Great Story from the Taj

[Tiburon]

From my blog...

Nothin' like it. Wake up in the morning, realize, "Hey. I could be sitting at the Taj in 45 minutes." Domenic calls, and *poof* we're there. I sat at the 3/6 game for about 5 hours, taking in about $181 from the players. Had a few memorable hands, but the most memorable was the last one I was involved in. Of course, it requires some background.

I plopped down about 11am at a jovial, fun-loving table. So fun-loving that seven of the players never left. They were there when we sat, they were there when we left. One guy came in in the middle, and had top two pair cracked 5 times. Not junk 2-pair, either, I cracked him with him holding AJs on an A-J-6 flop. Of course, I had 66. He ended up losing close to $200, and he played much better than that showed. The table was so loose, so passive, so unpredictable, that I actually played "any ace, any place" with some success. Now this other guy, who sat to Domenic's right, was a real jackass. Abusing dealers, and the like. He got what he deserved. The guy to my left was a pure LAG, but one who knew what he was doing. He seemed to be a regular, and as he got bored, the action got fun:

A three way pot, the solid LAG, the asshole, and this older guy. Raised pre-flop, the LAG is in the BB. Remember that--it becomes important later. He calls and sees a flop of A-4-5. Bets and gets called. The turn is another A. Then, all hell breaks loose. Bet-raise-re-raise-cap. River card an 8. Bet-raise-re-raise-cap. Asshole flips A6, Old guy flips A-2. LAG? 2-3. Asshole was all-in on the river. He gets WAY pissed, asks the dealer for a chip to hold his seat (by saying, "What am I speaking, fuckin' Chinese?" to the Asian dealer. This got him warned), and proceeds to the ATM. He was on big-time tilt. It's a shame, because he actually could've been a solid player.

Now I get my turn. I'm in the BB, look down at 63o. Family pot--big time. 6 players come in, then the 7th, the button says, "raise." This guy was a good, talkative guy. I look at him (thinking of Piers' BB defense) and say, "Naah, I don't respect that--I call," after the SB also called. 8 players to raised pre-flop action. Flop? 6-2-3, 2 diamonds (the 6 and the 3). SB fires, I raise, get called in 6 places. The turn? Another glorious 3. SB bets--WTF? I raise, Guy to my right folds, asshole re-raises, old guy caps. I gleefully come along. River is the 8 of diamonds, putting 3 diamonds on the board. Old guy bets, I raise, asshole re-raises all-in. We both call. Asshole stands and literally slams his cards down on the table. 7 of diamonds, two of diamonds, screams at me "FLUSH!" and goes to grab the pot. Old guy shows the 10 of diamonds and the 5 of diamonds and says, "Bigger flush." I turn over my 63o and say, calmly, "Full house." Table goes nuts. The asshole kicks his chair, I offer my hand to him--he just steams away. HUGE pot to me.

I'm feeling, as Teddy KGB would say, "Very satisfied." And I have Piers to thank...Cambodian Big Slick strikes again.

[piersmajestyk]

NI HAN sir Nothing like taking down a monster with a piece of garbage particularly when playing live.

[Xaston]

Umm. Shouldn't you have just called on the turn?

[Tiburon]

Are you being serious or joking? My hand was as well disguised as any, and they all came along either way.

[briachek]

i assume the asshole's raise on the river wasn't big enough for you to reraise again?

[Tiburon]

No, I was actually being somewhat courteous. I knew I had them both beat and I knew they both had flushes. I actually LIKED the old guy, and he BARELY called the re-raise--and the re-raise was only $4. Wasn't worth the complete murdering that was about to happen.

As it was, when I got up, I wouldn't have been surprised to see this guy waiting for me by the garage. He was THAT pissed.

[Xaston]

[Tiburon]

Truthfully, the other players were reaching for their cards after the initial turn bet.

My hand HAD to be disgused, since two players with small flushes played them straight to the end. The raise pissed off the asshole and he figured he'd fire back. When the diamond hit the river, he all but jumped out of his seat. I think if I don't raise the turn, he will and the old-guy will re-raise and I would cap. I see your point, to maybe induce a few more bets from the rest of the table, but I was wary of any pocket pairs or any higher card with the case 3 sitting out there getting a cheaper look at the river card that could beat me.

Did I have an overpair? Trips? Either way, when you have a 3-way capped pot on the turn with you holding a full house--the other two guys have NO idea what's coming. The fact that after my raise, 5 more BB hit the pot before it was my turn to act again by calling the cap tells me that they had no idea that I had the boat, or that they simply wouldn't accept what was obvious.

Would you cap a pot with an 8-high or 10-high flush draw? Only if you thought your flush was undouubtedly good. My table image was uber-tight, uber-aggressive.

Funny part is that on the flop after my raise, the pre-flop (button) raiser folded his hand. He told me he had KK and figured he was screwed--on the flop. Literally everybody at the table had me on AA or A3. I turned over 63 and like I said, the table went nuts. My hand was not apparent to anyone at the table. If anything, if I would've re-raised the river, it would've been apparent that I either made a better-than-T-high flush or a full house, since the 3 diamonds didn't even bother me. It wouldn't have mattered, but I did it out of respect for the old guy, who was classy.

[briachek]

[Tiburon]

I also think that the fact that the asshole guy was all-in somewhat threw me off. Spur of the moment, lost my head, I dunno. Either way, I scooped a HUGE pot, and it made for a very successful session.

[MTPaid]

Tiburon, I don't play in casino's often (actually only twice and once was a tourny), but I'm gonna be in AC next weekend. Is this common ettiquette in poker rooms? I just thought you go for the throat with your best hand. I'm not even sure how many people I'm supposed to tip.

[Tiburon]

No it's really not. It's what happens when a solid player temporarily loses his mind when he holds the stone cold nuts.

The asshole threw his last chips into the pot, the old guy called him and I just said "call." I would've gotten an extra $6 out of him...oh well.