Firstly, Merry Christmas and apologies for the delay ! I've been too busy to blog which is a mixed blessing. I played in a simply brilliant cash game last Wednesday with some insane hands and a grandstand finish. More on that later.
Time to look forward now, I prophecise 2010 is a going to be a year of adventurous beginnings. I have a few big aims next year if I can just keep navigating the same course.
New Year Resolutions / Aims for 2010
Quit Smoking
Complete Canuck Visa Application
Refurbish bathroom and kitchen in my flat
Visit Vegas during the world cup
Be successful with the largest project I've ever undertaken at work
Resurrect my blog by posting at least weekly
Continue to visit the gym twice a week
A girlfriend would probably be useful addition
Play poker for a minimum of 7.5 hours a week
The last one was going to be 10 hours a week but I decided to go easy on myself.
Somewhat concerning as I look through this list are the odds I'm giving on completing each item. It says something about me, but I'm just not sure what !!
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The cash game
I was invited to join a group who have played regularly for going on 4 years. 2 of the players are colleagues from work and one guy I went to school with. Usually they meet at one of the players houses and self deal but last week they decided to play at the pool & poker club here and pay for a dealer at the table. It was a nice way to get into the game without the added worry of dealing. Our dealer looked a little dissappointed at the start of our session when we decided the game would be .25/.50p NLHE with a £20 buyin, but he soon changed that attitude when the chips started flying.
This is the point where I should regail the details of all the incredible hands that went down in the first hour, but I can only remember 3 of my own. I cracked Passive Phil's QQ with QJ when he allowed me to hit a straight on the river and doubled up. Then I beat a bluff on a JJx flop holding QJ again. Almost immediately I lost what I gained on that hand trying to win a pot with 72-off, as that is the law. A little later on I was up again when my KK flopped a set and I was soon up to £75. A few exchanges later including Aces that didn't get paid and a good bluff and I was up to around £120.
So we're getting late on in the game and that's when it happened. We had about 25 minutes left so the play was getting looser with people chasing losses etc. There were quite a few big pots flying around. I raised to £3 (as had become standard) in MP with KsJs and was called by Loose Colleague A and Tight Namesake B.
The flop
9h Th Kc
What fun !
My first mistake was checking this flop to see what action came after me. LC-A paused just for a moment and then went allin for £18
(at this point I'm thinking easy call)
TN-B then umms and ahhs for what must be close to 5 minutes before flat calling LC-A's push.
(and this is where the problem arises)
* OK so my read at this point is that LC-A could have anything and is just as likely to have me beat or have some crappy draw. TN-B does not have a made hand, else he would have called much quicker. I and TN-B have the largest stacks at the table and he just about covers me. The table saw me rush with QJ earlier. There are 20 mins left of the game.
The pot is now £45 and I have £100 behind. If I push here the pot will be £63 and it'll be £82 to call. Is that enough to get TN-B to give up his hand ? What range would he fold and what would he call ? Should I just get out of the way here ?
