Ragged Aces Poker Group

This morning, I finally decided to jump up a level in my online ring play.  I've been playing at the .25/.50 and, though I went through a pretty bad month in March, I've been winning fairly consistently at that level for some time.  The next level up is .50/$1 which pretty much doubles everything (blinds, bets, wins, losses).  Just the thought of doubling the cost of playing makes me nervous, but the idea that I can double my win rate if I can master the level got me excited to make the move.

Max buy-in on the .50/1 table is $100 but I've gotten used to playing with $50 on the table so I decided to start slow and do a half buy-in for my first game.  I wait until I'm in the BB and start playing and I get dealt a 79o for my first $1 at the new level, not a great hand.  Four people limp to me and I check.

The flop is a very friendly 77K rainbow giving me a set.  The field checks around and we turn a 9 giving me a full house.  This is when the fireworks started as the UTG limper bets out $1 into a $5 pot.  I call hoping to get more action behind me.  The MP limper folds followed by the LMP limper raising to $4.  The button limper calls, UTG folds and I make it $15 to go figuring to take the money now or take all the money from someone that thinks their KJ or A7 is good.

And then the ice hit...LMP raises to $49 which is all my money, the button folds and it is back to me.  There are only two hands I have to worry about, KK or 99.  Either of those hands would normally be raised with three limpers before this player pre-flop so I put little weight into the chance he held one of those hands, maybe 10%.  More likely were KQ, KJ, A7, K9 or a pair 66 or below. 

I had every combination of two cards this guy could hold destroyed except 6 (KsKd, KsKc, KdKc, 9s9d, 9s9c, 9d9c) and I couldn't see any way I could fold my full house so I called all-in on the very first hand I had ever played at this level of poker.

Turns out I was drawing virtually dead to the case 7 as he flips over the KsKd.  He had slow played Kings in a 5 player limped field, crazy.  He of course took my money and left the table.  Hope to play him again some day as he is going to spew chips the way he plays...

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~ Clark
2007 Player of the Year
2006 Ragged Aces Champion

i know you hate it when i say it, but he walked away with the money, so you spewed the chips and he played the best poker. you said yourself there were only a few hands that could beat you...and he had one of them. better luck next time.

 ddv

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~ "Monkey Boy"
2007 Ragged Aces Champion
2007 Most Improved Player

Awww... I feel for you. To each their own game... You did what you could and made a decent gamble. I personally would've kicked the set with the reraise, but that is just me. Don't take it hard. Very few of us know these swings. When some of the others experience playing real donkeys and losing much more than a $20 tourney, then you may have some real empathy. Remember, those cash games are tough/a joke... Any two cards will always be played! Unfortunately, you'll need to jump into a $5/10 before you get any "Respect". Keep grinding and follow that math, cause in the long run, it does pay off. Cheers!

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~ Rob

Yeah, this is not really a bad beat story so much as an example of the kind of hand it takes to get all my money

I would have kicked the set if there was major action on the flop but the flop was checked around after everyone had limped in pre-flop.  And when I hit the full house on the turn and that is where I got re-raised, really, only someone that slow played KK or 99 (as he did) is going to win and 90% of the time, those hands would have been raised pre-flop which is what fooled me.

The real point is that the guy slow played the Kings and it paid off.  I don't think there are very many people in the world that don't pay this off.  Just sucked to be the first hand dealt to me at a new level, cause now I'm starting off in the hole

As for him getting all my money, heck yeah he derserved it, heck yeah he played it well, heck yeah I could have folded my full house in fear of the bigger full house (and probably would have done so in a tournament setting), but the deck was stacked against me, I was playing in a ring game against a player I didn't know, and IT WAS A FULL HOUSE! 

Like I said, here's hoping he slow plays all of his big pairs like that with me in the future, cause I take his money more often then not...

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~ Clark
2007 Player of the Year
2006 Ragged Aces Champion