Part way into a the Sng I just busted out of I played a hand that left me shaking my head. I really had intended to write a nice big blog entry musing as to how impossible it can be to predict players like this guy who had seen two tight players raise, then massively reraise the pot pre-flop, so he decides to call with just J7s. Equally befudding is how he called an all-in bet on the flop with just a pair of jacks. But I'm afraid that show has been cancelled; all I can think about are the three hands that cost me the tournement.
After the guy mentioned above gave me his whole stack, I was the chip leader, and remained so for awhile. Then came a hand where I had AT vs AJ; a bad situation that I made a little worse, but I still had a average stack for the six remaining players after that hand.
Not too long later I was in the big blind when the small blind just called. I tried to push him off it with just QJo. He made a min reraise and I called. I totally missed the flop and folded to a big raise. He flashed his pocket aces.
That hand crippled me, but I battled back. Exactly three orbits later he tried to limp from the small blind again. "Ha !" I thought, he thinks that because he flashed his aces last time I'll give him credit for a monster. "Well, I'll show him." I had AQo. We got into a raising war, and before long I all my chips were at risk. He turned over pocket aces.
I don't get mad at the cards very often, but I was swearing at the screen tonight.
The worst of it is that what I really wanted to talk about is so very relevent to why I lost. How do you step out of your own mindset and get insight into how players who think very differently from you are playing? The guy with J7, I can't fathom how he called 25% of his stack pre-flop on that hand. Even more so I can't get how he called the rest of his money with top pair, crappy kicker and huge reasons to fear that either I or the other player in the hand hand an over pair (or trips or maybe AJ).
As for the guy with the aces, clearly he played them perfectly because he took every chip I had. Yet, it blows me away that he would reveal his hand to me, then play the exact same hand the exact same way just a short time later. Obviously when he revealed the aces he couldn't have been expecting that situation to come up again (could he?) the tourney is just not that long. To me revealing your cards in that situation would be to say "you better not reraise my limps, cause I may have aces" and having said that why would he limp with aces the second time.
The worst of all this is that I am the true idiot here. Against the guy with J7, he had top pair and I had 15 outs; in all likelyhood I could have gotten just as rich with less risk by not semi-bluffing. As for the AA guy, I had the exact formula he uses to play AA from the small blind when it folds to him fresh in my brain, and I even recognized it. When he came back with his reraise I knew he was playing this hand just like the last, but rather than think like he thinks - this is his formula for this situation, and so that's what he's going to do - I was an idiot and assumed that he would be playiong it like me, and mix things up.
Anyways, if anyone has any insight as to how to get into the brains of other players, I would be appreciative.
© Copyright 2008
4 comments
"Ha !" I thought, he thinks that because he flashed his aces last time I'll give him credit for a monster.
I am guilty of doing this. I pretty much believe now that most people are that predictable. I was playing in a freeroll and every time this player got a premium pocket pair, she re-raised all the other raises by three times while on the button or one of the blinds. When no one called she flashed KK. Later at the same table she did it again on the button or one of the blinds. I had raised w/ AQsooted, someone called, it folded around to her and she re-raised 3x my bet. I was like, wait, is this a ploy or does she really have KK again? If she does have KK, do I want to gamble and pray for an ace? Ultimately I folded, as did everyone else, and she flashed AA. Then even later she did it again! And her AA went up against KK and she lost to trips Kings on the flop.
Then I played in a tourney or a freeroll with someone who raised this ridiculous amount pre-flop with AA and flashed it when no one called. Then he did it two hands later and flashed KK. Then he did it the exact next hand and we were all like, OK, stop. No one called and he flashed JJ. It was just... unbelievable a.) because he got that many premium pockets in the span of four hands and b.) he played them the exact same way each time and didn't get ANY action -- just the blinds.
But then sometimes it gets me into trouble. I watched a friend re-raises someone w/ AQo. Then later I got QQ, raised it 4 or 5 BB. When it got to him, he went all in, so based on my previous read, I figured I was in decent hands and went for it. Turns out he had AA and I flopped a Q. So lucky for me, but still confusing for me.
The situation you were in is whacky definitely because the exact same scenario repeated itself. Hard to work with that. So I dunno what to tell you. I'm still working on my read too.