Adding Insult to Injury...

Man, two Tuesdays in a row…we had a great turn out for the league. We had 30 players last night. It was a great sized tourney. My table was great…until two of my good friends got assigned to my table. I don’t mind playing against my buddies. It’s just that we have played thousands of hands together. I know what they will call with and what they will raise with in all sorts of situations. I know, you are probably thinking that is good. Well, the thing is I am sure they know my style just as well. It wasn’t really a big deal. I really can’t remember an early on hand where we tangled.

I had one hand of interest- Early in the tournament. Blinds are 25/50. A guy in the cut off raised to 200. It folds to me (in the BB). I look down at a 7c 8d. I call the extra 150. I’ve got a good read on the player, I know his style, and if I hit I know I can get paid. The flop:

8c 9d 8s

I lead right out and bet 200. I bet it quick. I want him to think that something seems weird so he’ll call. He tilts his head off to the side and back a little, as if to say…huh? It’s perfect, just what I want him to think. He calls. Now I am hoping a paint card comes on the turn. I know he got something like AQ, AJ, or KQ. I tell myself if a paint card hits I am going to check call and then bet out on the river. The turn:

Qc

Nice. I check. Sure enough he leads out for 350. I call. I am pretty much betting out on any card that hits (except another Q of course). The river:

4s

I lead out again, this time for 500. He pushes his hat back on his head and literally scratches his dome. He has no clue I have an eight. He calls. I flip over the 7 8. He shakes his head and mucks his cards. The guy next to him asked what he had. I heard him say he hit the queen.

I just like the hand because it got me thinking on different levels- not just about what cards I have and what cards my opponents have, but what cards do my opponents think I have.

The rest of the tourney went pretty well. I didn’t follow my read on one hand, but I was able to keep my losses to a minimum. I should have known better. Not a big deal though. The hand that really hurt me is when my queens ran up against a mid to low stack’s kings. I lost a chunk on that one. I was going to just smooth call, but there was another guy in the hand. I wanted to isolate the initial raiser. It worked. I isolated him, but he just ended up having a better hand than I did.

I still made the final table. I ended up busting out in 9th. I was short stacked (5 times the big blind). I pick up 10c10d, and push it all in. It was folding around the table. I was feeling good until my good friend stops and looks down at two jacks!! That stinks. I am dominated. Get this- just to add insult to injury…the flop comes out: J 9 J! I’m beat down by quads and out in 9th place!