A beautiful start to a perfect session

[Tommy Angelo]

I walked into AJ's to the sound of a tinny (for a small consultant fee, I can make your mike sound better) amplified voice saying "One seat open, $15-30." Already I was running good. I walked to the table and the open seat was due for the big blind. "Deal me in!"

I took the blind and folded to a raise. Then the next blind and folded. And then on the button it was limp limp limp to me and I mucked J-7 suited, a hand I would very often be very happy to come in with in that situation against those players, except that I wasn't ready to come in yet because I was still in the reminding phase, reminding the regulars, and announcing to the new faces, that my purpose here is to put your money in my pocket.

I mucked that whole lap until I was under the gun with both red queens and raised. Everyone folded around to the big blind, a very regular I've shared thousands of table hours with. His calling rate against me in this situation is about 40%. He called.

The flop came K-8-2. The king was black and the other two cards were hearts. I had the queen of hearts. He checked, I bet, he checkraised, I made it three bets, and he called.

At this point I had a well-used plan. If no hearts came, I'd see a showdown. If a heart came, then probably not. If there had been a straight draw possible, this precision plan would not have been.

The turn was a low heart. He checked. I checked.

The river was a blank. He bet. I folded. He flashed the ten of hearts. I took this to mean, "Good laydown. I had the flush." But he might have had K-10, and had me beat, and showed the ten in the same way. Either way, given my familiarity with this player and his behaviors, I'm sufficiently certain that he had me beat that the act of writing about it will rid me forever of wondering, wondering, wondering, did he have me beat? lol

FWIW, this line and many other winning lines are made possible by the reraise on the flop which I think is a very good play that most players forget to make.

Now comes the beautiful and perfect part. The next hand, in the big blind, two or three players limped and I looked at my cards to see ace-king of spades. I knuckled. The flop came something something something. I checked and folded for one bet.

Dear diary,

Only the cards could beat me today, not the players, or myself.



Tommy

[Paluka]

I don't get it.

[Tyler Durden]

Welcome to the club.

[Magikist]

From the tone of the post I gathered that folding AKs for one bet after missing the flop is not the default play, but instead one performed when

a.) image is an overiding concern
b.) knowledge of your opponents / specific information dictates thus
c.) you have reached a state of poker Zen

Is this correct?

[Vehn]

What's to get? Tommy felt like posting something, and here it is. I feel like posting something too, so in my best Tommy impersonation here it is:

So I'm in the $15/$30 last night. Early on, 3 players limp in, the small blind throws in a chip, I'm in the big blind and look down to king/clubs, queen/clubs, and throw in 3 more chips. So does everyone else. The flop comes out king, eight, four with two clubs. I bet, the early position player calls, and the small blind calls. The turn is another eight, I bet, the early player raises, the small blind folds and I call. The river is a queen, I check, the early player bets, I reluctantly throw in 6 chips and he shows me a nine and an eight of different suits. I nod and muck serenely.

Later on there's once again 3 limpers to me in the small blind and I look at ace/diamonds, queen/diamonds. I throw in 4 chips and everyone else throws in 3. The flop is six, five, four, with two suits and both of them wrong. I serenely check and fold to a bet and a call, and feel even more serene when the winning hand of ten/eight of different suits is shown down.

Tommy would be $30 richer in my shoes, but that's why he's a pro and I'm not. I don't play good.

[skp]

I don't think that Tommy nor you recommend not raising from the blinds with Aqs or Aks. You definitely did right in raising preflop with AQs. Tommy will agree that one should almost always raise with AKs even from the big blind.

Personally, I believe that raising from the bb with Ak offsuit is the better play even from the bb in a multiway field (but not necessarily in a 2 or 3 way pot). Just don't autobet the flop in the multiway scenario. You will often checkfold but that doesn't make the preflop raise incorrect.

In any event, you guys are probably posting about something else altogether so I don't know why I said what I said above...heh

[Tommy Angelo]

"From the tone of the post I gathered that folding AKs for one bet after missing the flop is not the default play, but instead one performed when

a.) image is an overiding concern
b.) knowledge of your opponents / specific information dictates thus
c.) you have reached a state of poker Zen

Is this correct?"


Magikist,

Was that an either-or question or an all-or-nothing? :-)

a) If I make x playing limit-hold'em, I make 1/5x because of image.

b) Specific information is what makes a default merely a default and not an always.

c) That was what the post was mainly about. I don't think I have any default plays with AK after the flop. But I do have some default feelings during the instant after a hand like the pocket queens hand, and the residue might affect me poorly during the next instant if I get AK, and this time, as is wished for every time, there was no damaging link from one hand to the other.

And when I write posts that drift into this topic, all I'm really doing is giving a pep talk to myself and to anyone else who works constantly on this part of his game.


Tommy

[Paluka]

I have to admit. I do feel a vibe from your posts. "Serenity" is maybe the right word.

[tpir90036]

[ QUOTE ]
But I do have some default feelings during the instant after a hand like the pocket queens hand, and the residue might affect me poorly during the next instant if I get AK, and this time, as is wished for every time, there was no damaging link from one hand to the other.

[/ QUOTE ]

i don't think i am smart enough to understand your posts. i had to read that sentence at lest thrice to figure out what it said.

[Ray Zee]

if you start to understand tommys posts then you dont understand tommys posts.