Evil v. Good

I've been working in new aspects to my play lately, trying to evolve into more than just a straightforward player, particularly in my regular cash game and a couple of local tournaments that feature many of the same players. Anyway I figure it, if I don't mix up my play, the reactions to my playing a tight, simple (and predictable) style of poker will come at my expense, either via bigger hands or by bigger bluffs. The beatings will be swift, severe and painful.

As you might expect, the early results have been mixed. However, I am committed to working such plays into the fold of my game, short-term losses notwithstanding.

Let me document a couple of the literal misfires.

The first was more of a lapse in judgment than anything else. Relatively early in a 2 rebuy tournament I raised an unopened pot with 10,8 off and got 3 callers. I flopped trip 8s with 2 diamonds on board and led out. Two players folded and the last, a guy I often play against, called. The turn brought another diamond and I checked and after a brief thought about making a move, merely called a bet by my opponent. He's a solid, winning, tight player and doesn't usually make moves without good hands, so at this point I could have ditched, since at the worst I had him on a middle flush, but decided to see the river, hoping to boat up or represent that I had done so. When a fourth diamond hit the board on the river, I saw even more opportunity make a play at the pot. With about the size of the pot left in my stack and two rebuys in hand, I shoved, hoping my standard tight image would induce a big (if incorrect) laydown of the likely flush my opponent held.

It didn't. My consolation was that I was afforded the knowledge that I do indeed have a tight image, as he called with a somewhat resigned "If you boated up, you've got it" as he showed one of the big hands I hoped to represent, the nut flush. With two rebuys, he wasn't laying that down under almost any circumstance, a fact that I should have recognized earlier.

A consolation to this was that after rebuying, much later in the tournament I was able to make plays, hit hands and continuation bet my way to a second place finish for a tidy little cash.

My next ill-fated semi-bluff was in my regular cash game and the problem with this one was not so much opportunity or timing as it was some poor execution on my part.

After a small preflop raise from a player in early position drew a couple callers, I looked down at K,3 suited from the BB and came along. Flop came A,K,x with two clubs on board (I held no clubs) and I checked and the preflop bet out. Having been in many games with him, I was almost 100% that he had an ace but not A,K. My normal play here is to get out of dodge and wait for a better spot but the new me decided I would make a play on this hand if a scare card came on the turn (or if I happen to hit a 3.)

Well, a club did turn and I decided to spring the trap. I checked, my opponent kept his action consistent and bet out and I raised. And I made my mistake, and it was two fold. The first mistake I made was in not calculating my opponent's stack, which after his last two bets was dwindling somewhat. The second was because of his stack, I didn't raise enough. Granted, my check raise gave him pause for a couple minutes and I did have him thinking he was beaten but because it wasn't enough of a raise, he ended up making the call. The river bricked out and I was left with a basic tenet of poker: bet or lose. So I bet, enough to put my opponent all in because of his previous call, he was now short. Not automatic type of short, but still short. And again he agonized, and again he called and his ace was good. If his stack is bigger, he probably folds it on the river. If I raise more on the turn when his stack was bigger, he probably folds it right then. Duly noted.

On I go, waging the battles to improve. Whether it happens or not, we shall see.