I am so pleased with this hand. Well actually, I'm not pleased with the check on the river, but I am extremely pleased with my call.

I realised that I've been playing quite weak-passive recently, and it leads me into the dark alley that is fifth street - just like in the hand in question here. I bet, bet, then decide that if my opponent has called so far (considering the odds I've been giving with my bets), he must have some sort of hand that possibly beats me, so I check in the hope that he will want to showdown cheaply.

You're probably reading this going "Arrrghhh.." to yourself, and yes, it's a horrible play to make. I realised I'd done it again this time, and whereas I'd normally fold to his large bet almost instantly - I had had enough.

After thinking through the hand, I realised there was a strong likelihood he was bluffing, since with a very safe looking board, the only scary hand I'm afraid of is two pair. His bet on the river was too large, after showing a lot of weakness by flat calling my previous bets.

I called him on the river, then leapt up from my chair in excitement. Boooya.

Poker Confidence

I haven't been playing as much as I'd like recently, and I've been feeling that the gift of being a half decent player has left me for greener pastures. Some seriously bad timing and a stream of bad luck (like hitting top pair on the flop, betting large and being called by a flusher who hits an overpair on the turn - it happens so often!), coupled with some bad plays and a bit of a dodgy memory means I have felt like I was just throwing money away.

That call has really boosted my confidence, and turned round my opinion of my game. While it still may need work, and it may not be as good as it used to, at least I'm sure that I'm back on the road to rolling around in my millions (of pennies..).

Is It Really That Bad A Play?

A bit of philosophy - many of you are probably saying, "Yeah, nice call. But you shouldn't have been in that difficult spot in the first place!", which is probably exactly what I'd say if I saw the hand posted in a forum somewhere. I KNOW I shouldn't have been in that spot, but by the time I was there - it was too late.

Was it really a bad spot to be in though? Isn't giving our opponents an opportunity to bluff and make mistakes part of the game?

If I'd led the river, he almost certainly would have folded, and I wouldn't have made the extra 20xBB that he chucked over the betting line. I suppose it comes down to my intent - I didn't mean to let him bluff me. If I'd been wanting him to bet, I wouldn't have had a tough decision to make. I didn't want him to bet, so I struggled and ran down my clock. I made the mistake of allowing him to take control of the hand.

I need to start taking more time to think about why I'm betting (or feebly checking!) again. To the tables!