This happened last night at a private home game, playing $0.50 – 0.50 Pot Limit Hold’em. Everyone started with $50 and I’ve played solid and now up to about $115.
It’s getting late and I’ve tightened up some, partly due to a past history of getting loose and spewy towards the end of a session in search of one last big pot.
In this hand Villain 1 has a slightly smaller stack, I’d guess around $80-90 and is in early position. Villain 2 is even shorter, with about $35 and in the Big Blind.
V1 makes a pot-sized raise to $3, one caller, and I am in the cutoff with QTo. I have a strong urge to call. I really want to see a flop. This has been a loose game and surely there will be at least one more caller for a good-sized multi-way pot. On the other hand, this can be easily dominated. There are multiple scenarios where I can end up putting more and more $$ in the pot and lose. I could get a straight draw and miss. I could get top pair and out-kicked. I could get middle pair.
I convince myself – I think this is correct – to fold.
Button and BB both call, and the flop is Kc Jc 5h. Open-ended straight draw, and also a flush draw on the board.
Everybody checks. Dang! I really want to be in this pot now. Given my desire not to spew late in the session, I’m sure I would have taken the free card.
Turn ($12) – 9s. Gin!
BB (V2) checks, V1 makes a pot-sized bet of $12 and everybody folds back to V2 who calls.
River ($36) – Ad. Now I would have had the stone cold nuts. I think I’m going to puke.
V2 checks and V1 asks how much he has remaining. He has $20 and V1 bets that amount, with a quick call by V2 (with a deep sigh, as if recognizing he was beat and maybe he was ready to go home anyway).
V1 has 99 for a set of nines made on the turn.
V2 has AJo for two pair.
V1 says “I was hoping you didn’t have the QT for a straight but even if you did I wasn’t folding, and rakes in $76 pot.
I might have stacked them both.
Year-to-date & month-to-date online results: + $543. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I have many occasions – poker or not where I would like to ask this question and the right answer!