The Anti-Whinge

So it is a truism that you remember the beats you take but not the hands you win with (unless they are monster pots).  At E and Ricky's I was not running well at all the first half of the game(as opposed to Pops' where one buy in I ran bad and another two buy ins I ran bad and played bad), but actually playing pretty well.  A couple of the hands I lost I could tell that if the cards came the other way, I would have been paid because no one was putting me on the hands I had.  I could still tell you the exact action on the three big hands I lost.  But who wants to read beat stories???

After deciding to just throw down the gauntlet since I was stuck on a hand with Anne where my 12-outs sucked out, the one hand of the night that put me over the top on getting even was a fortuitous: "Wow my hand somehow held up!" situation.

I get KK in the small blind.  A bunch of limpers, and I raise to $12 pf.  We are 7 handed and I get called in three spots.  I have about $450 in front.  The only other person with more than me is Barry who has me covered by a lot (and is not in this hand).  Everyone else has between $100-$250 or so in front.

Dealer puts the flop out and I get momentarily excited when I see the door card of the flop is another K.  I'm mentally celebrating when I notice the other two cards: QJ, rainbow.  Aw, fuck.

So I'm first to act and I bet just under pot.  Then the 8 seat moves all in for about a min-raise.  He is not a good player, probably doesn't pay good enough attention to the fact that I raised from out of position and also probably does not have my raising range in any position well-defined anyways.  He is short and will happily get his money in on a draw here.  Heck, I've seen him get his money in short with top pair on boards like this.  I don't think he has AT.  I'm pretty sure I'm ahead of him, for the moment anyways.

10 seat mucks.  Then, the player in the 2 seat who is on the button moves all in for about $200 total.  Now that is problematic.  This player not only knows me and my raising range (he has seen me fold AT in early position), he is also probably paying attention to position.  On the button he could easily have AT.  He probably doesn't have an under set because he would have raised pf.  Other than the nuts, he could very easily have a T or an A for a draw, or something like KQ, KJ, or QJ (especially if he put me on AA pf, and thinks his two pair is ahead).  I decide that I will pay him off if he has the nuts since I can boat and because his range of other hands here is big enough that it seems likely I could actually be ahead.

Fortunately, the board does not come scary on the turn or the river and I take down the pot with my unimproved set.  8 seat showed JT for a pair and a oesd that did not get there.  10 seat did not show his hand, but judging from the way he said: "Do you really have a set???" after I called his all in, he must've had two pair and put me on AA.  He could have also had a pair and a draw, but I don't know that he'd move all in with just that there.

That hand put me at just a little over even and then in the next couple hours I managed to grind out $160 in profit.  I'll take it.  Couldn't tell you the hands I had that took down the few average sized pots that got me to that $160 though.