The Stress Levels Are Rising
08-31-2006
Gregg “Bunky” Williams
Hey gang! First off I took three days off and went to Wildwood, NJ for the Wildwood classic Hobie regatta. I crewed for our club champion's boat and we went on to win our group! Conditions were intense with winds blowing 15-20 mph and the seas in the 3-5 foot range made for some high stress conditions and for some seasickness as well. But, we won our class so thats all that matters. Got a nice engraved glass and bragging rights for my trouble.
So, I come back after the long weekend ( I took Monday off too) and decided to come back strong and multi table the 2-4 NL. I even took a shot at the 5-10 NL last night . The 2-4 games are good but the swings are definitely bigger than the 1-2. The games are very good though if you can withstand the larger SD.
The 5-10 last night didn't work out like I wanted. Got coolered in a few hands against short stacks and whiffed every flop imaginable. Wound up down around 750 in the game after about 1.5 hours. Lineup had a solid spot and 3 weak spots so my game selection was good just the re sluts didn't work out.
Funny thing though, I dropped 750 in the 5-10 and made 950 in the 2-4 after dropping a 400 stack in the 2-4 NL. So at one point on the night I was down a dime and wound up finishing the night after 3 hours multi tabling up 200. So, yes its a little swingy.
The best hand of the night was a HU hand against a guy who had been playing literally all day. When I sat down he had 1200 on this particular table and the fellow prop I dropped a stack to also got a big pot off him and he was then down to 800 or so, he bled away some more to some other players (though not in big chunks) and then I got a couple hundred off him 3 handed. The final hand at this table on the night was a biggie and was my 3rd pot over a dime in my last 4 nights of playing. He's been aggressive HU and raising every pot we've played, so its definitely a very aggressive game. Nothing like big stack HU NL to get your juices flowing.
Bunky is the BB and has $570
Villain has $532.00
Villain raises to $12.00 , bunky reraises to $36.00 with 88. Villain calls.
Flop 5c 4d 4s
Bunky checks, villain checks. Being out of position I was playing a bit of a broken wing act here. He was aggressive and he is more than capable of betting here thinking I'm on a big ace. I can then check raise or smooth call to reevaluate but he can literally have anything here. he checks behind.
Turn 8d
No more mister pot control, now its how much can I bet to get paid off. I don't want to scare him but I need to build a pot. Lets see if I can make a bet that gets raised, 1/2 pot sounds about right. I bet $35.00, he calls. Sweet.
River Kd
Now for me thats like the perfect card. Aside from him having KK (which isn't likely) if he called $35.00 on the draw Ive got a situation where I can get paid, if he slow played a 4 it may put the freighteners on him but we have to bet here, lets just pray I get popped, lets put out what will "look" like a blocking bet. I bet $50.00. He raises all in for another $470.00.
Well the only hands that beat me are KK and 44 and I'm not giving him credit for that and if he has them god bless him. I make pretty much one of the easiest calls in the world with third nuts and he tables Qd 3d for the runner runner flush. nothing like drawing dead and getting there.
The lesson in this hand is for the newer players out there. That bet with the Q high flush for a huge overbet against a solid player is only going to get called if you are stone beat. On a paired board you have to be careful (even HU) to the fact that your flush may in fact NOT be good. In the pot on the river there was $142.00 plus my $50.00 bet. He's risking $470.00 to win 192.00. A value raise there would pretty much commit him though he could conceivably raise another $100.00 and then save another $300.00 when i push. But, it worked out for me.
Just be careful out there when you're playing and think about what the bets mean before you make them. Good luck at the tables and stop by and say hello.
