The Art of the Information Bet

Set-over-set is alot more fun to watch than it is to be the guy w/ one out. Nice hand, @CaityCaity. Way to dodge the one-outer.

-- About 9:30PM EST; Posted @OnAFoldDraw (that's me!)

Katie limped in MP, she got a limper behind her, next player opened for a raise, I just called on the button.  Four of us to the flop for $8.

953 w/ two spades.  Check, check, Original raiser c-bets $30.  I got a feeling I could take him off the hand w/ a laise, but I'm worried about the snakes in the grass before him.  The fact that I have no-pair/no-draw w/ AQo is irrelevant.  I fold.

Katie c/r's to $90 and not long after, the player next to her moves all-in for over $100 more.  The guy that bet $30 had no trouble giving it up, but Katie had a decision to make.

She called, with middle set of fives.  The guy with the information bet had bottom set of threes and was drawing to one out.  Set of fives holds, Katie is happy.

Information Bet (n.) - moving all-in with less than the nut hand.  This is called an information bet because you learn that you're beat when you get called.

It was this hand that I tweeted about.  I was sitting on a nice win and my tumbly was a bit rumbly - so I headed over to the Deli near the @HarrahsPoker Room.  What a mess.  It was so bad I even asked the man with the manager badge for a chance at improvement.

After being gone from the table for nearly 40 minutes, I returned with food.  Some people think that players don't like to play anything but the best of hands while they're chowing down.  I was dealt complete garbage whilst nomming on my burger, I went a full dealer-down with a VP$IP = 0 and half of another one.  Even after I was done with the food, I still was pretty card dead.

We got a new player in the seat to my right.  I was tired of folding.  He limped, I laised.  Flop came out Q73r.  He bet $15 (into $25?, I think sb was in the pot, too.)

I raised.  He looked at the $850+ in front of me, the less than $200 in front of him, and decided he didn't want to tango.  Claims to have folded a queen.

Very next hand, I'm pretty sure... two limps to me, I open, five of us to the flop.  Couple of checks on a Td6d4h flop.  I bet $28 into $40.  Folds back to Katie.  She makes it $90.  Does this sound familiar from the hand where she flopped middle set before?

I looked around for the placement of the button/blinds.  She was in EP.  I could be wrong, but I think she would've opened wth pocket tens, not limped.  I knew she didn't have middle set... because... well, because I did.

There's $220 in the pot if I lost my mind and just called.  I raised another $130.  She moved in.  I called.  She knew she was in trouble when I called.  Turn was a diamond, river paired the tens.  She might've had a diamond with her pocket fours, I didn't see. 

She left to go up to the room.  One of the players at the table asked, "Hey, didn't you buy her a sandwich?  I think she's in the bathroom, throwing it up right about now."

Karma, Party of Two

I had pocket kings at least four times on Tuesday playing in the @HarrahsPoker Room, took down the blinds three times, got limp-raised the fourth.  Limp-raiser folded to my 4bet.  I had Aces, once that I can remember.  Ran into the monster that is ATo.  Flop, KJT.  He rivers two-outer.

Sounds like a bad day.  Incomplete stories can leave the reader with the wrong impression.

Folds to my cut-off.  I open, regular rock in small blind 3-bets to $35.  He only has AK/AQ(sooted) or TT+.  Only.  No other hand is in his range here.  I peel a flop.  T75r.  He leads $35 (half pot) into me heads up.  His range is now narrowed to one of two hands.  He either has a set of tens, or a set of tens.  I'm not sure which of the three remaining tens in the deck he does not hold.

I gave him a speech about how I'd play for $70, but not for $35.  We both babble back and forth about how he would've bet $70 if he had known that and I say he wouldn't have have a set of tens if he had bet $70...

Blah blah, this is only important, because later...

There's a raise from UTG, UTG+1 calls, as do I.  Gets to the small blind, he puts out a big 3bet.  We're both deep, almost $400 each before the hand was dealt.  I close the action and call heads-up.  Pot is about $100

Flop is queen high.  He measures out $60.  Then $85ish.  Then back to $60, matches it to itself.  He bets $120.  I'm a fish.  I assume, as fish do, that top pair = nutz.  I really read the guy completely wrong as having either AK air or a pair under the queen.  If he had bet less, I would've folded.

I shove, his instacall disheartens me.  I sheepishly admit, "I just have a Queen." 

Doesn't this mother fucker try to slow-roll me and say, "I just have an Ace."  For a nanosecond, I thought I had read his soul and he called with air out of spite.  Then, reality sets in.  He tries to finish his dickish move by saying, "With another Ace!"

The wind went out of his sails pretty quickly when I rivered a five-out Queen on his ass.

Send the Chili to Willy!

Friends of our Fathers

In AC, playing $1/$2 NL as I type. Got here Sun afternoon, played a coupla hours at Harrah's (http://twitter.com/HarrahsPoker). Floor person put me in the eight, nine was open, too. Grabbed some chips at the window and I didn't have 'em out the rack before my tool-dar pinged. Douchenozzle in the five with a fauxhawk was beligerant drunk and dying for attention.

Every word out of this guy's mouth was directed at the TV cameras, and most were disrespectful and borderline rule breaking.

Wasn't long before the nine was filled and the seven got a new face. Toolbox noticed, wondered where half the table went.

"They probably got tired of your mouth."

That didn't shut him up for long, but did elicit a couple laughs from fellow tablemates. Old man in the seven made a comment, kid started cutting into him. Not only did the guy just sit down, he hadn't even been dealt in yet and this kid was after him.

He eventually attacked his age, and he said, "What are you, friends with my father?"

I immediately came back with, "No, but he knows your mother pretty well, if ya know what I mean..."

Now, that... that shut him up.

Billy Might Be Right

Where did I leave off?

"I've got 13 more hours in Las Vegas, here's hoping I don't do anything drastically damaging to my bankroll."

If I remember correctly, I behaved well after this post.  I took a little nap and then went downstairs to look for a $10/$20 Omaha H/L game.  There was a tournament running, only games with a seat open were nosebleed stakes, save for a $20/$40 BOTE game.  The fact that I am teh suck at Badugi and $20/$40 is a big high could've easily prevented me from sitting in this game.  It's an eight-max table, and when you're paying $30/round in blinds, you'd better make it or fake it when it comes to getting dealt hands.

I eventually decided that $30 in blinds would be much cheaper than running a 4-street bluff for 3.5 big bets ($140).  So I waited for a hand.  Eventually, AJ77 with one flush draw began to look like AA23 double sooted.  After I showed down my A7 for low, the eight seat did a double-take, as if to say, "You waited all this time to play THAT crap?"

I was happy as a [insert analogy here] to hear a new Omaha game open up.  I ran fast and far away from the $20/$40 BOTE having suffered a very minor flesh wound of only a little over 1.5 big bets (-$65).  Sat with $300 in the Omaha and it wasn't long before I was looking down at more than $1,200 in front of me.

My failproof strategy:  consume mass quantities of Vodka and Redbull.

Gaping hole in strategy:  the mass quantities.

Left the table stuck a little over $100.  Didn't help that one of my last hands I folded to one bet on the river after bricking with OESD/FD - pot was over $500.

To make a long story less long - I left Vegas with a profit (I couldn't believe it, either).  Found myself in Atlantic City later that week on Friday Night.  More to come on that later.

Please provide your favorite fill-in-the-analogies in the comments section.

I Was Wrong

It's often been said that, "There's nothing funner... than runner, runner."  I say it all the time.  I have been perpetuating a non-truth.  Ever since landing in Las Vegas late Friday night, I have learned of a few situations that actually trump going runner-runner on some nit for a big ol' pot.

a)  Leading out with nut-nut in a H/L game on the river, and getting raised.

b)  Having someone else take a big gamble and buy you into a World Series of Poker Bracelet Event.

c)  After two hours of playing said event, the godfather of poker, Doyle Brunson takes a seat on your left.  You discuss such topics as Tom Dwan, and the fact that he knows better than to play in Bobby's Room, because Dwan is a mixed game FISH.

d)  You get your ears blown out at Roland DeWolfe's Bracelet Ceremony, tweet about it, and @JeffreyPollack, the commisioner for the WSOP, replies directly to you, and apologizes for having not yet worked out all the kinks.

I'm sure there are plenty of other things that truly are funner than runner-runner, but this of course will not stop me from saying it.

I've got 13 more hours in Las Vegas, here's hoping I don't do anything drastically damaging to my bankroll.

Monday Morning Reading Material

If you're somehow not following me on twitter, you've missed alot.

http://twitter.com/onafolddraw

Also a few gems on FaceBook, or, as my Aunt Glo likes to call it, MyFace

http://www.facebook.com/travis.t.williams

I busted out of WSOP #31, $1,500 HORSE - concentrating on $10/$20 Omaha H/L as I type from the table.

200 Pkgs Gtd Satellite on PStars Sunday

Poker Stars is running an awesome satellite on Sunday. 
From @PokerStars_com :

Bad news - good news. No Sunday Million next week. In its place a 200 packages guaranteed satellite to the World Series of Poker Main Event.

I'll be in Vegas for the WSOP, playing Event #31, the $1,500 HORSE.  Otherwise I'd be all over this satellite.  If you're not already, follow @OnAFoldDraw on twitter for my updates on the action.

If Murphy's law is in full effect, a bunch of us from the local poker circuit are sure to be seated at the same table during the HORSE.  Brian @RavensFutbal Reeve, Katie @caitycaity Baxter, Andy @TeamGetBig Ciandella and I are all going out there.  Our buddy Jason Roth (too cool for twitter) will be there, too. 

Jason played Day 1A of the Borgata's $350+$50 yesterday.  278 Players started; Jay finished 12th in chips out of the 29 remaining players.  Day 1B is underway as I type, that pack will join the rest to play Day 2 tomorrow.  Not sure, but I think they play down to the final table and come back for a Day 3.  This is the same event where Jason final-tabled last year for over $20,000.  I was immensely happy for him until I learned that he was playing on something like a 80/20 stake.  Hopefully he worked out a much better deal this year, or put himself in.

I was dealing $5/$10 Pink HOE last Friday Night and Andy offered a line of over 1,150 players in the WSOP event we're playing on Sunday.  I jumped on it and took $100 on the under.  I would gladly have bet $1,000 on it had I not run like poo earlier this year.

Hey, Look Over There!

@BJNemeth has a guest-post on @TaoPauly's blog: Tao of Poker.

2009 WSOP Day 10: Just Another Day in the Office: Phil Ivey Wins His Sixth Bracelet -- and $12 Million

1.  Read it (linky)
2.  Be envious of the awesomeness that is @PhilIvey
3.  Rinse, lather, repeat if desired.