Northern
Exposure Part I
BY:
Ashley Adams
Contact at: (Asha34@aol.com)
Author of Winning 7-Card Stud
I
learn poker lessons in the most unusual
places. Of course, part of the reason
for that is because I seek out unusual
venues for poker play.
A
few weeks ago, for example, I headed off
on an expedition to Alaska, the Yukon
and the Northwest Territories for whatever
poker action I could find. I had heard
that there were good games in those parts
and I wanted to see for myself and then
report back my findings.
The
poker family is very wide and very tight.
I have found that with a few emails and
posts I can usually track down a poker
playing contact in just about any region
of the world. I tried this out for Fairbanks
Alaska. And, true to form, two wonderful
poker players popped up willing to help
me with my quest. One, a life long resident
of the Fairbanks area, offered to show
me a nice place to eat. Another, offered
me his Bed and Breakfast at a reasonable
rate, with the added bonus of a regularly
scheduled home game in an adjoining room.
$50 a night in Fairbanks is impossible
to beat for a bed and breakfast. And I
was certain that this was the only B&B
with a poker room attached. So I booked
the reservation.
The
game was immediately recognizable. It
was a low limit no limit game just like
many of the games I'd played in back east.
There was only one other player over 30.
A couple of the players were very aggressive,
but not particularly selective, and most
players were passive and timid - afraid
to bet advantages even if they had them
unless they had powerhouse hands.
I came into a situation that I've been
in a number of times before. It is a good
example of the inadequacy of reads when
you're new to a game.
I had been playing my typical tight and
aggressive game - having won $60 or so
in the 90 minutes I'd been playing by
raising aggressively in late position
when other players showed weakness. I
had done this on a bluff once, but had
to show down my strong hands once or twice.
So I figured that my opponents viewed
me as a strong player.
A
hand came up that was particular interesting.
I had the Ks Jd in early position. I called
the $2 Big Blind. These cames sometimes
ended up with 6 or so players calling
the Big Blind without anyone raising -
so for cheap action I was willing to play
the $2.00 and see the flop. Two other
players called, including the small blind.
The
Flop was Kh Js Td. The small blind and
big blind checked. I had what I presumed
to be the best hand. Had someone an Ace
Queen or a pair of Tens, I reasoned, they
would have raised pre-flop. Still, they
it could be out there as could a pair
of Kings or a pair of Jacks, but I discounted
each of those because of the lack of a
pre-flop raise and the fact that I had
one of each.
I decided to raise to $10 and see what
developed. The first caller folded. I
was raised by the player opposite me.
He raised to $30. The blinds folded.
Now
I had a decision. Did he have A-Q or Trips?.
A-Q for a straight seemed highly unlikely
- since he would probably have slowplayed
me with that monster. It seemed highly
unlikely that he would raise aggressively
on the flop with such a hand. More likely,
it seemed to me, in fact HIGHLY more likely
that he had a hand like A-K. I decided
to put him to the test - and I raised
him all in for another $200.
He paused and then called. We flipped
over our cards. Sure enough, he had the
damn A-Q for the straight.
I
thought about it. And I realized that
my fundamental mistake was attributing
to this relatively young timid player
the same strategy that a more experienced
player would employ. As a timid player,
this nut hand would be the exact kind
of hand that would get him to raise. He
wouldn't try to be deceptive, he would
just bet for value as he did.
My
play was exactly the kind of mistake that
experienced players often make. They fall
into the fancy play zone when they should
be more conventional. It was a useful
lesson and one that I took out of the
northern wilds of Alaska.
© The Poker Forum.com,
all rights reserved
|