Know when to hold-em...

12:30 A.M. in the RV at the Barona Casino in San Diego where Kenny Rodgers is the official mascot. He is the mascot, because of his crooning of the lyrics “you got to know when to hold-em, and know when to fold them. In my mind the lyrics “you got to know when to call them and know when to muck them is crooning in my head.

Tonight I “out thought” myself, to my demise.

Mike Caro, the “mad genius of poker” has a term called F.P.S. He says, when players start improving and learning “moves”, they sometimes use Fancy Plays, when simple poker moves would be so much better. Their fancy play syndrome ends up costing them money at the poker table.

Tonight I discovered F.T.S. Fancy thought syndrome. I out thought myself twice, costing me over $250.

The table was filled with good players. Two seats to my right was a player I identified as well above average in his play. He always seemed to have a great hand when he called, bet or raised the pot. He played solid and folded often when he didn’t have the best hand.

I was in the big blind with pocket jacks. When it came to me I bet out $20 after 2 players limped in.

I had stolen a number of blinds, and plays from the big blind, the small blind, and the button because the table was tight and passive. Everyone folded to me, but “above average”.

The flop came 5,10,8 with one heart. He checks. I bet out $25. He calls.

The turn comes 7h, he checks and I bet $40. He calls. He is not a calling station, what is going on here?

The river is a Jack of hearts and now HE LEADS OUT with a $60 bet.

There are three hearts out there and four cards to a straight showing on the board, and I am now holding triple jacks.

I have a history with him where he bet out a hundred on the river just like this, when he caught a flush. I am convinced that he made his straight or flush. I am thinking, he called with two hearts, either, 10,9 or A10. We engage in some table talk. He says I let him “catch up.”

I have a fairly good read on him. He is confident and believes he has the best hand. At the flop I had asked him, when he called, if he caught his pocket Aces again? He had AA three times already tonight and slow played them to the river beating me each time adamantly insisting, when players commented about his slow-playing Aces, “ in this game if you don’t slow play Aces you will only make $4. I had pocket Aces once tonight and won a $200 pot with I played them aggressively, when he was away from the table, but I “held my tongue.”

After my flop question he said no aces. I believed him and thought maybe he has Kings, which he may have slow played like his aces.

After his bet on the river, I said you have Queens? He said nope and again I believed him.

I respected him and had laid down AQ and AJ twice against him tonight and both times he had AA or AK.

I have been reading articles recently about great lay downs by Phil Ivey. This was a chance for me to practice a “great laydown.”

I turned my two jacks over to show him, thinking this will give me some future bluffing ability. I then mucked them feeling pretty good, about my ability to lay down three jacks, when a very good player is “communicating with his betting, he has the best hand”.

He turned over 7,10 off-suit for two pair and he expressed genuine shock at my mucking of three of a kind.

He said he just “felt like gambling that hand” and he said he “believed I had Kings or Aces” and was convinced his two pair were the best hand over my one big pair.

My read was accurate of his belief, I trusted his ability to play, but as I told him later my read of him was accurate, however, he didn’t know what he was talking about when he said he caught up.

So I “accurately read” him, and his “wrong belief” and lost the hand when I normally would have called $60 on a $160 pot. This is when I really wish I had a mentor so I could discuss the hand with them. I am open to any feedback on this one.

The player next to me said to me “you thought too much in that hand”.

I think he was right. I did. And I lost $200 because of fancy thought syndrome.

Sometimes I guess you just need to gamble like he did, and the player to my left did on my final hand of the night.

I was the dealer button with a 5-10 suited in the hole. Three people limped in and I joined them for a $3 call.

The flop came 10,7, 5 rainbow. I had flopped two pair!

I tossed out $10 hoping I would get a call or two. The big blind to my left, a Korean woman dealer who was not a very strong player raises it to $55. I wonder if she has 10-7? Then I realize it is much more likely she has a 10 with a great kicker like an ace.

It folds to me and I push all in my last $110. She thinks about it for a long time while I am torn inside hoping she will call but afraid I will get “sucked out on”.

I had just won a pot from her where I had a slightly bigger kicker and she appeared to be “steaming” from that when she said to me “you lucky”, in a not-so-friendly tone. I am just staring at the pot thinking… call me, no, don’t call me, sure call me…. Etc.

Finally she calls my bet and the turn is an Ace. Her body visibly relaxes, and I tighten up my jaw, and mutter “damn”. The river is a brick and she turns over her Ace-Ten off-suit, just like I suspected.

Lousy call on her part, but great catch, but hey, that is why this game flourishes. It is your money that buys the chips, and you get to play them anyway you want to.