Saturday, September 1, 2007

Battle of the bluffs

PokerStars Game #_: Tournament #_, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2007/09/01 - 13:57:03 (ET)
Table '59946281 1' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 2: villain (3060 in chips)
Seat 3: (6995 in chips)
Seat 5: hero (3445 in chips)
villain: posts small blind 50
Seat 3: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hero [Js Qs]
hero: raises 200 to 300
villain: calls 250
Seat 3: folds
*** FLOP *** [5c Tc 9d]
villain: checks
hero: bets 500
villain: calls 500

So, what could he have here? We're 3 handed, so I can imagine him calling a pre-flop raise with AT. I could even imagine him calling with a flush draw.

*** TURN *** [5c Tc 9d] [2s]
villain: checks
hero: bets 1400
villain: raises 860 to 2260 and is all-in
hero: calls 860

I don't know why PokerStars hand histories don't show the cards at this point.

He had KQo. So it is clear he was trying to bluff. Trouble was, the only possible hand that 2s might have helped was pocket deuces, and I can't see him calling the continuation bet with those. I was bluffing too, but at least I had been telling a consistent story all along - AT, T9s, 55... I could have had any of those. I knew he was bluffing, which means he could have had any two cards - perhaps 78c, which would have given him a much better draw, but would have actually put me ahead in the hand. In actual fact, I was in not-so-great shape at this point. I needed either a king (though he had one of them) or an 8 for a straight. A jack would give him his straight and a queen would give him a pair with a better kicker. 7 outs on the river - about 8:1.

*** RIVER *** [5c Tc 9d 2s] [2h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
villain: shows [Qd Kc] (a pair of Deuces)
hero: shows [Js Qs] (a pair of Deuces - lower kicker)
villain collected 6220 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6220 | Rake 0
Board [5c Tc 9d 2s 2h]
Seat 2: villain (small blind) showed [Qd Kc] and won (6220) with a pair of Deuces
Seat 3: (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: hero (button) showed [Js Qs] and lost with a pair of Deuces

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