Monday with The Juice

Since one of our dealers was going to be out of town, our usual $5/10 NLO8 Tuesday game got moved to Monday. Absent were many of the action players like Eli, Elvie and Bill. Like a good host, however, Dave almost single-handedly provided the evening’s entertainment. And, as I have trained him so well to do, my scout went out into the field, gathered chips from most of the others, then brought them back home to me. Good boy, Davey – remind me to give you a biscuit!

I did a decent job of not committing too many chips while drawing, trying to keep the pots as small as possible. This is not always an easy task in a game featuring His Juiciness. I don’t believe I was involved in any make-or-break hands throughout the session, and in those inevitable hands where I got corn-holed on the river, I was able to escape with only flesh wounds.

Most of the hands I was involved in were relatively uneventful, and I just steadily built my stack throughout the night. The one hand that sticks out wasn’t a monster by any means, but I found it interesting in how it played out. I believe we had the usual pre-flop straddle, with most of the table calling. I look down to find Ax-4x-5d-8d, and we see a flop of 6d-7d-Qx. I like the flop, as I have a lot of different draws (wrap, decent low, open-end straight flush, etc). Dave must like it also, because he leads out with a fairly large bet. I forget the exact amount (all the hands run together after a while…) but $140 somehow rings a bell. I make the call, as does John S.

While Dave can have anything from top set to some goofy runner-runner crap, I know John must have a very good draw to call a large bet. Having a relatively shorter stack, he would most likely push in or fold with a smaller set, and definitely push in with top set. My initial read is that he has a good low draw, and possibly a flush draw along with it. It’s funny all the different scenarios that can go through your mind in just a couple seconds. Usually I’m thinking of the card I want to see, but in this case I was thinking of cards I don’t want to see, such as a 2 or 3. These cards give me a good low, but not the nuts. I wouldn’t mind it if I was in position, but I don’t want to end up being the “sucker in the middle” facing a large turn bet from Dave, with John yet to act behind.

As I’ve said before: Easy decisions - gooood. Tough decisions - baaaad.

At any rate, my decision gets a lot easier when a beautiful little 9x comes on the turn. Almost a perfect card, as I now have a straight and there’s no low out there. Sure, it’s only second-nut, but it’s hard to put either opponent on a big wrap or gutshot, and if so, I’ve still got plenty of outs. Dave leads out with a $300 bet, and now the decision is whether to raise or smooth-call. This decision turns out to be a fairly easy one (gooood). If John has a good low draw, I definitely want to bet him out an isolate Dave. Then if a low card comes, I have a good chance of winning the entire pot. If he wants to risk his entire stack on just a draw, then I’ll leave him his own tough decision (baaaad) to make. Also, I want to get more of Dave’s chips into the pot, but since I have redraws, I don’t want to bet him out.

I decide that a min-raise should accomplish both goals, and I raise to $600. John grumbles a bit before folding, and Dave makes the call. There are a lot of cards I don’t mind seeing, but the board-pairing 6x is not one of them. Luckily, Dave checks to me, and I’m not forced to make a tough decision (baaaad). I’m more than happy to check behind with my straight, which by now is like the 23rd nut... He turns over Q-7 for a flopped top two-pair, and (I believe) a busted queen-high flush draw. I think John said he folded something like A-2-4-5, and I scoop a nice little pot of over $1,700.

The night ended a little earlier than usual. This was bad for everyone, as Dave still had chips left. Anytime Dave cashes out, two words come to mind – missed opportunity! Dave had amassed a lot of chips earlier, but as usual, his stack disappeared faster than the fried chicken at a Compton Golden Corral. Most of that chicken found its way onto my plate, and I ended up cashing out for a $3,500 profit. Not bad, but not near what I’m going to take from The Juice this Saturday night! That’s right, Dave. Break out your K-Y Jelly™ - it’s going to be painful!!

See ya at the tables…
Rick