Crazy 8's

[Chris Daddy Cool]

Live 3/6 game with fellow 2+2er Bakku

Game is 7 handed at the moment and there's a crazy LAG woman on the table and several calling stations all around.

I'm in MP and open raise with 88. Coldcalled by Calling Station #1 which means he has two cards. It's 3bet by the crazy LAG woman in the SB. Coldcalled by Calling Station #2 in the BB which means he has two cards. I cap with my 88 and they call.

FLOP: 9 6 4 r

LAG lady bets. Calling Station #2 calls. I raise. Calling Station #1 calls. LAG lady 3bets. We all call.

TURN: 2
LAG lady bets. Calling Station #2 calls. I... ?

[symphonic]

You cap with 88, and she's the crazy LAG? heh.

[Chris Daddy Cool]

You gotta realize that she literally has any two cards, as do my calling stations, so why not cap with likely the best hand?

[Shalara]

Nice play, tough call. You may still have the best hand. One of them might have lucked out and hit a 9. Or maybe even be holding a pocket pair. Hmmm... seems that another raise will not drive anyone out. Nor can you be certain you have the best hand. I would certainly not fold here, but I don't see much value to raising either. I would just call this turn and river.

[Chris Daddy Cool]

I'm quite positive I'm ahead of LAG woman, but I'm getting coldcalled in two different spots on a non draw board. What could they be calling me with? I definitely agree raising doesn't have much value, but how close is it between folding and calling here?

[Shalara]

It sounds like they will call with anything or nothing. I think you should still call, if only because one of them may be sitting on A-bottom pair, and the other on a lone ace or face, hoping to catch a pair. That strikes me as a lose-the-least, win-the-most strategy. It's a very tough spot to be in; I don't envy you there.

How did it come out?

[bakku]

Shalara play goot!

[Chris Daddy Cool]

I really really liked how I played this hand until the turn when I folded. Ugh. Seriously though, the other two callers in this hand had me real concerned, so I folded expecting someone to have a 9 out there.

But...

Crazy LAG/fake tan lady had Q6 for a pair of sixes.
Calling Station #2 has AJ for high card A.
Calling Station #1 has 77 for a pair of sevens and takes down a rather large pot that I created.

Needless to say I was quite upset with my fold, well, mainly my read on the other two players.

[Shalara]

Yeah. Those kinds of players are tough for me. I can't read them. Like playing in the dark. At the casino up here, there are a couple few calling stations to a table, and maniacs sit down with a fair amount of frequency. Probably every 4-5 trips up there. It is harder to isolate a maniac when you have calling stations at the table, so it gets pretty difficult.

I've established certain patterns that seem to work okay; they largely revolve around sitting left of the maniac, and if there's a maniac at the table with the calling stations, this is the only way I've found to make it fairly profitable. Any half-way decent hand I immediately raise preflop behind the LAG maniac. This includes pairs, big cards, and medium-to-high suited connectors. Even the staunchest calling stations can't keep up with calling raises and 3-bets every time, and the solid players will generally let you alone unless they've got whopping huge hands.

I raise every street, all the way, with any piece of the flop too, because my piece is stronger than theirs. Sometimes I will lose the pot. Nearly always, I will have every one of their chips after a several hours, after which they will leave. I will not fold heads-up with them unless obviously beaten.

But if you can't get on their left, the game gets to be *really* hard. I mean, a nut and two callers? How can you have any idea where you're at? I just figure my hand is good, they could have anything; against 3 random hands, I will win often enough to make a call profitable. On the other hand, must admit I folded my pocket tens the other night when the two guys had a raising war on the flop (there was a king on it, and two blanks). They both had middle pair *cringe*. I would have won. Ouch. Them's the breaks I guess [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]