot where you could bluff raise players who seemingly have no hand and no interest in the pot out? If everything is a HU or short handed battle, how often are the pots going to be big enough where you can actually steal one? Chances are in a HU hand or a SHed hand, players are putting in alot of money and determined to get to show down...so bluff raising seems ineffective or at least has to me.

I saw this hand as an opportunity where an entire table passively entered and built a huge pot because of a singular aggressor whom appeared to be uncertain and weak in his actions indicating he *could* be moved off his hand. At the time, it seemed like a prime opportunity to make this move and risk 2BBs to win 15 more. And it worked out as I had hoped in that a better hand (BB with a T) folded as did the aggressor (YAK) and a follow-up bet on the river got potentially a better Ace (or at least some draw perhaps not better) to lay down without a showdown.

Am I dilusional? Was this just a BS FPS type hand? Should I avoid this at all costs?

Note this type of play is VERY rare for me, and in fact, I can't remember doing it previously. At the moment, while thinking through the hand as it played out...this move just "felt right" as wrong as it may have been...I had an instinct and went with it. I felt like an "I can fold and let this pot go, or I can raise with a very good chance of having YAK and everyone behind me fold". It's what I felt, fault or not...so I guess I can't doubt the feeling I can only doubt the long term profitability of such "creative" and "instinctive" moves and if they are even worth taking shots at.

Any additional thoughts would be great.

Re: Results and Follow-up
 

Way to drag the pot.

I cannot see EVER making a play like this. Maybe I'm a weak player but you have to be so sure of your read on 8 players that it does not seem to be worth it.

Even going to the river heads-up, I would think that you have to dodge many cards on the river in order to follow-through with your bluff as the pot was huge and your opponent is making a mistake by folding too much.

I would LOVE to know what hands were folded.

BTW, it does not seem too LAGGY to fold a Ten there. The LAGs I seem to face would three bet ya and call the river. Either my definition of LAG is off or he was a smarter LAG.

NH...you felt solid about your read then made the move. I'm amazed that you could be so sure about your read on 8 players. It seems that regardless of read, the randomness of cards and pot size would make you show down at least pair to drag the pot.

Re: Results and Follow-up
 

Dude the problem here is that you thinking on a bit different level then the rest of the table. They line on the whole game is "Me have a pair me bet!!" or "Me have a draw me call". Borgata 20 is a one of the most passive games anywhere (most of time). To push someone off the hand,that someone needs to have at least 2 brain cells and those are the people you do not mess around with anyway. There is NO WAY you can push anyone in that game off 77 and you can forget about something like 10 9.

Re: Results and Follow-up
 

[ QUOTE ]
2) I was not on tilt at all (scrub ), I had a balanced line of thought in approaching this hand based on the players and specifically the aggressor and my position relative to his.

[/ QUOTE ]

Making a move on the turn that has very little chance of dragging the pot isn't any smarter because it worked this time.

Taking ill-advised shots at pots on the turn because you haven't been running well is pretty much the according to Hoyle definition of tilt.

At least you bet the river.

scrub

Re: Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

i think ur the best babe!!!

actually i woulda done the same or folded....but u have a read on the table and i know how u play...so i agree with ur raise there...and its not something u do often on a board like this with a hand like u have...so i dont see this as a neg thing for u overall....but then again i hear or see ur hands 1st hand more than others...so i know ur logic...


plus the whole being good friends for 5 yrs thing...

Re: Results and Follow-up
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
2) I was not on tilt at all (scrub ), I had a balanced line of thought in approaching this hand based on the players and specifically the aggressor and my position relative to his.

[/ QUOTE ]

Making a move on the turn that has very little chance of dragging the pot isn't any smarter because it worked this time.

Taking ill-advised shots at pots on the turn because you haven't been running well is pretty much the according to Hoyle definition of tilt.

At least you bet the river.

scrub

[/ QUOTE ]

You are right I wasn't running well, but I was taking a shot because of the factors mentioned...not because I wasn't running well. But, as you said, the results do not matter...which is why I posted the hand.

I'd imagine I just got lucky, my instincts just happened to coincide with the positive results.

As I said, I don't make these moves often, and certainly not into this large of a field. I can't say I'll do it again, but I can't say I won't. If the situation presents itself and I have the same "instinctive feeling" that it can be done, I'll likely take a stab. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Its one hand, risking 2BBs to win 15BB...has to work 1 out of 7.5 times.

And of course I followed up with a river bet, what else am I going to do? Grab the pot and push it to the other guy to save the dealer time? Following through was a must.

Re: Results and Follow-up
 

[ QUOTE ]
NH...you felt solid about your read then made the move. I'm amazed that you could be so sure about your read on 8 players. It seems that regardless of read, the randomness of cards and pot size would make you show down at least pair to drag the pot.

[/ QUOTE ]

ding. effing. ding.

lets take it to the books: 14.5bb to you on the turn. getting 7.25:1 you need to take the pot down, RIGHT THERE 12.12% of the time. EDIT: each has a shared calling responsibility of 1.55% of the time. if one of them fulfills that responsibility, your break even % winning goes up. the chance of you taking it down RIGHT THERE is so slim its not worth your entire hourly rate (if you an amazing player in a live game) to try this move.

the one thing the quote i put up said was wrong was "NH"...you were lucky.

i respect your play matt and maybe you did have some read on all 8 players...but i doubt it.

-Barron

Re: Results and Follow-up
 

i just replied but this is a good opportunity to clarify:

[ QUOTE ]
I'd imagine I just got lucky, my instincts just happened to coincide with the positive results.

[/ QUOTE ]

100% correct.

[ QUOTE ]

As I said, I don't make these moves often, and certainly not into this large of a field. I can't say I'll do it again, but I can't say I won't. If the situation presents itself and I have the same "instinctive feeling" that it can be done, I'll likely take a stab. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Its one hand, risking 2BBs to win 15BB...has to work 1 out of 7.5 times.

[/ QUOTE ]

when YAK bet there were 13.5bbs there. make it 14.5bbs after he bets. you raise 2 to get 7.25bbs:1 or 1/8.25. you need to win it right there 12.12% of the time. each of the 8 callers needs to ONLY call 1.55% of the time (12.12/8). i dont like those odds.

[ QUOTE ]

And of course I followed up with a river bet, what else am I going to do? Grab the pot and push it to the other guy to save the dealer time? Following through was a must.

[/ QUOTE ]

which you DID NOT factor into your initial raise thus increasing the cost of the move. effective odds are now even worse and the shared calling % actually moves down to near 1% for the 8 callers.

-Barron

Re: Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

[ QUOTE ]
i think ur the best babe!!!

actually i woulda done the same or folded....but u have a read on the table and i know how u play...so i agree with ur raise there...and its not something u do often on a board like this with a hand like u have...so i dont see this as a neg thing for u overall....but then again i hear or see ur hands 1st hand more than others...so i know ur logic...


plus the whole being good friends for 5 yrs thing...

[/ QUOTE ]
you and avid can both learn alot from this situation.

imo it is wrong to raise here. if you wanted to find a leak, this is it. and its not the raise, or the instinct THIS TIME...but the desperate attempt to win a big pot which will occur more than this one rarity. especially at loose games which should be the most profitable. you, avid, and everyone has to understand that pulling these moves in loose games costs you money. i'd say this situational raise and bet (3bbs) cost avid probably over .75bbs in EV. to think these things will work is wishful thinking that does not belong at a poker table.

the "it" i referred to earlier was an instincual analysis that does not fully incorporate the math of the situation. you dont need to do all of that % up there...just look at the odds you're getting to pull the move and realize there is a shared calling % and that you may have to bet again.

-Barron

Re: Results and Follow-up
 

AviD,

Let's say 3 of your oponnents have 95% chance of folding, 3 have a 75% chance of folding and 2 have a 50% chance of folding. The chance that they will all fold is about 9% which is not enough to make your move profitable.

I think those estimates are overly optimistic. All you need is one person with a low chance of folding to make this a huge longshot.

You sound like the guy who cold-calls a 3-bet with pocket 2s against your aces, calls all the way on a AKQ flop, catches running twos and thinks he played the hand well. You hit a huge longshot, but that doesn't make it correct.

I'm all for trying to steal a huge pot, but at least have some outs and a smaller nubmer of players.

Hope to see you in AC this weekend.

Re: Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i think ur the best babe!!!

actually i woulda done the same or folded....but u have a read on the table and i know how u play...so i agree with ur raise there...and its not something u do often on a board like this with a hand like u have...so i dont see this as a neg thing for u overall....but then again i hear or see ur hands 1st hand more than others...so i know ur logic...


plus the whole being good friends for 5 yrs thing...

[/ QUOTE ]
you and avid can both learn alot from this situation.

imo it is wrong to raise here. if you wanted to find a leak, this is it. and its not the raise, or the instinct THIS TIME...but the desperate attempt to win a big pot which will occur more than this one rarity. especially at loose games which should be the most profitable. you, avid, and everyone has to understand that pulling these moves in loose games costs you money. i'd say this situational raise and bet (3bbs) cost avid probably over .75bbs in EV. to think these things will work is wishful thinking that does not belong at a poker table.

the "it" i referred to earlier was an instincual analysis that does not fully incorporate the math of the situation. you dont need to do all of that % up there...just look at the odds you're getting to pull the move and realize there is a shared calling % and that you may have to bet again.

-Barron

[/ QUOTE ]

While I did not prompt peachy to post and do not agree with her sentiments here...I am not sure I 100% agree with the mathematical only aspect of this hand.

This was NOT a desperation move, I did not feel like I just HAD to take a shot at this pot. I've let a TON of pots go the other way, and I don't play some loose aggressive bluffing style with a mentality that I MUST win EVERY pot I enter. It's NOT wishful thinking in raising in this spot.

I think there has been alot of confusion on exactly why I made the raise, and based on your response it appears it comes across as I was afraid of letting my hand go here. I wasn't playing my cards AT ALL on the turn, I was playing YAK and everyone behind me.

My cards didn't matter here at all, I watched this hand go down and saw how everyone reacted from preflop calling, to flop disinterested checking, to turn disinterested checking. I was 100% confident YAK was folding to my raise without question, so my only concern was would my raise push out a T IF anyone even held one, and oddly enough the only player I was worried about raising was the BB to my immediate left who is capable of CRing that turn to protect his T but certainly wouldn't 3-bet it. Everyone else (weak, loose, passive players) would call a single bet but doubtfully a CR. As oblivious as these players are, they DO recognize a check raise is a STRONG move and I am trying to represent that 6 IN THEIR MINDS. They see the two 6s, even if they have an 8 or a T, the still see those two 6s on board and me in the SB (who hasn't raised any hands in an hour or two) and have $80 to call. BB folded his T as it got exposed, so my read there was correct that he (and likely everyone else would fold even a T there). So my only final concern was if someone turned a flush draw and knew they could beat my represented 6 if they hit. Following up with a river bet was a necessary evil if someone called, just in case they had a stronger A than I did but knew they couldn't call a river bet. I got one caller and when he folds to the river bet, its obvious he had the flush draw.

And again, this is NOT a standard play for me with any regularity. And as I said in another post, I don't think I've ever made this type of play before. I just felt like there was a puzzle in front of me, and I had put all the pieces together and felt I had an excellent chance of stealing this pot. Above all else, this "move" was not some desperate or wishful attempt, I felt like I was making a strong move with a good chance at winning the hand. Again its not even my hand that was an issue, the cards were moot...I was entirely playing the table.

Another huge misconception or perhaps inability of my own is putting 9 people on hands. Who here can actually put 9 people on hands? I have no clue what they have, I just know that of the 9...none looked very confident or interested in continuing. That was a huge premise to my decision and I attempted to exert the maximum pressure in a large pot because I felt they would concede to that pressure.

If you factor that into the math, then I am expecting only strong draws better than a 6 to call...even in this loose game. And in this particular game, I felt these loose passives were very inclined to call 1 bet on any street but very inclined to fold to aggression as I had observed in previous hands.

I can't challenge the math directly because there is no "instinct" factor I can add to the computation, but if I was certain everyone without a 6 or a strong draw would fold and those same players would have bet a 6 or better on the turn, I can't see how that factor does not improve the chances of me winning this hand.

Again, I will keep this hand very fresh in my perspective as I've seen opportunities like this before but never pulled the trigger. Should I pull the trigger, I guess I'm still not confident I was right or wrong in this spot. Many of the arguments illustrated here are taking this hand entirely at face value, in a very static and straight forward manner. This is why it's hard to convey the dynamic nature of a specific game with specific players involved.

I don't see this opportunity presenting itself much, but I will consider all the advice and suggestions provided...I guess experience will tell the tale, and I am in full recognition that this type of play may indeed be -EV but I honestly think the only convincing factor for me will be experience and keeping track of it. I won't ignore what's been discussed and consider myself right, otherwise I would be ignoring a potential leak (although not significant because this situation hardly ever comes up for me).

Thanks for the feedback Mr. Stat Man! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

great post, man!

[ QUOTE ]
That was a huge premise to my decision and I attempted to exert the maximum pressure in a large pot because I felt they would concede to that pressure.

[/ QUOTE ]

this is actually quite similar to how i play live and remember a few mirage hands to that extent.

basically, if you trusted your read, then you can nullify some shared calling and increase your overall equity by raising here...well done if your reads were correct. but be wary of basing future actions on this success...

-Barron

Re: Results and Follow-up
 

[ QUOTE ]
AviD,

Let's say 3 of your oponnents have 95% chance of folding, 3 have a 75% chance of folding and 2 have a 50% chance of folding.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

I think those estimates are overly optimistic.


[/ QUOTE ]

This isn't about optimism, this move wasn't based on hope, wishing, praying, or desperation. I wasn't making the move hoping N players would fold 95% of the time, I was making the move being almost certain I would win the pot. If I wasn't near certain I could win the pot I would have folded. I've folded in this spot so many times before.

[ QUOTE ]

All you need is one person with a low chance of folding to make this a huge longshot.


[/ QUOTE ]

This is what made it a strong move because I thought there was no person with a low chance of folding in THIS hand.

[ QUOTE ]

You sound like the guy who cold-calls a 3-bet with pocket 2s against your aces, calls all the way on a AKQ flop, catches running twos and thinks he played the hand well. You hit a huge longshot, but that doesn't make it correct.


[/ QUOTE ]

This is nothing like the hand I played. I was not playing the cards, I was not oblivious to being beat here and calling down anyway. I was not the one CALLING with no hand or a beat hand, I was RAISING to get those whom had no hands but better hands than mine out. And a huge key to that is my position (SB) and this exact board. If the board were any different, in any number of ways, I would have almost certainly folded without a second thought. But this board and my position lended itself specifically to making this move based on all the conditions I've described in my original posts.

[ QUOTE ]

I'm all for trying to steal a huge pot, but at least have some outs and a smaller nubmer of players.


[/ QUOTE ]

Again, I wasn't concerned with outs or my hand, I wasn't playing my hand at all on the turn. The daunting factor is indeed the number of players, but as I mentioned in my other post how often are you going to have a huge pot SHed that you can take a shot at like this and where all the players are completely disinterested in the pot or their hands? The only thing that made this pot big is because just about every player at the table was making "sure why not" calls looking to hit an out on the next street. SHed (less players) in a pot and it only gets that big when at least one or several players have a made hand or a very, very strong draw. I was confident no one had a great made hand and my only concern was the turned draw.

[ QUOTE ]

Hope to see you in AC this weekend.

[/ QUOTE ]

If it rains, I'll be at the Taj early Saturday morning (late Friday night) and plan on playing the 11AM tourney with Mike. We *might* swing over the Borgata, we'll see! [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
If I don't see you, good luck...hope you land a hot deck! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Borgata 20/40 Hand, Interesting Turn CR
 

[ QUOTE ]
great post, man!

[ QUOTE ]
That was a huge premise to my decision and I attempted to exert the maximum pressure in a large pot because I felt they would concede to that pressure.

[/ QUOTE ]

this is actually quite similar to how i play live and remember a few mirage hands to that extent.

basically, if you trusted your read, then you can nullify some shared calling and increase your overall equity by raising here...well done if your reads were correct. but be wary of basing future actions on this success...

-Barron

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely.

I was making a very specific move with very specific reads with a very speficic position relative to the PF aggressor on a very specific board. I just wanted to be clear on this not being in any way a "standard" part of my play, and I was not haphazardly making a move to win a pot.

In fact, the key to this whole hand is my line of thinking was immensely clear and certain...which is normally how I am when I get AWAY from a game but difficult for me to reach when I am IN a game. I've been trying to learn how to achieve those moments of clarity and this hand from beginning to end felt like one.

I've already been asked if I was nervous or shaking or scared when I played this hand, and the truth of the matter is I was so confident in the move that I was as steady as it comes (normally I don't get phased by any hand anyway throughout its play). It was a great feeling to win the hand when it all came together from street to street and based on all the pieces I put together.

I'm sure I could have just gotten lucky, but I trusted my reads and went with it. Fortunately it worked out. And as you said, I don't want to and won't get blinded by the results, everything will be kept in perspective on this and future hands like it...although I don't anticipate many.