California Trip Report - High Stakes Poker Adventure - Part I

I arrived in California midday Thursday, a friend picked me up at the airport and we drove up to the casino for a weekend of poker.

Day 1:

I jumped into a juicy 10/20NL game with a $2000 stack - the games were very good, hopefully it would be a profitable weekend.

There were only 2 notable hands from day 1:

• I raised AK under the gun(UTG) and got reraised by a tight player who was next to act (UTG+1). Live plays very differently than online, it is generally more passive, so I folded - he flashed KK.

• I raised 75 and 3barreled a K63 2 club board against what turned out to be a fish, who called me down with a king.

This was mostly tilt, I was frustrated from folding for 4 hours and this particular player had not folded to my cbet yet on the flop in 6 different hands.

After some thought I realized that 4 hours = ~150 hands, which is less than I play in one hour online. I redoubled my efforts to play a patient game after my moment of weakness.

After a 6hr session I was down a bit, about $1200. I called it a night early because I was tired from my flight, determined to play my A game for the rest of the weekend.

Day 2:

I woke up early on Friday, and went downstairs to play some cards. The waiting list for the 10/20nl was very long, but there was a 20/40 game running 3handed so I bought in for $2000 there to minimize my risk until I could determine if the game was good.

The game was very good. I added on for $2k more and ordered some food, planning to play a long session. The table filled up and soon pots were 6way unraised - a juicy table to be sure!

Things started out rough. I got AA and KK cracked in the first couple hours, but I managed to get away from my hand both times and only lost medium-sized pots.

Making Use of My Image

I turned things around in two hands that complement each other.

Hand 1:

I raise AK to $140, unknown player calls in the big blind(BB).

Flop: K 4 2 ($300)

I have a tight image at the table. With almost $4000 behind, I’m not happy getting my stack into this $300 pot on such a dry board. Furthermore, the only legitimate calling hands are Kx, so I opt to take a somewhat unorthodox line.

BB checks, I check.

Turn: (K 4 2 ) T ($300)
BB checks, I bet $200, BB calls.

River: (K 4 2 T) 2 ($700)
BB checks, I bet $450, BB calls.

I show my hand and BB mucks, I scoop the $1600 pot.

I gave my opponent a chance to bluff, and when he didn’t I value-bet. It’s possible I missed some value from KQ/KJ, but I don’t know his hand so it is possible he called down with just a T that could not have called the flop.

Such an unorthodox line later protects me.

Hand 2:

A somewhat aggressive player raises in middle position(MP) to $120, I reraise KK in the BB to $400, he calls.

The flop is: A T 4 (pot: $820)
I check, MP bets $500, I call.

Turn: (A T 4) 8
I check, MP checks.

River: (A T 4 8) Q
I check, MP checks.

I flip my KK and villain mucks, ship the $1820 pot.

I was fortunate that my opponent did not have the guts to fire a second barrel, but he had seen me take unorthodox lines and check the flop to trap with strong hands before, so he could not be certain whether I was giving up or trapping him, which likely bought me my free showdown.

One aggressive player at the table commented on the hand, saying “i’m going to have to 2-barrel you!”
I would not be able to take such a vulnerable line again at this table today, but could potentially set some traps with my now-weakish image.

After a few more hours of play I was ready for a shower and some lunch, so I took my leave of the table.
Stay tuned for part 2, where I run into some real tough spots in an aggressive, shorthanded 20/40 NL game during my afternoon session! I manage to lose my biggest pot, ever!