TRIP TO FOXWOODS

I've got to say, the average quality of players is much higher at Turning Stone than it is at Foxwoods. This is good and this is bad. Pots are larger at Foxwoods, raises are more ridiculous, more people stay in hands. My first trip down to Foxwoods, I only won a single hand.

Some incredibly aggressive and crazy player raised to $4. I called in late position with 10-9. The flop was 10-king-10. A player in early position bet out $20. The aggressive player called. I called. The turn was a blank. Another $20 from an early player, then a re-raise all-in from the aggressive player. I put the early bettor on a pair of kings, and the aggressive player on a 10 with a kicker weaker than mine (I guessed a 6 or a 4). It turns out he had 10-7 and my 9 played so I won $110 in one hand.

I went back a few days later. The cards were frigid this time. I got Ace-Jack on the first hand, called a raise, but I never hit. About 20 minutes later, Ace-Queen on a straddle. Once again, I called. Once again, nothing happened. I got Ace-Jack a bit later and nothing happened. Each time, I was in early position. Each time, I couldn't bluff at the pot because the players down there aren't good enough to fold.

Finally, I got a hand. Pocket Jacks, 2nd to act. I raised to $15. I got a caller from the small blind. Then another one in early position. The flop came Ace-Jack-9. Two clubs. Check. Check. I thought about betting to protect my set from a flush. However, I knew one or both of the other players had a weak Ace. If I checked my set, I could trap them, win a big pot, and cash out on top. So I checked. The turn was a red 7. Bet $20. Raise All-in for $73. I figured my set was still good. There were only two clubs out there. Only two hands could have beat me: pocket Aces, and 10-8. I wanted to keep both of my opponents in so I called the $73. The initial bettor put me all-in and I called. He had a weak Ace. But the guy who went all-in had 10-8 of clubs. I had won the side pot, but I needed to hit a Jack, Ace, 7, or 9 on the river in order to win the main pot. I didn't hit any of my 9 outs and lost the main pot.

The odds:
preflop: Jacks 57.6%, Ace-6: 24.6%, 10-8: 17.8%
flop: Jacks: 58.1%, Ace-6: 1.4%, 10-8: 40.4%
turn: Jacks: 21.4%, Ace-6: 0%, 10-8: 78.6%

A few hands later, I had pocket 6s under the gun. I jokingly raised to $4 as a "Delayed Straddle" but I really wanted rags out of there while simultaneously building the pot a bit. The same guy who called my $15 raise with 10-8 called me again. The flop came 3-4-8. I figured nobody would have anything like an 8 in their hand so I bet out $15. The moron who called me before raised to $45. I studied him. I didn't think he had an 8. I sensed more strength than that. I had a theory that he had two pair or a set. I wanted to be sure, though. So I said...

"You know. If I thought you were a good player, I'd go all-in. But I don't."

"You think I'm not good enough to fold top pair?"

"No I don't. But you don't have top pair."

I knew he had 4-3 and had me beaten. I folded. He, being cocky for some reason, showed his cards to the guy on his right. I called him out on it. Then he said...

"You should be grateful, I saved you a lot of money."

"Why, what'd you have?"

"Three-Four."

"I know. I saved myself that money."

Seriously, what moron sticks in with a hand like 10-8 suited out of position. You're hoping for a straight but you need one of four 9s to fall for it. You hope for a 1/9 shot at a flush but you also hope that 4 clubs don't call or that you're not up against higher clubs. Then you stick in there with 4-3??? Wow! I was 85% preflop to beat him. I was still 28.7% after the flop!

The idiots outdrew me, the cards betrayed me, but I kept the damage to a minimum. I will probably return to Foxwoods sometime later this week. If not, I'll have to wait until summer.