High On Poker

I really like the NYC bloggers I meet. So far, that illustrious crew includes (in order of meeting), Dr. Pauly, the Rooster, F-Train, Derek, SoxLover, Dawn, Karol, ShipItFish, Hoyazo and LJ. I may be leaving out a few, but take no offense. There are just too many damn NYC bloggers around, and if I were to list everyone I’ve met through the IHO girls alone, I’d be here all night.

I’ve written before about how oddly comfortable it is to meet one of these fellow bloggers in person. Since we immediately share an interest in poker and writing (and for NYC bloggers, a common locale), conversation is easy. Since we likely read each others’ writings, we already know a bit about who that person is inside of their heads. But the greatest thing is that I actually LIKE these people. For the most part, they are open, friendly, good-natured, fun-loving folks, and I consider them the #1 benefit I’ve gotten from this humbly awesome blog.

On Sunday, I went to New Jersey to play some poker at Soxlover’s apartment. It was a dealer’s choice format, and it seemed like there was an unspoken goal to hit as many different types of poker possible, including (in order of least to most cards per player), NL Holdem, Double Board PL Holdem, Crazy Pineapple, LO8, PLO8, PLO, Badugi, PL Five Card Draw, NL Kansas City Lowball (essentially, Five Card Draw where you are trying to get the WORST hand), Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, Stud Hi, Stud 8 or Better (i.e., Hi/Lo) and Razz. The players were (from me, clockwise) me, Sox, Mrs. Sox, Mary, Alceste, CK, and F-Train.

Ostensibly, the game was really just a front to premiere the newest SoxLover in the family, lil Baby Sox, a freaking adorable 14 wk old angel. You might not know it from reading here, but I actually like children including babies. This is likely helped by the fact that I don’t own any. But I like to be a goofy sonuvabitch, and kids are generally really responsive to that and my impossibly round baby-shaped (but oversized) cranium. Whatever the case, I really enjoyed meeting the little tyke, and I’m proud to say that her birth effectively lowered the percentage of members of the Sox family I’ve seen naked to 33%!

Really, I want to write about poker, but part of me can’t get off of the baby thing. I’ve known the Soxes for probably going on 2 years. That’s a very loose estimate. In reality, I’ve only hung out with them a dozen times or so, including our trip to the Bash at the Boathouse last September. But I consider them my friends, and it was really special to be able to see the way they acted around their baby. They both literally glowed with pride. That is, when they weren’t calling me fat or a donkey…

So, let’s talk poker. I have two fun hands for today, one which is a Kansas City Lowball hand, and the other is a traditional NLHE hand with some fun elements. If Sox is reading this, he is going to wince at this first hand because it involved him and ended with his tilting.

Primer for you non Kansas City Lowball players. KCL looks a lot like 5-Card Draw. You get 5-cards, but your goal is to get the worst possible hand. Aces are considered High only, straights and flushes count, so the best hand is a non-flush 23457. You get one draw. Generally, a good hand at a full table (in my mind), is a 9-high, or so. In 2-7 Triple Draw (essentially KCL with three draws), your requirements get a lot higher because of all the chances to draw, but in Kansas City Lowball, its a one-shot deal. From playing 2-7 TD, I’ve learned that strategically, if you are sitting on a Jack-high hand and the other guy draws one card on his last draw, it is mathematically correct to stand pat (i.e., not draw). While a J-high hand may not be strong, the logic is that the drawer has a high chance of pulling an Ace, King, Queen, or pairing one of their four unpaired cards (assume 4 Aces, Kings, and Queens, three of each of the unpaired cards, for 24 bad cards in the deck for the drawing player out of less than 42 cards).

With this in mind, and my knowledge of SoxLover’s playing style, I was in the BB with a Jack-high hand. The full hand was something akin to 2349J, so I planned to draw the Jack and hope for a 9-high hand. To my surprise, Sox bet out preflop a pretty penny. I don’t remember the exact amount, but I remember that it was very high, and when it folded to F-Train in the SB, he folded as well. At this point, I was ready to fold if F called, because I know him to be a smart player. Sox is a smart player as well, but he’s also very aggressive, and his bet seemed fishy. I knew he was semi-steaming from some other beats, and the home game generally had a loose feel, so I felt confident with my draw to a 9. I called and drew one. Sox stood pat. To replace my Jack, I got…another Jack! Crap! I checked. Sox pushed all-in, for $35 or so. I was up about $60, so I called. He had Queen high and I won.

He was rightly pissed after the hand. Don’t get me wrong, I like my play. But from his perspective, calling him with a Jack-high must’ve looked like suicide. Realistically, though, if he saw me draw one and he was the preflop bettor, it made sense for him to stand pat and try to scare me. Once I checked to him after the draw, it made NO SENSE for him to push all-in. The pot may’ve been near 15 or so, but it didn’t warrant his all-in push. If he had a hand worthy of standing pat, why would he bet so big. It was obviously an attempt to get me to fold. So, I had to decide if he was full-on bluffing, and when you do the math, the answer is obvious: Yes. Of course he was bluffing. Name me another hand combination where his play makes sense. If he has the nuts, maybe he is faking the bluff and overbetting for value, but how could he expect that to work when I checked so meekly after drawing one. If he had a marginal hand, like a Ten-high, why would he push. He’ll only get called by a better hand. It had to be a bluff.

Make no doubt about it, that hand was made easier by the fact that SoxLover is a smart, rational player. That’s what allowed me to read into his actions and paint the picture of what was really going on. If he was an idiot or a donk, he might’ve had anything, and folding would’ve been the smart choice. But he isn’t an idiot.

Onto the next hand. I planned to leave Sox’s place 15 minutes before the scheduled end time for the game because the trains ran on the hour, but it had begun raining, so I revoked my “last orbit” announcement after I secured a ride to the train station. I should’ve left earlier.

I was up about $25 when this NLHE hand happened (blinds of .50/.50). I was UTG and straddled to $1. It folded to CK, a degenerate poker player mentioned often at F-Train’s blog. She was hella-loose, which can make for a fun game. In fact, I probably played the most hands against her, since we are both fairly loose.

In this hand, she opted to call from the SB, as did F-Train. I looked down at my hole cards to discover AJc, a good hand for a straddle with only the blinds on the hook. Around this time, F-Train announced that he was going to call my raise no matter what, since he knew I was just using the straddle for this purpose. I opted to raise to $7 total, an unheard-of raise preflop so far the game. To my surprise, CK called, but F-Train folded.

The flop was J56. CK checked, and I checked, hoping to get more action on the turn. The turn was a 2, and CK bet out $15. I saw her make odd bluff raises (specifically worth $15) after floating in hands, only to muck when called on the river, so I didn’t worry too much about her hand. The 2 was also a club, giving me a nut-club flush draw. There was a possibility she got lucky and hit a set, but ultimately, I figured that I could rely on my backup draw. I raised, she pushed, I hestiated and then called. She had 34o, for the flopped OESD and the turned straight. I missed a club on the river and lost. From up $25 to -$50, and I wasn’t even supposed to be there that late.

I steamed quietly for a bit. I ran CK’s baffling play through my head (calling out of position with low unsuited connectors for $6 into a $3 pot), but ultimately just accepted that she had gambled and got lucky. I didn’t rebuy back in since we were leaving within the next ten minutes, so instead I moped around until it was time to go.

Poker is a fun game, and there will be times that you will lose. That’s nothing new, and I have come to accept it. -$50 on the day, but I had such a great time in NJ with the random crew that it was worth every penny.

Until next time, make mine poker!