Third time at Foxwoods -- trip report

[sweetjazz]

Just a brief trip report, designed especially for newcomers to the board, with a simple message...the 2+2 boards are good for your game. Very g00t.

Did another 8 hours of 4/8 HE at Foxwoods today. Saw the new board they have for sign ups -- it looks like a nice feature. Hopefully they'll add a button to the tables so that the dealers can electronically indicate when there's an open seat. Gotta get those fish seated quickly, or else their little gills will shrivel up. (Whatever that means.)

A couple of comical hands from the day. Guy to my left has JcTc, and flops comes Ac Qc 9d. He bets and gets called in one place. Turn is 8h. He bets and gets raised. He makes a face and angrily tosses his chips in to call. River is 3s. He mutters something to himself, checks, and the other guys motions to make a bet, when the guy with JT throws in his hand. He then proceeds to turn up his hand and bemoan the fact that he didn't get a third club. The other guy's AQ takes the pot.

Another fun hand has the board at AQT5 after the turn. First player -- who has been drawn out on a couple of times just prior to this hand -- bets, and the only other guy left in the pot looks at him and says, "I know you got me beat but I'm gonna chase and try to catch a king." River is of course a king, and his JJ takes the pot. The look on the other player's face was priceless, as the f-bombs were dropped in rapid fire.

A couple of hands where aggression paid off: I get dealt 66 in middle position and call. Flop is 852 rainbow. Checked to the player to my right, who bets. He likes to bet any piece of the flop including draws, so I decided to raise. Rest of the table folds and he calls. Turn is 2 and river is a 3. My 66 ends up losing to his 64 when his double bellybuster straight draw hits, so not a great ending to the story. But the guy on my left said he folded A8 and I had no reason to think he was lying. I didn't really expect to be able to fold a hand like A8 with my raise, but it goes to show how calling the flop would have been much worse than raising. Depending on the read on the table, I'd fold that hand a lot of the time on the flop. But if you're gonna play, you must raise and knock out overcards, as well as possibly even an 8.

Another illustrative hand (imho) was my last big blind. I have A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 2 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. A total of 8 players see the flop. Flop comes A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 2 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. I bet out, get 4 callers, and the button raises. I 3-bet, and only one other player and the button call. Turn is T [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. I bet and only the button calls. River is Q [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. I bet, button calls, and this time my hand is good. LHO tells me good raise, as he had two clubs and would have made a backdoor flush. It's debatable whether I should bet and hope to 3-bet a late position bettor, or whether I should check hoping for a check-raise. I thought the table dynamics were such that my bet followed by a possible 3-bet would represent (to them) a significantly stronger hand than a check-raise, and so had at least a good of chance of knocking people out, as well as increasing the amount of money going into the pot when I have a good deal of pot equity. Most important though was making the opposition face two bets cold on the flop.

Another hand that I think I played right. I raise in middle position first in with 77. I get called in two places, an LP and a blind. Flop is J65. I bet, LP calls and blind folds. Turn is a 3. I bet and LP calls. LP is a reasonable player, probably plays a little too loose but doesn't get too far out of line and is probably a smidge on the passive side. River is a Q. I check, he bets, and I call. (Also a note of context -- I had folded on the river just a few hands ago after missing a draw.) He shows A5, and my hand is good. I think this was a good example of inducing a bet, though I'm not sure. I thought he might have been tricky enough to bluff raise me at the end, yet I didn't feel I could call a raise with just 77s. I also felt he must have something, and he would likely bet if checked too. I don't think inducing bets is a standard play at all in these 4/8 games, where people call with weak hands but are often too scared to bet them (and too scared to raise with relatively strong hands that are not "monsters"). But it's another tool that's available in the poker player's arsenal when needed.

I'm sure I made quite a few mistakes, and there's still lots of room for improvement. Still, being a 2+2 reader has helped me develop a significant edge over the players who sit at these games and consistently make bad decisions which cost them lots of money in the long run. I can't say enough for the forums, the 2+2 books, and above all, reading the various hand posts. I can't stress enough to people who are relatively new to the game (I've been playing a bit over the past year, but am hardly an experienced junkie...yet) how valuable these forums are and how successful people can be, if they are willing to put the effort in to learning the strategic aspects of the game, develop the emotional maturity necessary to handle the invetiable runs of bad cards and bad beats that happen to everyone, and have the discipline to play within the means of their bankroll.

[DrGutshot]

good report - can't wait to hit up FW twice this break.

-DrG