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In
this section I’d like to share an interesting hand
from a home game I played the other night. I know what
you’re thinking – who cares about a shitty home
game? Well, most of the time our home games are pretty
damn good. It’s not unusual to get together 2 or 3
times a week, and we play hard. But enough of my back
patting, let’s get to the hand.
Pre-Flop
With
the blinds at 20-40, I was in the big blind with A 10
off suit (I had around 1200 in chips). It folded around
to the small blind – a good, tricky player – and he
made it 150 to go (I had him covered by a couple
hundred). I wasn’t crazy about this hand, but I knew
the small blind could be raising with a wide range of
holdings, so I decided to take a flop in position. I
didn’t have any kind of read just yet.
The
Flop
The
flop came out K 10 7 rainbow, a decent board for me. I
would much rather pair my 10 than my ace in this
situation, as there is much less likelihood for me to be
dominated if he holds something like AQ or AJ (and if he
does have one of these hands, he is dominated).
The small blind bet out 280, and it was time to put
together the pieces. My gut told me he had missed, as
his bet seemed like an amount that didn’t want a call.
In the previous hand, he had made the same raise
pre-flop and bet out 200 on the flop, winning the pot
and showing top pair. His largish bet this time
indicated my hand was good, and I ruled out him holding
a king. Also, the small blind is the type of player that
loves to limp with big pairs, so I also ruled out AA, KK
or QQ. JJ was a possibility, but I figured that’s far
too vulnerable of a hand to give out a free flop. I
believed my hand was good, and I called the 280 (a raise
would have been an unnecessary risk at this point),
wanting to see what developed on the turn. The pot was
now 860.
The
Turn
The
turn was a 5, a total blank. The small blind thought for
a minute and checked. I was now certain he didn’t have
a big pair or a king, and instead had something like AQ,
AJ or A9. However, I couldn’t totally eliminate JJ. I
also wasn’t about to check – that would be way too
scared in this spot. With the pot at 860, I bet 280, the
exact bet he made on the flop, and about 1/3 of the pot.
This was a half value/half defensive bet, meant to
extract a bit more money and show I was committed to the
pot (I had put about 2/3 of my stack in), and to deter
my opponent from getting crazy on the river. The small
blind thought for a bit and called, and all of a sudden
JJ popped back in my head. I was now in deep, however,
and I was ready to go down.
The
River
The
river was a 7, another blank. The small blind checked,
and I quickly checked behind him. Why not bet? Well,
even though I was 90% certain my hand was good, a bet
would serve no purpose here. The small blind was
committed to the pot and would cripple me if I put him
all in and he had JJ. Basically, I would only get called
if I was beat, and I was more than willing to show down
my pair of 10s. “If you got a piece you’re good”,
the small blind told me, and he flipped up AQ. Sweet!!
My analysis of the hand was spot on, and I won a huge
pot. Scooping these chips allowed me to last deep into
the game.
These
are the kinds of hands I love getting involved in, much
more so than taking aces up against kings (the cards
play themselves in these situations). An interesting
hand against a good player, with tough decisions to be
made on every street – that’s what poker is all
about. Take time and work on your game, and you never
where you’ll end up. Poker truly is the game of the
common man. Just ask Moneymaker.
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