HOME GAME

I have not been blogging because I have not been playing much in the past month. I finally broke down and got a real job, so I am no longer at home at all times, looking for action. I love the new job and plan to stay with it for many years, so poker goes back to being a leisure pursuit.

Last night, I got the call for a home game at my neighbor's house, where I played a tournament a few years ago, finishing second. I made for a game of six and we agreed on a $50 buy-in cash game with $.50/1.00 blinds. I established the limp early on, so as a result, most hands were four or five-way action with only the occasional preflop raise. I threw a lot of money at flops I had no business seeing, but I figured with my experience, my best chance at a big win would come by understanding where I'm at as the hand progresses, so I wanted to be involved in as many hands as possible.

My first buy-in was short-lived. The big blow came when I took a flop with T-5 and the flop came 9-7-5. There was some action, but I wasn't buying it. The turn was a 9 and there was a bet and a call. I made the call again, thinking neither guy had a nine. The river was a T and I figured I just beat whichever guy has a seven, so I called a $15 river bet and fell to Q-9.

I bought in for another $50 and immediately got A-A on the big blind. When the limpfest got around to me, I put in small raise, looking for a couple of callers, which is what I got. The flop was 7-5-4 and I led out with a bet. There was a call and then the small blind raised it up. I called. The turn was a J and he bet into me. Well, if he's not scared of the jack, then he's already got two pair or trips. I just had to hope it was two pair or a pair of sixes. I wasn't folding, so I went ahead and shoved and he showed trip fives. The river was another jack, so I would have beaten 5-4, but instead, I was rebuying again. I threw a $100 bill into the middle and was given a stack of green $5 chips. At this time, I was looking like the patsy at the table, but what nobody realized is that being $200 into a cash game for me is like being $50 in for them and I had no concerns that I wouldn't be able to get it back.

Almost imediately, my luck turned. I tried to shake things up by min-raising with Tc-4c in first position. I got one caller and the flop came Q-T-6. I bet out and he called. The turn was a 4, giving me two pair. I reached for chips which made him reach for chips so fast, that I decided to check to him. He bet $5 and I bumped it to $20, which he called instantly. The river was an 8 and I bet another $20. He folded and said he had nothing. I couldn't resist showing the T-4 and claiming I got lucky. I figured he had nothing so I was happy to have made the extra money on the turn.

I won another big pot when my third pair held up against a bettor and a caller. I called with my pair and straight and flush draw but checked the end when I didn't improve. My pair of eights were good enough. The hand of the night came when I limped utg with Kc-Qc, looking for a big multi-way pot with a superb multi-way pot type of hand. The flop came Q-9-6 and I led out, getting called, then raised. The turn was a K and I checked. The next guy bet out, which surprised me, then the third guy raised him. In a tougher game, I probably muck my hand at this point, but unless I'm getting burned by trips again, then I'm likely up against a lesser two pair. I had concerns about the J-T but I doubt if the raising guy would have been raising a draw on the flop. The other guy was more likely to have me beat but he had a smallish stack, so he was getting paid off regardless. The third guy, raising guy, with the big stack either has trip sixes or something he is overplaying, so I cold called the raise, as did the middle guy.

The river was a blank, so the strength of my hand now was the same as when I cold called on fourth street. I checked with the intention of calling a bet. The middle guy bet a measly $10 and the third guy proclaimed all-in. He didn't expect anybody to call him, so he thought I was just wasting time when I asked for a count. It turned out to be $108 to me. That's a lot in this game, but it's not enough to make me fold top two pair, so I called and the middle guy tossed in his remaining chips. The all-in guy had A-K and the middle guy had flopped two pair with Q-6. I took a huge pot, bringing me into the black.

I won some other more boring pots and redistributed some money back into the game with loose calls rather than locking up my win and ended the night up $220. There was one missed opportunity that went down like this: I raised to $3 with Ah-Kh and got called by two players. The flop came A-3-3. I checked, to allow somebody else to either get greedy or overplay their lesser ace, but it checked around. The turn was a 6 and one player bet $3. I just called, hoping the third guy would call as well, and instead he declared all-in. It was a crazy bet. These guys just like to say all-in, I guess. It was a $90 bet into a pot with less $20 in it. That guy had been a fan of the all-in move all night and had always shown the goods, so I was thinking of laying down my hand anyways, but when the other guy called him, I couldn't imagine that one of them didn't have a three, so I mucked my A-K. Turns out the all-in guy had A-Q and the caller had A-K like me. I guess my slowplay worked, but I didn't get to benefit from it.

There was one other notable hand. Three of the guys had come to the game contingent on Dave, the host, ordering the pay-per-view UFC match, which he had on in the other room. Two guys left the game to watch one of the undercard matches and the four of us who remained played some hands with a $1 ante. I got dealt an ace in every hand and so I saw every flop. On the last of these hands, I min-raised with A-4 and got some calls. The flop came 5-3-2 and I made the continuation bet. It folded to Dave, who pushed all-in with a pair of sixes. Again, it was a crazy $60 bet into a small pot. I relieved him of his stack, the same as if I would have had a pair of nines. It's easy to make money in home games like this where the opponents are so enamored with the all-in move that they think it's a device to ensure everybody else folds. The turn/river came 7/J so he would have saved money by seeing I was still interested on later streets if he had left himself the opportunity.

Well, the game broke for the UFC main event and I walked home to chat with Marci and the Jacksons, who were in my jacuzzi. When I got back, the match was soon decided and we got back to the game, but with the match over and me taking all their money, there was little reason for these guys to stick around, so the game busted at 10PM and that was that.