I’m playing 1 - 2 NL at the Golden Nugget in a wild cash game during Labor day weekend. The kind of game that we dream about. Where 3 bet and 4 bet action pre had become common place. I bought in for $200 and after a few hours in the game I had run my stack up to about $500. I looked down at my cards UTG and saw that I was holding KK. I decided to just limp because I was positive there would be a re-raise a few others limped in and the HJ made it $17. The cutoff and the button were two drunks who called everything and that didn’t change on this hand. The SB also called. When it got back around to me I made it $54 to go in an attempt to thin the field. The original raiser then went into the tank, speech, shove act for a total of $186. During this time I started realizing that I might have been dealt the ultimate set up. I thought for a second then decided to stick with my gut and show the two kings and fold. The table sat in shocked silence, as if I had just shown them pornographic material. After the hand was over came a ton of speculation. The 4 bet shover played it up for the crowd saying things like “ Well I had one over” and “Can’t believe I get this much respect” I felt good about the lay down though. My new table buddy “Green Shirt Bob” begin a dialogue about the hand. Bob was convinced that the villian had A -Q. Bob also left Vegas down just a little under 6k in three days playing 1-2NL so consider the source. I tried to explain to him that I don’t think that was possible and that I made the only play that I could make and here are the reasons why.
1. Table Image - While the table had been very loose this particular player was a calling station. Up until this time he had only raised into un opened pots and had yet to put in any type of 3bet let alone a 4bet. So when he decides to 4 bet in this spot I figure that he has to have a huge hand.
2. The action - Because I limped from UTG the strength of my hand is disguised pretty well, but when I 3bet from out of position, I am beginning to turn my hand face up. Even a seasoned rec player will start to realize that my hand is probably pretty strong, also the rec player is less likely to want to put more money into the pot unless he really has a strong hand. So when he 4bets after the way the action goes he is essentially turning his hand face up.
3. The speech - I’m not Mike Caro but I do know that in all the years that I have played poker I can count on one hand the times I have seen a player give a long drawn out speech and then shove without holding it. To be honest if that guy would have just put his money in and said nothing I would have probably just snapped and taken my medicine. But his speech made me leery. With the way the action was going and because of our stack sizes it felt like a Hollywood speech.
When you stop and add these reasons up it is a pretty simple decision. While I was completely happy with my decision I must say that it did feel good to have the guy come over to me after he cashed out and say “ Hey man I had AA on that hand good laydown, I don’t know how you did it” Well sir the answer is right in front of you.
Bruce Williams is a Vegas grinder that is a regular in poker communities all over the city. Visit pokersteamroom.com to find the best tournaments and cash games throughout the Vegas. The Sin City poker blog brings insight about the everyday grind.
