For my poker-starved readers

Here's some rare poker content.

I logged on to Absolute Poker in the wee hours of the morning to play my usual $5/10 6-max hold'em game. I was disappointed to see there were only 2 tables going on a Friday night, and that neither of them looked particularly easy. I was just about to head over to Party Poker, when I decided to check out the $10/20 action. I noticed a pair of 6-max games that looked pretty soft, so I decided to take a shot at that limit. I learned that I'm not ready to stomach the swings of this game on a regular basis, but I was able to book a nice win. Here were a few highlight hands, with very little commentary.

Hand 1: I think you're bullshit!

6 handed $10/20 hold'em.
4 folds to me in the small blind with 2♥2♣
I raise to $20 and the big blind calls.

flop ($40): 3♦ A♦ J♠

I bet $10, he raises to $20, I call.

turn ($80): A♠

I check, he bets $20, I call.

river ($120): 7♥

I check, he bets $20, I call.

He shows K♦8♦

I win $157.

Comments: Don't know my opponent, so I assume he plays like the generic 6-max player. I thought if he had an Ace, he'd have reraised preflop or waited til the turn to raise. And if he had a Jack or another pocket pair he'd have either raised preflop or just called all the way. So I figured a flush draw was his most likely hand.

Hand 2: Value bets or bluffs?

4 handed $10/20 hold'em.
1 fold, button raises to $20, small blind folds, I call in big blind with K♥9♥

flop ($45): 8♣ Q♣ 9♦

I bet $10, he raises to $20, I call.

turn ($85): 5♣

I bet $20, he raises to $40, I raise to $60, he calls.

river ($205): Q♦

I bet $20, he folds. I take down $203.

Comments: I suck at reading hands, so I just put lots of bets in and hope it works. This time it did. Opponent in this hand is very good, so I assumed he was capable of folding a decent made hand or semibluffing (betting/raising with a strong draw). My assumption must have been right, since he obviously he did one of those things.

Hand 3: Nice turn card.

6 handed $10/20 hold'em

UTG calls $10, next guy calls $10, fold, I raise to $20, small blind calls, big blind folds, 2 more callers. I have A♦J♦

flop ($90): 8♥ 7♠ 5♠

Small blind bets $10. 3 callers.

turn ($130): J♥

Small blind bets $20, big blind calls, next guy raises to $40, I raise to $60, small blind caps it to $80, big blind folds, 2 callers.

river ($390): 4♥

Small blind bets $20, 2 callers.

Small blind has J♠6♠ (an 8-high straight)
next guy has J♣9♠ (a pair of Jacks with 9-kicker)

Small blind wins $447

Comment: Small blind was the reason I was in this game. He saw the flop almost every hand, bet and raised often with no hand or on draws, and check/called with his strong hands. The guy with J9 was also loose and weird. My flop call I thought was a no-brainer, even without a backdoor flush draw. Given how bad both players are, I couldn't fold top pair top kicker on the turn, so I figured 3betting was the best play. It turned out I was a 52% favorite to win the hand, so my 3bet (and small blind's cap) was very profitable for me with 2 callers. Too bad I couldn't just claim 52% of the $390 that was in the pot before the river.