pocket pairs v. overcards

The classic battle: when you hold a pocket pair and your opponent holds overcards.

In the middle stages of a SNG, I was getting short-stacked when I was dealt 77. The blinds were 25/50, and I had just over 500 chips.

An early position player raised to 150 and the next player raised to 300. I'd seen both these players in just enough hands to have a read on their play, and felt strongly that the first raiser held an ace and that the second raiser held a bigger ace and was trying to isolate. If my read was right and they each held an ace, my chances of winning the hand and tripling my stack improved. I opted to raise all-in. My odds of winning would improve if one of them folded, and felt good about my read.

The first player re-raised all-in (he had me covered by a few hundred chips) and the next called all-in. The hands were turned over and I liked my chances after seeing the first player's AT and the second player's AQ.

A queen on the flop made me the dog, but a K on the turn followed by a jack on the river made AT the winner. The worst hand won. I was happy with my read, but probably didn't need to gamble in this spot with 77. Not counting straights and flushes (both my opponents were unsuited), that they had duplicate cards increased my chances of tripling up in this spot -- especially if I could have gotten heads-up. Oh well.

poker chick's blog

Smart stuff about poker from a smart chick who knows how to handle herself at the table. This is a blog worth checking out.

the fold tell spotted at Borgata

When you first sit in a game, watch the hands and cards of the players to your left. See if they look at the cards before they have to act, or if they handle cards or chips differently when they limp, raise or fold.
I sat in a 10/20 limit hold 'em game at Borgata in Atlantic City, and immediately noticed that the player on my immediate left would look at his cards as soon as they arrived. He would then either wait until it was his turn to fold, or pick up chips. He picked up the exact number to raise or fold each time he picked up chips.
I put this useful information to work, looking to steal blinds more often when I could tell he was going to fold. I also reconsidered raising when I saw he was going to be in the hand.
When I was dealt aces and saw he was going to raise, I limped and then re-raised pre-flop.
It is hard to determine the value of most tells, this one clearly can make you a lot of money.
Oh, and if you're looking at your hands before it is your turn to act, you might be giving off this expensive tell.

the three books I am reading right now

I am currently reading three books, and love each of them.

They are:
Phil Gordon's Little Green Book: Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Hold 'Em. Following on thei successful THE REAL DEAL, this is a terrific strategy guide for players of all levels.

When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi. I was born after Lombardi died, so I grew up in the shadow of his reputation without experiencing it directly. David Maraniss's book is a concise, fascinating portrait of a man who played a pivotal role in shaping the culture of the United States.

Fantasyland by Sam Walker. I've been playing fantasy baseball for three seasons now and am in first season playing fantasy football. This book is terrific. Walker is a Wall Street Journal writer who, in his first season playing rotosserie baseball tried to win Tout Wars, the most competitive fantasy league in the world. Enlisting statisticians and scouts, and drawing on his amazing connections to meet with the actual ballplayers on his fantasy team and glean information from GMs and baseball insiders, Walker's book is a must-read for all fantasy players and those who want to understand the appeal of fantasy sports.