Finally.. A Success Story
It’s official I just don’t like online poker and that’s ok. I don’t have to. I can play online for fun.. I enjoy playing in the AIPS events (which I will be rushing home for tonight). However, when it comes to what I enjoy about poker and why I started playing.. that’s the live play. I enjoy reading people whether it’s at the poker table or not. I get inside people’s heads and over analyze what makes them make certain decisions. Last night I visited Commerce for a NLHE 1/2 game and came out successful.
I sat down at a crazy table. The betting was wild and the calls and bluffs were insane. These people sat there betting from behind a tower of chips.. but very quickly.. they were out and tired of buying back in. So I appeared weak tight when I sat down because I was not getting involved in big pots and just getting to know the people around me. Soon enough I was faced with new people arriving and I was able to begin making well timed plays and just picking up small pots. I had been sitting next to a guy who must have thought he was a master bluffer or something. Every hand he ended up having to show was a bluff and when ever his big raise got called he said “oh, you got me..” So we find ourselves in a pot together… I have a Ks3s and I’m the BB with my bluffer friend as the SB. The flop brings 7-4-3 with 2 diamonds. He bets $4. I call. The turn brings another 3. He bets out $10. I think for a minute and decide I better check my cards again.. I wanted to make sure I had that 3 (for some reason I doubted myself) and I also wanted to make him think I was checking to see if I really had diamonds worth chasing. I thought this would throw him off from thinking I had the 3. I then decide to call.. I figured he wasn’t really smart enough to catch me playing weak and really being strong. He was too wrapped up in his bluff. The river is a 10. The diamond never comes out. He checks to me (giving up?). I bet a weak $6. He insta-re-reaises all in for $20 on top. I think for about half a second and realize his check was still part of his horrible bluff and then I call. He again says.. “Ya got me”. and mucks when I show the K3. He asks why I wasn’t ever scared he had a 3 or a 10-3 or even pocket 4s. I just told him that he never would have played the hand that way if he was that strong. He was really obvious… and soon out, as well. He also, told me that he never put me on the 3… which means I must have been working on the right level of thinking for this player.
I had a few other good reads last night too. My opponents where obvious in what they were trying to pull and their range of hands.. which is why I like live play.. I can pick up some really valuable information just by really observing the people around me. They also told me a few times that they had no idea what I had there.. which means I wasn’t giving much off. Another important aspect of my game. So my success last night had me leaving up 3x my buy-in. My bankroll is growing now.. I’ll be back at Commerce this weekend…
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Poker Kat,
You have said what I’ve been meaning to write in a post. On-line poker sucks compared to live. I would rather play live all day than sit at home and play on-line. On-line has some advantages but overall, live is so much better and much more successful for me.