Some poker time at the casino.........

I went out to the local casino to play some poker the other night. It was an interesting night. I played for 6 hours and ended up breaking even. I actually played very well. Poker is one of those games where you can make the right decisions on occasion and it simply doesn't work out as well as you'd like it. I had two hands that could have easily gone my way and would have resulted in +$100 by the end of the night. But you have to take the good with the bad.

I think my reading abilities of other players are really starting to improve dramatically. I had several great reads on some players that really saved me some money. For example, in one hand, I had JJ and raised. Got 3 callers. Flop was 943 with two cards of the same suit. I bet, one guy raised behind me and another guy reraised that bet. The guy who made the last raise was someone who I felt I had a pretty good tell on. He'd laugh and joke with me unless he had a hand. When he had a hand, he still would smile, but wouldn't talk or give a 'toothy' smile. After his reraise, I smiled at him and said that he must have a monster. He smiled..........no teeth. I took my cards and showed them to the dealer and an older guy next to me. I said that these cards were no good. The older guy acted shocked that I would fold that hand with a flop of 943 on the board. Result? The guy who I thought I had a read on had 44 in his hand. He had hit three 4's on the flop and had me hopelessly beat. The dealer and the old guy were both just as shocked that I made that kind of a read.

In another hand, I had AA. I raised and got 3 callers. Flop came down 962 rainbow (that means that all three cards were different suits, thereby reducing a chance of any possible flush in this hand). Great flop for me, so I bet. The player behind me, who had just sat down, raised the pot. The other two players folded. I had this guy read as a pretty tight player. He had just started drinking, but I had learned from talking with him that he just arrived, so he's not drunk at this point. I think I'm in trouble, so I just call. 4th card is a ten. I checked and he bets. I know I'm in trouble now. I believe he has 99 in his hand, making trip 9's. I just called. River was a king. I check and he bets. I call and immediately say out loud (so the whole table can hear it), "You have trip 9's, right?". He laughed out loud and flipped over 99 for trip 9's. I flipped over my AA and told him good hand.

I did this for a couple important reasons. First, I wanted the table to see that I raised with AA and just simply got outdrawn. That tells them that when I raise, I have good cards. The reason this is important at a limit table like this is that I don't want too many people calling when I have good cards. I want to isolate players and only be against one or two players. That makes it much more likely that I'll win. Second, by calling out exactly what he had, I'm showing the other players that I can even read players who just sat down at the table. It makes me look like a tough player and they'll be more willing to lay down their hand if I start betting or raising, allowing me to even bluff in certain circumstances.

Later, I was big blind and had 62. 4 people called and I was able to check and see the flop. The flop came 762. I checked and everyone checked behind me. The next card was a jack. I bet and everyone else folded. I flipped over my 2 and told the table I had a pair of 2's. This is also important to let players know that I will 'bluff' on occasion. I actually had two pair, but the players didn't know that. They only know that I had a 2.

Late in the session, I was down about $75. I got AJ of hearts and called. 7 players total were in the pot, allowing for the possibility of a big win if the cards fell right. Flop was Q93 with two hearts. While I didn't pair anything, that's a dandy flop for me. I now have two cards to come. If either one is a heart, I have the best flush possible. I have a 33% chance of winning the hand at this point, which is most likely a better chance than any other person in the hand at this point. 5 people call in front of me. So there is now $36 in the pot. I have to put in $3 to call, so I'm betting $3 for a chance to win $36. This makes the pot odds 12 to 1. If your pot odds are larger than your chance of winning, you have to call no matter how far behind you believe you are. My odds of winning at this point are 33% (1 in 3). 1/12 is greater than 1/3, so I call.

Next card is an Ace of clubs. I now have top pair, but still have not hit my flush. Given that there are 6 people still in the pot at this point, there's a decent chance that someone out there has two pair or trips, so I have to assume I'm still behind. I now have a 16% chance of hitting a heart on the final card to hit my flush. I check and someone bets $6. Two players call that bet. So there is now $54 in the pot. I have to put out $6 to make the call. This makes the pot odds 9 to 1. My odds of winning at this point are 16% (1 in 6) 1/9 is greater than 1/6, so I have to call.

The river is a 8..........of HEARTS! BINGO! I've hit my card. I checked, hoping that someone will make a bet so I can raise the pot behind them. Pot odds aren't a concern at this point, because there's no hand out there that can beat me at this point. The lady behind me checks and another player behind her checks. Uh oh! C'mon, someone bet! I look over to the last player still to act. Thankfully, he is stacking 6 beautiful $1 chips and slowly pushes them out onto the table. Whew! I raise the bet to $12. Shockingly, the lady who checked behind me actually calls the $12 bet. The guy who helped me out by betting $6 now actually folds, knowing he doesn't have the best hand with myself and the lady both putting out $12. She said she thought she was beat. I flip over my ace high flush and collect a pot of $84, basically putting me even for the night.

I played a couple of hands before I left and ended up losing a couple of bucks overall. Lots of entertainment for a cheap price, so I certainly can't complain.

One other quick tip for those of you who want to play at a casino table. ALWAYS be sure to socialize and get the table talking and having as much fun as you can. People are more likely to bet worse hands if they're having fun. It makes it a profitable table for you in the long run. Also, if someone happens to beat you with a bad hand, make it seem as though it's now a rivalry between you and the other player. It doesn't have to be a mean-spirited rivalry, but it makes in more likely that player will enter more pots when you are in the pot, which also increases your profit in the long run by increasing the size of the pots that you are involved in over the course of the night.