The other night a player sat down and immediately started to play a lot of hands. Let’s call him VPIP79. This is one of several hands I played against him:
Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Jd, Js. CO posts a blind of $5.
1 fold, UTG+1 (VPIP79) calls, UTG+2 raises, Hero 3-bets, 6 folds, UTG+1 (VPIP79) calls, UTG+2 calls.
Flop: (11.40 SB) 7s, 9c, 2h (3 players)
VPIP79 bets, UTG+2 folds, Hero raises, VPIP79 3-bets, Hero calls.
Turn: (8.70 BB) 4s (2 players)
VPIP79 bets, Hero calls.
River: (10.70 BB) 9s (2 players)
VPIP79 bets, Hero calls.
Final Pot: 12.70 BB
VPIP79 has 7h 2d (two pair, nines and sevens).
Hero has Jd Js (two pair, jacks and nines).
Outcome: Hero wins 12.70 BB.
Call me a lemur, but it’s hard to fold an overpair while heads up against a loose player, especially when the pot’s that big. Of course, when the top card paired on the river, I figured I was dead, but I’d see what he had. It never even occurred to me that he had bottom two pair on the flop. I mean, who the hell plays seven-deuce offsuit?!
Then again, maybe he was bored.
When I’m bored, I prefer raising, and I prefer connectors:
Preflop: Hero is UTG with 7s, 6s.
Hero raises, 7 folds, SB (VPIP55) calls, BB (VPIP25) calls.
Flop: (6 SB) Jh, 5s, 8d (3 players)
VPIP55 checks, VPIP25 bets, Hero raises, VPIP55 calls, VPIP25 calls.
Turn: (6 BB) 4h (3 players)
VPIP55 checks, VPIP25 checks, Hero bets, VPIP55 calls, VPIP25 calls.
River: (9 BB) 2d (3 players)
VPIP55 checks, VPIP25 checks, Hero bets, VPIP55 calls, VPIP25 calls.
Final Pot: 12 BB
VPIP55 has 4s As (one pair, fours).
VPIP25 has Jd Qh (one pair, jacks).
Hero has 7s 6s (straight, eight high).
Outcome: Hero wins 12 BB.
The flop raise was definitely an attempt to see the turn and river for the price of 1SB. But all the pieces fell into place and I got my straight. The SB remarked that he didn’t put me on that hand at all.
I guess that hand made an impression, since someone cold-called a later raise with A2o. The SB from the hand above saved me some money by 3-betting with his flopped boat (he had T7s in EP) after A2o raised. I mucked and the two players went to war. A2o busted and left the table.