Sunday, January 18, 2004
Home Game Poker Update...
Tonight was one of the most challenging and rewarding games I've been a part of.
We had seven tonight, including a regular's co-worker friend. The reason I mention her is that this was my first experience playing live NL against the dreaded "maniac."
Let me rephrase that. The "dreaded maniac who is catching miraculous cards."
Actually though, I built a huge chip advantage in the first two minutes of the game. My brother and I managed to duke one out on the very first hand.
I looked down at the inital deal and saw AA. This was the only pair higher than TT I saw all game, but I made it count. I raised a couple of callers $50 (BB was $10), and with my brother in the SB, he raised me another $100. I gladly called.
The flop worried me a little when a T hit with two blanks. He bet into me from early position, I raised, he called.
I got my set on the turn, as an Ace hit the board. My brother, thinking his two pair had the right kicker bet into me again, I raised, he called.
I was only a little worried about the river, another T, when he went in for $300 as his opening bet in this round. I wasn't really about to throw my hand away, but the pot was in the neighborhood of $800, and considering we start with $1125, that's pretty hefty.
I called, flipped my AA, and said, "I hope you've got the quad tens."
He had a suited AK.
Bad play on his part, I nearly doubled up on the first hand.
But as soon as I figured out what was going on with "the maniac," I shut down completely and played like a rock. Bluffing was absolutely pointless, as she stayed in to the river on anything.
And she hit everything. She rivered straights, hit gutshots, made unlikely two pairs, it was unreal. After she got a little cocky when sweeping a pot that she was a huge underdog to win until the river bailed her out, I cut her off and said, "No, no... that's not luck. Just keep doing what you're doing, the river will always be there to bail you out I'm sure."
I rarely open my mouth at the table, and got some strange looks for that one, but I wanted to make sure that if there was one player she couldn't take lightly at the table, it would be me.
So I waited out the game and took my shots when I could.
What was nice was that when we got down to three players and the blinds went up, my 3XBB bets started to intimidate her. Actually, combine that with her cards going somewhat cold, and I could tell that we had broken her. I bled her dry over the next half hour and got down to heads up.
Heads up went perfectly tonight. I found my opponent's betting breaking point ($250 when the BB was $100), and stole blind after blind, regaining the chip lead that I had on the first hand but had lost to this point.
I really did a great job sucking him in to bet when I was holding too. On the last hand I was dealt JQd, and saw a 9T3 flop. I checked, he made a bet (just the BB value), and I called. My K hit on the turn. I checked, and he did too. As if I willed it to happen, another K hit the river. I checked quickly, and he moved all in (he was sitting on $1500, I was on $7500, and BB=$200). I quickly called and he flipped over pocket fives for two pair, thinking I hadn't hit anything.
I had my straight, and I'm $70 richer tonight as a result.
It was great to go up against a maniac, not to mention getting a different player than my usual opponents into the heads up game (not the maniac).
Poker really made me think tonight, and that's when poker is at its best.
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