Right, same game as always but a different night and it's properly going now (9-handed). There have been about 2 orbits and some small pots, so all stacks are still above 40,- Euros or so.
Villain is BTN, new to the game and real money poker. He's practised the rules and the mechanics of NL Hold'Em on Zynga poker (Facebook). He's also watched some EPT episodes on YouTube (I later learned). He's acting nervous, but, obviously, that's more the result of the situation he's in, rather than indicative of his hand strenght. BTN is colleagues with UTG+1, a regular player in the game and a physical tells waterfall. This ends up not playing a role in the hand, but it could have. I shall explain.
Folds to me in MP2 and I decide to open 3x with:![]()
. Reasoning: I get the initiative in case one of the blinds calls (BB in particular likes to see flops) and I'm building a pot in case I flop a set. I also expect to have an easy decision on most flops which miss me.
CO calls, BTN calls and BB calls
Flop (4 players); pot: 3,10-
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About the best "average" flop I could hope for. Someone could definately have a 9, but most random overcard hands have missed, so I thought a c-bet wasn't a hopeless endeavour (as mentioned before: a lot of the regulars are "fit or fold").
Hero bets 2,00-, CO instafolds, BTN calls, BB stalls a little and folds. Villain doesn't appear to give up much in the way he plays (didn't check his cards, looked at the flop then at me, no real timing tells).
Turn (2 players); pot: 7,10-
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Ok, so that doesn't change anything apart from adding a possible flushdraw. Does the call mean he's got a piece of this board, if so, how big of a piece is it? -can I push him off something like Q9?
Hero bets 4,00-
Villain momentarily sits up, then resumes his normal posture, but the pokerface ends up cracking. Villain brings his hand to his face and runs his finger along his jaw (self-appeasing gesture). He visibly needs to steel himself to make the call, but does make it. At that point I could have pegged him on the 9 and given up, but I decided that was too pessimistic and a noob like him could still have hands I beat and/or fold to a river bet. I sort of decided then and there I was going to fire another shell if the river wasn't paint (possible mistake).
Meanwhile, UTG+1 is following events with visible and increasing alarm (as I usually show up with strong hands when I keep firing), but villain seems oblivious to him.
Me (casually): "Non-believer, huh? -ok" --> no reaction.
River (2 players); pot: 15,10-
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Meh... a 6 gets there, but then again, how many 6's call two streets? If I bet, it's not going to be for value, so I'd be turning my hand into bluff, negating my showdown value. It suddenly occurred to me I hadn't even been able to show down a hand which at some point had been a semi-bluff for some time, so bluffing became more appealing from an overall balance point of view and could I allow a noob to set the price?
Hero bets 6,00-.
Villain physically recoiled from the bet, so I thought my chances of getting a fold were good. UTG+1, meanwhile, was actually shaking "no" with his head, so I shot him a dirty look and he froze. Villain again didn't notice, for he had his head buried in his hands. He stayed like that for a good 10 seconds, drew a deep breath and said: "Call".
I show my 7's and 6's, villain lets out a sigh of relief and reaches for the pot.
Me: "Hold it, you can't do that unless you show me a better hand."
Him: "Oh, right, sorry". He picks up his cards and shows.
Me: "Both cards". Villain shows
SB (villain from the hand I posted in december): "Wow, what a call!!" (pats villain on the shoulder).
UTG+1: "Wow, just wow... 3 streets, that's cold Jan. I thought you'd have the best hand for sure"
Me: "So did I"
MP1: "Welcome to the table, Sir. Jeeez, Jan... (laughs)
Meanwhile, I'm acting as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened, but inside I'm 2nd guessing not slowing down, obviously.
Villain, as predicted, didn't play well and ended up losing about 1,5 buy-ins, some of it to me. Overall I still came out in the black, so one could say "no harm, no foul", but, as we like to say, outcome is irrelevant, making ever better decisions is.
So, thoughts? -overplayed?
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