Hand Of The Day #102

Golden Nugget $140: Level 1 (25/50) ~ 03.02.14

Since it's Level 1, we aren't at a full table, and the action has been ultra-passive. I min raised (100) from UTG+1 with KJs. Four players see the Flop Kh 8s 5s. Pretty good flop with Top Pair + Flush Draw. I bet 225. Button (60's Lady) raises to 500. SB (70's guy) cold calls.

So much for a passive table. I decide to 3-bet to 2000. I have a big hand, and I want to win a big pot. But I also want some more information. If the Button 4-Bets, then she's got a Set, and I can act accordingly. She ends up thinking for a bit before calling. SB calls quickly.

Turn [Kh 8s 5s] 3d. SB checks. OK, now it's time for me to think, and put these two on hands. The SB is the easy one, as the line of Check Call Call screams the Nut Flush Draw. Of course, he could just be a calling station, but we'll assume the Nut Draw until something changes.

Hand Of The Day #101

$1/$2 NLHE ~ Eldorado ~ 04.11.13

Full table on a Thursday evening. The play has been mostly limpy with the occasional preflop raise to $8 or $10. I'm UTG+1, and look down at A8d. I bought in for $100, and I'm up to around $160. I've been trying to play position, so I should fold this. But I don't listen to myself, and limp in.

Nobody raised, and six players see a Flop of Qh Jd Td. Pretty sexy Flop for me, as I have an Omaha-esqe draw with the Nut Flush and Double Gutshot. I like to bet my big draws, so I bet $10. If the Turn hits my Flush, then I can check, and hope someone hit a smaller Flush. If I hit my Straight or miss everything, then I can keep betting.

Three players called, and the Turn is [Qh Jd Td] Kc. A beautiful card, as I now have the Nut Straight, and the Nut Flush Draw. I bet $20, and I really hope somebody raises. Fortunately, a 70's gentleman cooperates, and raises to $70. The other two players fold, and I quickly shove my last $130. He calls, and asks if I have an Ace.

I say, "I've got a freeroll, baby," as I show my cards.

Hand Of The Day #100

(Not only is this Hand Of The Day #100, it is also Blog Post #400)

Golden Nugget $240 HORSE ~ 06.11.12 ~ Level 13 (4k/8k) Razz

Bring-In is 1500. Next player completes (4k) with A showing. Lady calls with 2 showing. I have (53)A, and raise (8k). Original raiser 3-bets (12k) and has 5k behind. Lady thinks for a bit and calls. I just call, because I want to see the next card before I completely commit to this hand.

4th Street
Shorty: (XX) A A
Lady: (XX) 2 2
Me: (53) A K

Well, I'm ahead with K-Low, so I bet (4k). Both players call.

Hand Of The Day #99

In case you haven't been paying attention, we are coming up on #100 of the Hand Of The Day series. For this milestone, I've been looking for something special over the last few months, whether it's a huge money pot, or something truly bizarre that happened.

Unfortunately, there haven't been many hands to choose from. I've decided to present a hand from Las Vegas that I think is worthy of #100, so I'll use this post for my other option.

Right now, we jump into the Way-Back machine, and present two separate hands from a .25/.50NL home game that I use to play back in Ohio. These two hands are from a few years ago, so the details are a little fuzzy.

The first hand is proof that Live Poker is rigged. It was the 2nd hand of the night, and we had eight or nine players at the table. We had an AA vs AA vs QQ vs QQ vs JJ trainwreck extraordinaire.

Hand Of The Day #98

$1/$2 NLHE ~ Peppermill ~ 08.21.12

Couple of limpers in this typical afternoon game. The Hijack raises to $4. I'm the Button, and 3-bet to $15 with 6s 6h. I don't 3-bet as much as I should, and this seems like a good spot to isolate against the Hijack. Only one of the limpers and the Hijack call.

The three of us see the Flop Jc 8d 6d. The Hijack leads out for $15. I raise to $35, as there are too many draws out there to slowplay. Plus, if the Hijack bets after I re-raised him, he probably has something. The limper folds, but the Hijack calls.

Turn [Jc 8d 6d] Ks. Hijack checks, and I bet $50. He tanks, and starts talking out loud. He wonders if I'm trying to bully him off the pot. The newest episode of the WSOP was on ESPN, so I just watched the big screen while shuffling chips, trying to not give away anything. After what seemed like forever, (probably at least two minutes), he slammed a stack of ten Red $5 chips on the table as a call.

Hand Of The Day #97

$1/$2 NLHE ~ Peppermill ~ 07.18.12

So far, a typical Wednesday afternoon table in Reno. UTG limps. I'm next, and limp with 32s. I've been mixing my limps with my $5 raises. Now, I'm just hoping to hit a Bonus Hand. (Yes, I'm playing Bingo with this hand.)

Five players see a Flop of Ks Qc 6s. BB bet $8. I call with my mini Flush Draw. Button raises to $15, but has to make $16. He's a 70's Asian gentleman. I could say that he's a Super-Nit, but that's probably redundant. BB calls, and so do I.

Turn [Ks Qc 6s] 4d. BB checks. I bet $10 with my Flush Draw and Gutshot. This is what they call a Post Oak Bluff, or a Donk Bet. Naturally, I don't think anyone will fold to a $10 bet. Actually, I'm expecting to get raised by the Button.

So why do it?

Because Super-Nits tend to min-raise a bet, rather than shove All-In. I expect him to raise in the $20 - $30 range. If I just checked to him, he could easily bet $50 or more, as I'm sure he's scared of the Flush Draw.

Hand Of The Day #96

$8/$16 Omaha-8 ~ Venetian ~ 06.17.12

One player limps in. Hyjack raises ($16). He is Data from the CPMG, my former home poker group from Cleveland, and a bunch of them are in Las Vegas for this weekend. I'm next to act in the Cutoff, and I 3-Bet ($24) with As 7c 7h 4h. I know that doesn't seem like a hand to 3-Bet, and that is correct. So why did I do it?

Many people say they don't like going to casinos with their friends, because they don't want to take their money when they could just do it in their home game. I don't have this issue, as I have no problem separating business from friendship. I actually was looking to get a couple of hands for the blog on this trip. Plus, I want to get my hands on some Cleveland money, as it smells just a little sweeter to me.

Back to the action... It folds to the BB, who calls the two bets. This isn't surprising, as he has been a world-class calling station so far. The Limper also calls. Flop is 8c 6d 5s. The BB bets ($8). Limper folds. Hyjack calls. I raise ($8) with the 2nd Nut Straight and an A4 Low. I doubt my Low is any good, but my Straight should be good, as it's doubtful that someone has 97 in their hand. The BB calls, but Data in the Hyjack 3-Bets ($24).

Hand Of The Day #95

Grand Sierra 6:30 $60 Tournament Level 4 (300/600/100) ~ 04.10.12

This was a one table tournament, and there are six players left. UTG+1 limps in for 600, even though he has just 1400 total. I'm on the Button with Ah Kc, and make a standard raise to 1500. The SB folds. The BB called, which he had been doing alot. The UTG+1 calls for his last 1400.

The Flop is As 5c 3d. BB checks. I also check, hoping he'll hit something on the Turn so I can get some value later in the hand.

The Turn is [As 5c 3d] 4s. BB checks again. I bet 2000, hoping he has something. But he doesn't, and quickly folds. The Dealer ships me the huge Side Pot of 200, and I show my hand. But for whatever reason, UTG+1 didn't show his hand, and the Dealer dealt the River card.

Hand Of The Day #94

Peppermill 6:30 $55 Level 3 (100/200/25) ~ 03.25.12

Limp pot, including me with Q9o in the BB. Four players see a Flop of Ad Qs 4d. SB bet 400. He's a 40's guy I've never seen before, and has played very few hands so far. I call with 2nd Pair. The Cutoff also calls. He a 60's guy who looks like he was in ZZ Top, or he just climbed down from the mountain.

Turn [Ad Qs 4d] 9d. SB bet 400 again. Even though the Flush got there, I still called with Two Pair. The Cutoff also calls.

River [Ad Qs 4d 9d] 6d. SB bet 400 again. I don't call this time, as I raise to 1500. This is what they call a Bluff. I have no clue what the SB has, as his little bets could be anything. But if I just call the 400 again, then the Cutoff will probably call, and someone could win this with the 8d or 5d in their hand. By raising, those small Flush cards are much more likely to fold. And if someone pushes All-In, then I can make the easy fold.

Hand Of The Day #93

$4/$8 Omaha-8 ~ Peppermill ~ 03.19.12

Full table of nine players. Naturally, it's a limp-fest, including me on the Hyjack with Ac Jh 9h 4c. Seven players see the Flop As Jd 2s. The SB bets ($4), and two players call in front of me. I just call, since I have Top Two but no other draws. The Button also calls.

Turn [As Jd 2s] 8h. SB bet ($8). UTG+1 raised ($16). He's an 70's guy who just sat down, and his raise screams 43 for Nut Low. The Mid player cold-calls. He's another 70's guy who is a regular in this game, and is a Super-Nit. He's either got a very strong High hand, or a good Low with some other draws.

My turn now, and I hate this spot.

Hand Of The Day #92

$10/$20 Omaha-8 ~ Peppermill ~ 02.12.12

I'm UTG+1 with As Qs Qh 2d, and raised ($20). Four players saw a Flop of 8c 5c 3c. Not exactly what I had in mind, as I have the Nut Low but just an Overpair for the High. I bet ($10). A Mid player and the Button called, but the BB folded. The Mid is a 60's lady who's playing 9-Card Bingo. She's playing almost every hand, and the first hand I saw her raise preflop was QQ33. The Button is a dealer in this room, and she is a Super-Nit.

Turn [8c 5c 3c] Jd. Once again, all I have is the Nut Low. Since I'm out of position, and have no real hope of a High hand, I checked. The Mid bet ($20), and the Button raised ($40).

For those who like "How Would You Play It?" type hands, this is good spot to ask, what would you do here?

Hand Of The Day #91

Atlantis ~ 01.16.11 ~ 11am $45 Tourney Level 5 (300/600/100).

Full table of 10. There was a bunch of limpers, including me in BB. The Flop was Tc Ts 6d. SB and I checked. UTG bet 1000. He a 70's gentleman I've never seen. It folded around to the Hyjack, who min-raised to 2000. He an 80's gentleman who is a Super-Nit, and he probably has at minimum a Ten with a good kicker. Everyone including me folded back to the UTG, who called.

Turn [Tc Ts 6d] 3c. UTG checked. Hyjack bet 2k again. UTG called again.

River [Tc Ts 6d 3c] 2s. UTG turned over his hand, Ad 5h. The Dealer tried to explain to UTG that it's still his action, and eventually called over the Floor. The Floor said the same thing; UTG has the option to Check or Bet. The Floor also told UTG that he shouldn't show his hand, and that he could get a penalty for it next time.

So, UTG finally checked, with his A5 still turned face up. Hyjack bet 2k, and UTG said, "OK, I'll give it to ya." Hyjack showed Qh Th, and scooped a damn fine pot.

Hands like this are why I'm grinding these Daily Donkaments. The structures and rake are terrible, but the players are much, much worse.

Hand Of The Day #90

$4/$8 Omaha-8 ~ Peppermill ~ 02.09.12

I recently sat down after I busted out of the $45 donkament. I've only played one big pot, and I lost with my Set when someone hit the Wheel on the River.

There were a couple of limpers. I was in Mid with Ac Ks 5c 2s. I raised ($8), and a bunch of players called. Five or six players saw a Flop of Qc Js 4c. Pretty good Flop for my hand, as I have the Nut Flush Draw, a Broadway Draw, and some backdoor draws. It checked to me, and I bet ($4). One player called, and the next player went All-In for $6. A couple more players called. Since I have so many great draws, I decided to 3-Bet to $10. Naturally, the other three players called.

Turn [Qc Js 4c] 3d. Another great card for me, as I now have a Wheel wrap. If the River is a 6, 5, 2, or A, then I have a Straight. This also gives me the Nut Low Draw, in addition to all the draws from the Flop. It checked to me, and I bet ($8). All three remaining players called.

Hand Of The Day #89

Atlantis ~ 01.11.12 ~ 7:00 $45 Tournament Level 9 (2k/4k/400)

19 players for this one, and four are left, which is the Bubble. The play is rather calm, as everyone is waiting for AA to get their money in. It folds to me, and I have 9c 8h in the SB. I just limp in. I could raise, and just take it down, but I'm choosing to play small ball with this pot. I'm not super shortstacked compared to everyone else, but I'm in the middle of the pack.

The other reason for limping is the BB, who's a 60's Asian gentleman. He and his wife are tourney regulars around Reno. He's not the typical 60's Super Nit. My perception of him is that he's on the loose, passive side. He likes to call, but he will also make the occasionally move on a pot. If I shove All-In to steal the blinds and antes, then his calling range is wider than average.

Anyways, he checks his option, and the Flop is Tc Td 6s. We both check.

The Turn is [Tc Td 6s] Kh. Once again, we both check.

Hand Of The Day #88

Atlantis $80 Bounty Tournament ~ Level 4 (200/400/50) ~ 12.11.11

We are eight handed. UTG+1 limps. I'm the Cutoff, and also limp with 7d 7s. Both blinds climb on board, and the Flop is 7c 4c 2h. It checks around to me, and I also checked. It's a bit of a gamble by me, as this board is very draw heavy, especially for a limped pot. But things have not gone well in this donkament so far, so I want the chance to win a big pot. The players at this table are very basic, so I won't lose much if a draw hits the Turn.

Turn [7c 4c 2h] 4d - Well, I don't have to worry about the draws, as the I now have a Full House. The SB leads out for 600. He's a 70's gentleman who's a semi-regular in the donkaments around Reno, and he seems to be playing like a 70's gentleman. I instantly put him on 4. The other two players fold. If they would have called, then I would have raised. But since it's just me and the SB now, I just call so I don't scare him off. I am planning on raising his River bet. Hopefully, he will hit his kicker, or another 2 will come.

River [7c 4c 2h 4d] 4h - Or another 4 could come. The SB quickly tosses out two Yellow 1k chips for a bet of 2000. I get visibly annoyed, and say, "I don't believe this. I have the 2nd Nuts, and I'm considering folding."

I still think he has the last 4 in his hand, but what other hands could he have. Remember, it's a 70's gentleman who limped in the SB preflop, checked the Flop, made a small bet on the Turn, and made a near pot-sized bet on the River.

If he had an Overpair, like 88 or 99, then I'm assuming that he would have bet the Flop, and I doubt he would bet as big on the River. If he had the last 7, then why bet so big on the Flop? If he had 22, then why bomb the River when is had got counterfeited? If he missed a draw, even a big monster like 65c, then he wouldn't bet the Turn or River because old geezers don't bet their draws, nor bluff when they missed.

It only took me about 20 seconds to make the easy decision, and I folded my 77 face up. Tight players love to show their big hands, so the SB showed his hand, 43s. Sometimes the 3% gets there. (Yes, Live Poker is rigged.)

Naturally. the table was shocked to see this. I look at it the same way I look at folding KK preflop. I've done it four or five times in my poker life, and they've all been this easy.

Welcome to my last few months.

Hand Of The Day #87

Harvey's Lake Tahoe - 11.13.11 - $355 WSOP-C #5 Level 4 (50/100)

UTG raised to 400. He's a 30's guy who's been one of the tightest players (or least active so far) at this table. It folded around to me in the BB, and I make the call with J9d.

Flop Js Th 9s. Interesting as I hit Two Pair on a very wet Flop. I check to the preflop raiser, and he bet 1000. I decided to check-raise to 2500. He quickly ships his stack All-In. I have 5800 behind, and he has me covered.

Since this is such a wet board, and he's been fairly tight so far, I didn't insta-call. Instead, I went into deep thought, and try to put him on a hand.

He raised big preflop, bet 'pot' on the Flop, and insta-shipped after I check-raised.

Would he do this with an Overpair? Maybe, but since he's been quiet at this table, I don't know how good he is. Some players with an Overpair would be scared of this Flop. Others would think, "I have AA and I ship." Either way, I'm roughly 70/30 against AA, but only 51/49 against QQ because of the Straight Draw.

How about AK or AQ? With out Spades, it's highly doubtful that he would have even called my check-raise, let alone shoving it in. But AKs or AQs is definitely a possibility. I'm 55/45 against AKs, but 48/52 against AQs because of the extra four Straight outs.

Two Pair is doubtful, as I don't see him raising from UTG with JT or T9.

A Set is certainly a possibility. I doubt he would raise UTG with 99. I don't know if he would have raised with TT, but I only have two outs (11/89) against TT. A Set of Jacks would mean a one-outer hit the Flop, but that does happen. I'm essentially drawing dead against JJ (3/97)

As for a Straight, 87 or Q8 are not hands he would raise preflop with. But KQ is high on the list, and I only have four outs (18/82) against a Straight. But if he had KQs, wouldn't he slowplay it a little?

I thought for almost two minutes. I realized that I'm crushing some hands, flipping against some hands, and drawing very thin against other hands. If I fold, I still have 58BB in a tournament that seems to have a very slow structure.

I ended up folding my hand face up, hoping that he would show his hand. He didn't, and I never did find out what he had.

Since I didn't call the All-In, then should I have check-raised? Probably not. But there are so many cards that could come on the Turn (K, Q, T, 8, or any Spade) that would either kill my action or kill my hand.

Either way, yuck!

I did go on to 5th place in this tourney, so you could say that I made a good fold. But that's looking at results, and that's a bad way to evaluate poker decisions.

Hand Of The Day #86

Atlantis $240 Super Stack - Level (800/1600/200) - 11.06.11

This tournament had 26 players, and we are at the Final Table. I got there with just over 40k chips, which was in the middle of the pack. I blinded off for a couple of obits. In the hand just before this one, I called a raise with 55 in the BB. The Flop was KQ5, and I doubled up against AK, which got me up to around 65k chips. We are currently eight handed.

UTG limped for 1600. He's a Kid who started the Final Table as one of the Chip Leaders, and has been playing very few hands. This limp was surprising to me, as there has been very little limping by anyone up to this point. Also surprisingly, it folded around to the Button, who also limped. She's a 60's lady who has been quiet at this table. I'm the SB with A9h, and am happy to see a cheap Flop. The BB checked his option.

Flop 8h 7c 2h. This is a good Flop for me, as I have the Nut Flush Draw, two Overcards, and a backdoor Straight Draw. I like to bet these hands on the Flop, and then check if I hit my Flush on the Turn. I can also hit my Overcards or pick up a Straight Draw on the Turn, and still fire a bet on the Turn. I toss a 5000 chip on to the table.

The BB folded, but the UTG raised to 12000. Since he limped, it's hard to say what hand he may be raising with. However, I don't have much time to think about it, as the Button shipped it All-In for 28300.

I didn't know what the Button had, and I didn't care. I insta-shoved All-In for around 58k, hoping to isolate against the Button. UTG went into deep thought for almost a minute before making the call.

UTG had 2d 2c for Bottom Set. Button had Ad 8s for Top Pair. The Board ran out [8h 7c 2h] As 8d. The Button tripled up with the Main Pot with Eights Full of Aces, and UTG won the Side Pot with Deuces Full of Aces. I'm eliminated in 8th place.

They say, "Never go broke in a limped pot." Generally, that is good advice. But I'm happy with how I played this hand, and I wouldn't change anything I did. It just didn't work out. It was really bizarre to see a 3-way trainwreck in a limped pot at a Final Table.

I love tournaments.

Hand Of The Day #85

$1/$2 NL ~ Grand Sierra ~10.15.11

I'm UTG+1 with Js Jc, and I do my standard raise to $7. Five players see a Flop of Qd Qh Jd. It's checks to me, and I bet out $15. I want to bet small enough for the draws to come along. Plus, with this many players calling the preflop raise, I fairly sure that someone has a Q. If it was J 3 3, then it might be a different story.

The player next to me raises to $45, and has a little over $100 behind. It folds around the Button, who thinks for about half a minute before calling.

It's back to me. Well, there's no reason to slowplay here. At least one of them has a Q, if not both of them. I 3-Bet to $145. The first player goes into deep thought, starts whining, and eventually folds K9d for the Gutshot Straight Flush Draw. The Button thinks even longer. Eventually, he calls for his last $88 with QTc

The Turn and River is [Qd Qh Jd] Ad Ah. The Button wins the pot with Queens Full of Aces.

This is example #94 of, "There is no good way to play JJ." Seriously, this isn't a bad beat story. I'm happy with this hand, and I got what I wanted. It just didn't work out. Sometimes the 23% hits.

Nice Hand, Sir.

After the hand, the K9d guy said that I should have slowplayed this, so I could have gotten his money after the Flush hit the Turn. The idea of slowplaying to trap is very overrated. It will usually result in winning a much smaller pot, or letting the other player catch up. In this hand, if I just call the $30 raise, I would have to assume that both players have a Q. The Turn would have been [Qd Qh Jd] Ad. That could have easily scared off the Button with QTc, since their kicker wouldn't even play.

Granted, if the Button folded on the Turn, then I would have won the pot. But that is results-oriented thinking, and shouldn't be part of how you look back at hands.

Hand Of The Day #84

Harrah's Reno ~ $1/$2 NLHE ~ 09.18.11

I don't remember the exact details of the Preflop or Flop action. I apologize for this, as it does have some effect on the important part of the hand. But here is my best recollection...

There was a normal raise preflop ($7-$10) from a player in early position. I called in the Hyjack with 8s 7h. Four or five players saw a Flop of Qd 6h 5s. The raiser checked. I think I bet something like $20 with my Open-Ender. The Button called, and the raiser check-raised All-In for around $30-$35. Only the Button and I called.

Turn [Qd 6h 5s] 9c. Bingo! I make a value bet of $50 with my Nut Straight. The Button doesn't take too long to call. He's an Old Man, and he's been playing like an Old Man. A little on the loose side, but very on the passive side. I'm glad he called the $50, but I was a little surprised, as a $50 bet is huge for this table. I'm wondering if he just has a good Top Pair, or something stronger.

River [Qd 6h 5s 9c] 6c. Well, that's not a card I wanted to see. I was gonna bet $75, but I decided to just bet $50. He called the first $50, so hopefully he will call this one.

Well, he didn't call. Instead he said "Raise" rather forcefully. He started to play with his chips, and I went into deep thought. I hate it when Old Geezers say "Raise" on the River, because they are never, ever bluffing. Before he says his raise amount, I tell him not to bother, and show my cards, hoping that he would show his hand. He did, as he had Ac 6d for Trip 6s with an Ace kicker.

Doh!

Over the years, I've learned one of the most important thing that you need to be a winning $1/$2 player is the $20 Value Bet on the River. Most $1/$2 players just want to check it down, get to showdown as cheaply as possible, and hope they have the best hand. So if you can squeeze out that extra $20 (or $10 or $50) on the River every time you have the best hand, then your win-rate will be much higher.

In order to make these thin Value Bets, you need to be able to read hands. Now I will admit that I'm not the best hand reader, but the average $1/$2 player plays their hand almost face up. So being able to follow the action, and determine when I'm 70% likely to have the best hand isn't that difficult at a typical $1/$2 table.

The other thing you need to be able to do is to Bet/Fold. Even though you willingly put money into the pot, you need to be able to fold when your opponent says "Raise". As I said, the average $1/$2 player wants to get to showdown cheaply, especially the older players. So if one of them raises on the River after you bet, then they have a monster hand.

And that goes for this guy, who raised with a hand that he thought was a monster. Now I have no clue why he was still in this hand with just A6, but I'm not gonna blame him. After all, I was the one who folded to what was probably going to be a min-raise of $50.

I have to admit that it never occurred to me that he could just have Trip 6s. If it had been the Queen that paired on the River, then Trips would seem more likely. It's certainly in his range, but at the very bottom of it.

I'm so used to having the mentality of Bet/Fold on my River Value Bets that I just assumed I was beat. And if you go back through this blog and look at the many times that I've folded on the River, I'm almost always right.

One difference in this hand compared to some of the other hands was the Board (Qd 6h 5s 9c 6c). There was no Flushes or Four Card Straights out there. It's a rather non-dramatic Board, and my Straight was somewhat hidden. That's why he thought he had the best hand. Of course, if I had Two Pair or a Set on the Turn, then his raise would be suicidal. But, again, I'm not here to criticize him.

This hand was a valuable lesson for me to not always assume that the opponent is raising with the Nuts. I need to take the texture of the Board into consideration, and figure out what hand he thinks that he has beat.

And when I say "valuable", I mean the preflop action (roughly $25-$40), plus around $100 ($30-$35 x 3) on the Flop, plus $100 ($50 x 2) on the Turn, plus $100 ($50 x 2) on the River, plus whatever he was gonna raise (probably $50-$70).

Ouch!

Hand Of The Day #83

Peppermill ~ 09.03.11 ~ $130 HORSE Tournament Lv 1 (50/100 H)

I arrived at the table a few minutes late, and they are in the Hold'em rotation. It's my very first hand, and it folds around to me. I'm the Button with 9c 8d, and decide to just limp (50). The SB folds, and BB checks their option. Flop 9s 7h 4d. BB bet (50), and I decide to raise (100) with my Top Pair. He calls.

Turn [9s 7h 4d] 5h. Once again, he bets (100). I'm thinking that he's got better than One Pair, so I just call.

River [9s 7h 4d 5h] 8c. He bets (100). That's an interesting card. I now have Top Two Pair, but any 6 is a Straight. I already think he has better then One Pair, so I'm beating Two Pair, but I'm losing to a Set or Straight.

I decide to raise (200), and he 3-Bets (300). Ok, now he's probably got a Straight, and I should fold as I got the info I wanted. But this is my first hand, and I guess it's possible that he could be getting stuborn with 75o or some other Two Pair. Plus, it's Level 1 of a tournament. We started with 6k chips, so another 100 doesn't mean much.

I call, and he shows 86h for a Straight. He bet his Open-Ender on the Flop, and hit it on the Turn. Naturally, I had to hit my Top Two Pair on the River.

Yeah, it's been that kind of a summer for me.