Letting them get there

I'm not a fan of slowplaying. Whenever I do, it seems they draw out on me or a scare card comes and I get no action on the next street. Ed Miller had a good article on the subject that he calls The Pitfalls of Slowplaying.

I had a hand tonight that I thought was an exception. Playing in a cheap online bounty tournament, we were about two and one-half hours into the tournament. 363 players entered and there were 43 left. The blinds and antes were: 300/600 75a. My stack was T10,895 which was about maybe a little below average. In middle position, I checked my hole cards and was delighted to see ♠A ♣A. I bet T2000 and had one caller.

The flop was good news and bad news: ♥7 ♦A ♠8. I had a set, but there really wasn't anything the caller could have that he'd play with me if I bet except a pair of 7s or 8s, and if so, he'd bet for me. I checked and he checked as well.

The turn was a nebbish, the ♦5. I checked again. He didn't call T2000 with low cards, so it's unlikely he has a straight or flush draw, although in donkaments, you never know. He checked also.

The river was interesting: the ♣J. I led out for T2000. Maybe he has a jack, or maybe it looks like I'm trying to take the pot down with zippo. The Villain raised to T4000 -- B-I-N-G-O! What would you do now? I decided he would either play with me or not, so I moved all in and he insta-called and showed: ♠J ♦J.

I was right; he was afraid of the ace. Most players would have taken a shot at it on the turn, but he was cautious. Unlucky for him he hit his set.

NOTE: I blogged this while I was playing. That pot moved me up to 6th place. I'll report later how I did.

EDIT: I busted out in 9th. My M was a little more than 5 and I picked up pocket Jacks and shoved. Ran into pocket kings who flopped a set, ouch.

Click on the image above to enlarge.
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Hand #55019367-147 at sniper820pm-004 (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 07/Jul/08 22:49:54

Memphis-Mojo is at seat 0 with 10,895.
Stretch72 is at seat 1 with 11,300.
Canman1483 is at seat 2 with 21,135.
saxnole is at seat 3 with 3,930.
southscid is at seat 4 with 18,685.
tree2957 is at seat 6 with 10,370.
Allin2700 is at seat 7 with 15,515.
SmokerAce is at seat 8 with 26,160.
SMOKIN HOT 38 is at seat 9 with 12,260.
The button is at seat 3.

Memphis-Mojo posts ante (75).
Stretch72 posts ante (75).
Canman1483 posts ante (75).
saxnole posts ante (75).
southscid posts ante (75).
tree2957 posts ante (75).
Allin2700 posts ante (75).
SmokerAce posts ante (75).
SMOKIN HOT 38 posts ante (75).
tree2957 posts the small blind of 300.
Allin2700 posts the big blind of 600.

Memphis-Mojo: Ac As
Stretch72: -- --
Canman1483: -- --
saxnole: -- --
southscid: -- --
tree2957: -- --
Allin2700: -- --
SmokerAce: -- --
SMOKIN HOT 38: -- --

Pre-flop:
SmokerAce folds. SMOKIN HOT 38 folds. Memphis-Mojo
raises to 2,000. Stretch72 calls. Canman1483 folds.
saxnole folds. southscid folds. tree2957 folds.
Allin2700 folds.

Flop (board: 7h Ad 8s):
Memphis-Mojo checks. Stretch72 checks.

Turn (board: 7h Ad 8s 5d):
Memphis-Mojo checks. Stretch72 checks.

River (board: 7h Ad 8s 5d Jc):
Memphis-Mojo bets 2,000. Stretch72 raises to 4,000.
Memphis-Mojo goes all-in for 8,820. Stretch72 calls.

Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:
Memphis-Mojo shows Ac As.
Stretch72 shows Jd Js.

Showdown:
Memphis-Mojo has Ac As Ad 8s Jc: three aces.
Stretch72 has Jd Js Ad 8s Jc: three jacks.

Hand #55019367-147 Summary:
No rake is taken for this hand.
Memphis-Mojo wins 23,215 with three aces.