Some vengeance at Good Look

The last couple of trips to the good look club have been unprofitable. The good news is that I've been in good spirits and I've limited my losses by laying down hands when I knew I was beat (except for my flopped Broadway against the turned flush). But generally I've been playing pretty well. I know when I'm in the zone like this that my luck will eventually turn and my good play will reward me with cash. So it was last night. I did everything I was supposed to do, except perhaps I wasn't aggressive enough. The one hand where that kicked my ass (maybe) was when I was dealt KK in early position. I had taken down a 2 of the last 4 pots with somewhat aggressive betting (when I had damn good hands) so I didn't want to arouse too much suspicion. This is why I bet $11 UTG+1, instead of the normal $15 I would have bet in this position. I got a few callers and the flop came T52, rainbow. A pretty perfect board for me. I bet out $16 which in hindsight was a big mistake. It was only about 1/3 of the pot. A better bet would have been nearly a pot bet. Anyone drawing is going to hang themselves and any smaller pocket pairs *should* fold if they're under Tens. I got a caller and then a raise to $40! Whoops. My second mistake comes when I don't re-raise but I was suspicious. So I just called. The 3rd player, a woman who sometimes deals at the club, calls and the turn comes a 9. I check and the woman bets out $50. The raiser calls! Now I'm pretty sure I'm beat. Is there a T9 in someone's hand? I had originally put the raiser on AT, which would complete his story. I'm pretty sure the woman, who had just called the raise to $40 on the flop and then led out on the turn, has me beat with something good here. So I agonize but make the right move and fold my overpair. The river is a blank and the woman goes all in for about $50 more. The man calls and the woman flips up 99 for a turned set. The guy mucks but claims he had flopped two pair. Oh really? With a T52 board you called a preflop raise with T5 or T2? I don't think so. Ace-Ten seems *much* more likely. Either way, I made the right laydown. But if my reads were right, I could have driven the woman out on the flop and then isolated the guy in dominating position. Live and learn, I guess.

7 hands later, in the BB, I would exact my revenge. I get TT and check when it limps all around to me. The flop is T94, rainbow. A *perfect* flop. The only thing to possibly scare me here is a straight draw. I check and everyone checks around. The Ah comes on the turn. I double check to make sure there is no straight on board and I bet out $16, representing a middle Ace. It's my hope that someone with an Ace and a good kicker is going to try to raise me off this pot. My wish is granted when the woman at the table raises me to $50. Cha-ching! I have second nuts here and I really don't think she was going to limp preflop with AA. So when it gets back to me, I reraise to $100 and she immediately moves all in. I call instantly, of course, but stop the dealer from dealing the river and I ask her if she wants to run business. Neither of us shows our cards yet, but she says she doesn't do business. "Whatever happens, happens". Sounds good to me. Unless she has AA, she has, at most, 2 outs to win. She shows A9 for a very good two pair and I flip over my TT. The river is not an Ace and I scoop the whole pot! Sweet!

Meanwhile, DR is already sitting at the table and we're joined by LM who had emailed me earlier to say she might join up. Well, it's a good thing for her that she did. She played tight and aggressive and was able to capitalize on *her* KK when she got them! She doubled up with the Kings and made a whole bunch with AA on the two biggest hands she played. At the end of the night, I was up about $240 and she was up about $300 or so. By 11:30, we were all ready to leave but played our courtesy hands. This is the reason I limped with 9c5c, like everyone else limped with their garbage (so don't be mean to me!). Anyhow, the flop came with 7c3c5h. I had a flush draw AND a pair. Not too shabby. I bet out $10 trying to take down the short handed pot right there, or at least pump up the money in it. Only LM called. The turn was a blank 8. LM checked to me, I bet $10 and she check-raised me to $30! Oh, crap. But I still had a flush draw for outs, not to mention I could hit another 5, or a 6 for a straight or maybe even a 9 for two pair! So I called. The river was a blank 9. I made the worst of my improvements, giving me a good two pair. LM checked to me and I just opened up my cards. I hoped LM had made two pair with her 8, meaning I would have the better two pair with 9's and 5's but she had hit her small set of 3's on the flop. Still, given my outs, calling the small check-raise was the right play. Goodbye, $40! I'll miss you! I finished up a tidy $200 and went home, to dream of more Good Look club moments to come.

P.S. The heat from the previous posts is settling down, although LimitKing is *still* enjoying busting my balls. :-) (His words by the way)