Mixed Game in Midtown

I played in Matty Eb's mixed rotation game last night and had a great time. The games were Omaha Hi/Lo, 7-Stud Hi-Lo and 2-7 Triple Draw. The rake was an extremely reasonable $5/hr plus $1 out of every pot. I bought in for $200 and cashed out a few hours later at $285. I peaked at +$170 an hour before that, but managed to lose a big pot in 2-7 Triple Draw towards the end of the night.

I had been dealt 7623X and it took me two draws to make 87623. When the guy in the SB led out after the second draw and got one caller, I raised it on the button and got a call from both players. I was gratified that not only hadn't I been re-raised, but both players drew on the 3rd draw! This time, the SB led out again and I was forced to make the call after standing pat. He made an 8-6 low to beat my 8-7. His cards were 8-6-5-4-3. I asked him which card he had drawn and he said the six. I had a six and a deuce (his only outs to beat me) in my hand, so it was a slim draw. But hey, that's the game. Matty actually had the best 'draw' of the night in 2-7 Triple Draw when he took down a big pot late by being dealt THE NUTS (7-5-4-3-2). Wow. I wasn't in the hand, thankfully, but it seems there was so much chatter and banter at the table that nobody noticed that Matt had stood pat on every round! Lol.

My best play of the night came during a Stud/8 round. I had been bantering a little bit with Leo, who was multi-tabling by playing in the game and also playing a tournament online! Big Paul was doing the same thing, and while I feel for their wanting to cash in an FTOPS event, it did slow an already slow game down some. But since it's a rare event, I bit my tongue. I'd rather have them at the table. I would say that their distraction was good for my bankroll, but Big Paul predicatably doubled his $300 buyin. That guy is a huge horseshoe. So sick. Ok, back to my story. I was bantering with Leo about how draw heavy these games tend to be. And then I mentioned how I rarely raise without the nuts because the fear of getting counterfeited or outdrawn is so great when everybody tends to stay in. That comment was setting the stage. I didn't think I was giving up any information, because the only guy who ever folds to my raises is Matty Ebs, having played with me for so long. The other players just stay in for their draws, regardless of my table image.

So knowing this, and keeping the conversation with Leo in mind, I had a Stud/8 hand in which two players were going low and I, who *had* been going low, made a pair of Kings on 5th street. Logic says I can bet here, except I wanted to keep a small pot because I don't like to bet just a high pair against two players going low because the odds of one of them making a small two pair are big. I like to have two pair myself before I feel comfortable. Or at least another draw to go with it. In this case, I had bupkus, just the Kings. So when I *checked* my Kings, Matty shouted out, "Jamie, you're so predictable!". He was being jokey and amiable, but that statement would bit him in the ass one hand later.

I took the high with my Kings and was dealt 8♥(A♠-A♣) on my next hand. I raised, of course, and got a few callers. 4th street gave me the 9♥
. Matty was showing 7♠-T♣(X-X). So when he led out on 4th street, I looked at his board and assumed the 7 had given him trips. I made a stupid call, hoping he only had Tens and 7's and I could outdraw him with my hidden Aces. The only other person who was in at this point was Big Paul, who has two low cards showing and was check-calling every bet, indicating he was going low. 5th street gave Matty J♦ for board of J♦-7♠-T♣(X-X). I got the T♥ for a board of T♥-9♥-8♥(A♠-A♣). Matty seeing my 5th street, let out a "You're kidding me!". He had given away his hand by "crumbing the play" as they say. By expressing his frustration at what looked like a flush on my board, he had told me that his hand was actually a straight! So when Matty bet out and Big Paul called, I decided to RAISE! I knew Matty thought of me as a bit of a nit (and I am, who am I kidding?), so if I represented the flush, I knew he was a good enough player to fold. Indeed, when it got back to him, he folded and showed his 5 card monster straight to the players out of the hand, patting himself on the back quite hard.

Which made it even sweeter to show him my unimproved Aces to take the high half of the pot on showdown.

God I love this game.

We had a good laugh about it, but I know Matty won't make the same mistake again, to me or anyone else. Perils of being table captain, I guess. You end up being chatty and maybe a little *too* chatty. Matty ran a great game and I'm looking forward to getting back there soon.