Rhyming & Stealing ... (a poker story)

Back on the $.5/1 limit tables last night I had an entertaining experience. For a change I outplayed an opponent - in consecutive hands. The events played out in an unfavorable way for him, both times. Here's what happened ...

FELLOWS PLAYING A LITTLE *DRAW* POKER...

• HAND #1.

I was on the button with A9 offsuit. Everybody folded to me. I don't like A9 offsuit, but with that hand and up against just the blinds, raising is basically automatic. So I raised. Only the big blind called (probably correctly assuming I was mostly raising to try to steal the blinds). All of the cards on all of the streets were rags - no likely straights, no likely flushes either. Big blind checked every street and I checked right behind him. He showed K7 offsuit (I don't like his calling my raise with that hand. I would just let it go. Chances are his hand is worse than mine and he's out of position. Chris - do you disagree?), and I dragged the small pot.

• HAND #2 (the very next hand).

I was in the cutoff seat (one to the right of the button) with KQ offsuit. Again, everybody folded around to me. KQ offsuit is a considerably better hand than A9 offsuit, so I was considerably happier to be raising in what looked like a play to steal the blinds again. The button and the big blind folded. My opponent on Hand #1 was in the small blind this time, and he called my raise (given what happened the last hand, I was sure he thought I was trying to steal again).

The flop was 7c - 10c - Q. The small blind bet out and I raised (top pair, good kicker). He called. The turn was a K (not of clubs). The small blind bet out again, I raised again, and he called (I was raising here with top two pair. I was a little anxious about this - as I tend to be - because he could have had a straight, but I thought he probably would have re-raised before the flop if he had AJ.).

The river was a low club, making a flush possible. The small blind bet out again, I raised again, he called again, and I won the pot. He had paired 10s on the flop and bet into me all the way and called my raises all the way. His call before the flop was terrible even if I was trying to steal - he had 10-4 of hearts. As far as my raise on the river, that's more aggressive than I normally am. I still had top two pair, but I thought it was a considerably riskier raise with the flush possibility out there. But I thought he just thought I was trying to steal, and didn't have a big hand. So I felt OK about raising again since I actually had a pretty good hand.

• CONCLUSION.

I had a nice run of luck here to not have him pair up on Hand #1. I'm sure my playing Hand #1 so weak and slow actually worked out (although I know that's not recommended play) to make Hand #2 quite a bit more profitable for me than it would otherwise have been. If I'd have bet out on Hand #1 like you're supposed to after raising, he probably would have folded. And then I wouldn't have had to show my A9 offsuit and put in his brain that I was trying to steal his blinds.

Anyway, I thought it was pretty interesting and pretty entertaining. At least this time I got to be the hero!