What Would You Do? - Final Part

And now for the big reveal. Thanks for the comments I received. Years ago, I used to post a decent number of hand analysis posts, but I've gotten away from that over the years. so, without any further delay ...

#1
I bought into a $1/$2 NL game with $200. I often buy in for that amount while I am sizing up the table. Most people at the table have apparently been there for some time of have stacks around $500. The table captain is a somewhat large man with an accent that sound Jamaican to me. I had played at the same table with him at for a short time at Bally's in the past 24 hours. He was aggressive and a tad cocky. In the first orbit or two he had raised several times and blown people off hands. My thought was to trap him the first chance I got.

That chance came pretty quickly. I was in early position and looked down at A-Qos. I decided limp in to hide the strength of my hand. The villain, as expected, raised to $15. Everyone else folded, and I called. The flop provided a dry board of rag-Ace-rag. I decided to check. The villain then bet $30 - about a pot-sized bet. What would you do?

I usually am able to not let players get under my skin, but this villain did, for some reason. Something about his cockiness from the earlier time he played at my table and hearing his b.s. again just made me want to stick him good -- either felt him or make him back down. I can't really explain it -- maybe just the old competitive juices flowing from my younger days of playing sports. Looking back, I probably should have just called his $30 flop bet and then maybe looked to check raise all in after he bet after the turn. Instead, I monkey shoved my stack all in after his $30 post-flop bet. He thought for a short time and then called.

The result: I did not automatically reveal my cards after the turn and river. I was hoping to see the villain turn over something like A-J or A-10 since he did not insta-call my monkey shove. The villain then turned over his cards -- A-K! Crap - I know this guy had been betting with weak hands before. Of course, when he actually picks up a hand ... Ahhh, you know how that is. Having been felted by THAT guy, I just decided to pick up and leave and head toward Bally's.

#2
The two villains that are important to this hand are on the button and in early position. They each had stacks bigger than mine - maybe $400-$500.I was in late position with my customary $200 initial buy in. I lost a hand in my first orbit when I looked down to see the The Dreaded Pocket Kings! I raised to $15 and got two callers. The flop brought, of course, u see, an Ace. I placed a continuation bet . One player folded. The other called. I ended up losing about $40 to a villain who had A-J. Unfortunate. A few hands later, I was dealt A-Qos. The guy who beat me with A-J earlier raised to $15. I called. The button also called. Approximately $47 in the pot.The flop was rag-Q-rag with two spades. I either had one or no spades. I bet $25 and was called by the button. The guy who earlier had A-J raised to $60. What would you do?

In this hand, I felt like I was trapped. I had $135 left and the pot was already $157. I was feeling pretty confident that I was ahead of the initial raiser who had  re-raised me after my flop bet. I had no idea what the button might have had. If either had a spade draw, I wasn't going to play the hand like a wuss and have to make a decision after the turn in case a spade came. I wish I had isolated one player and didn't like it that there were two players in the hand. Using this information and then factoring in that this was likely my last poker session of the trip (and I was up for the trip, u see), I once again decided to monkey shove my remaining stack -- $135. The button thought for a short time and called. The player in early position waited a few seconds and announced that he was all in. The button tanked for a few minutes and then called.

The result: Neither player immediately turned over his cards. The turn paired the board, meaning that I had Queens Up with the top kicker. I was feeling pretty good until the river brought the third spade. At that point, I thought one of the two completed the flush. Surprisingly, neither did. However, my hopes of winning the hand were shattered when the button turned over his hand: A-A! The initial raiser mucked his cards so we have no idea what he had. I had put him on Queen-King earlier. I guess it is possible that he had K-K. I do not believe that he was bluffing or semi-bluffing. The button had him covered, so he immediately left the table. I, on the other hand, stayed a few minutes to watch the player  on the button stack his chips. He won a nice pot of around $1,150. I stayed at PH to give a Kitty Glitter  slot machine one last try, then headed back to the Orleans to get a little sleep before my morning flight home.

Thanks to all who read this and a special thanks to those who also commented on the blog or on Twitter.