Psyche!

If you're not already registered for tonight's WPBT tournament on Poker Stars, it's not too late! We're under the Special tab, slated to start at 9pm. $20+2, password: thehammer

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I thought I'd be reviewing a new poker room in this space today, but it turns out I was given a slightly wrong address for the club, and wound up three blocks west of where the club actually was.

Oops.

Oh well, we decided to make some lemonade (and by we, I mean me, Ferrari, Friend of Ferrari, and BkynPlague) and headed to the nearest poker room, about six blocks east of where we were.

We all finished as winners after two hours of 1/2 NLHE.

BkynPlague was the biggie, clearing just over $400, while Friend of Ferrari and Ferrari each booked solid $150 wins. Yours truly finished up $61. I was on a rush early and turned $300 into $500, but then got called after I put a numnuts all-in on the turn. He had to call $30 to win $70 and called with nothing but a flush draw, which of course got there. Two orbits later, my KK ran into his AA and so much for that $200 I had been up a half hour earlier. Still, I'll take my $61, thanks.

I really only had one tough decision all night, and like a true weakie, I folded. Here comes the analysis:

I have 7-7 in early-ish position. A new player had recently come to the table, and given the table talk (and the fact that I've seen this guy before), I knew he was a real loose-agg type of player.

Anyway, somebody raised from MP to $10, and the CO called. LA guy called from the SB, the BB called, and I called. $50 in. The flop was 8-8-8, and our LA friend, correctly recognizing that he was at a tight table, fired $25 into the pot. The BB folded, and there I was with my small full house. What to do?

Problem: the pre-flop raiser is behind me, yet to act.
Problem: my hand isn't going to get any better than it was at that moment.

Smooth-calling didn't seem to be a good option, because I would get no information, and if even one of the other two players called as well, I'd be in some serious doo-doo if any card bigger than a seven hit the turn.

Raising seemed like a bad play as well, for three reasons. 1) If LA called, I'd still have the same problem with an overcard on the turn and/or river, and there was absolutely no way I could check through the turn. That would bring an immediate large bet from LA on the river. I knew that. 2) On the other hand, if LA had the case eight or a bigger boat (9s, Ts), I'd be milking myself on the turn, never mind where I would be if he check-raised the turn. 3) Let's not forget the pre-flop raiser, who himself could easily be on 9s through As. It was a tight table, after all.

In the end, I chickened out and folded. The PFR folded, and then the button said he was laying down a full house - 8s full of 2s. Did I fold the best hand? Quite possibly. But it would have been so ugly and difficult to play after the flop that maybe I made the right move by folding it.