Time to Party!

Went to the Vic last night... Finally for the first of my visits this year they opened up a £250 Pot Limit Omaha table. I quickly snapped up a seat in that and it was a very interesting table composition including 2004 European player of the Year Willie Tann and EPT producer John Duthie. There were a couple of good Vic Omaha players on the table and a few not so good.

I felt pretty confident at this table especially as two of the strongest Omaha players are in Tunica at the moment. I sat down with £700 and quickly won a £400 pot when i raised the maximum on the flop and river with the nuts straight.

Then the first of many key hands that i was involved with happened.

Vic Player to my left makes it £35 to play and 5 players called. I call on the button with A345. Flop comes AK2 with two clubs and i am holding a wrap on the low straight and a small flush draw. Vic player raises £200 and everyone passes to me. I decide to call after deliberating and the turn brings a lovely 4 of hearts to give me the nut straight. Vic player bets £600 and i go all in for £700. He looks pretty disgusted and calls and no help on the river for him and i'm up to around £1900.

I then was having my usual poser. The last two times i have been at the Vic i have been up £1000 at one point. Both times i considered stopping which would have been wise on both those occasions. However, i decided the table was just too good to pass up on this opportunity.

After no major hands for a while i picked up TJQA double suited and i raised it to £30 to play and three players call. It flops AK7 which gives me a wrap and the Ace flush draw. I bet £100, next player calls and then the player on the button raises another £200. Easy call for me and the other player passes. I even considered raising again as i knew my draw would make me favorite even against a set of Kings. Turn brings a blank and my opponent now bets £500 into a pot of £800. The pot odds are too good so i call and the river comes another blank. This hand puts me back down to about £900 and i am regretting my decision not to stop when £1000 up.

I then won a couple of smallish pots and found myself with £1200 when the following hand occured. I call a small raise preflop with 3456 and it flops A29 rainbow. I decided to bet the pot hoping to pick up the pot of around £100 then. Two players call. The next card is a 4 which gives me the nut straight. Again as i am first to speak i bet £300. One player passes and the other calls. Last card a T and i still have the nuts. Now it was a case of betting and seeing if i could get a call. So i decide to bet the entire pot of about £1000. My opponent goes into the think tank and after about 3 minutes says "I call" YES .... he had slowplayed a set of Aces on the flop and never believed that i held the straight.

I am up to around £3000 now after that big pot and i never leave just after scooping a big pot so decide i will stick around till they next come round for table charges. I look down at 6789 double suited and it is £75 to play and i am on the button with 3 callers before me. I think my hand is good enough in position facing multiple players so call the £75. It flops K57 rainbow so yet again i hold a wrap on the straight draw. The player who raised pre flop bets £300 and the other players pass to me. I am playing very tight now but after thinking for a minute or so call. This is a player i have already won a few big pots against tonight so i know he has been agitated by me. The next card comes a 3. My opponent checks. He clearly doesn't like this card and i have already won two big pots against him when i have made the straight. I confidently say, "I bet the pot." this amounted to £900. My opponent goes it to the tank again and starts talking to himself about how i keep getting lucky. He eventually passes after a long dwell and i show him my bluff. This just makes him more angry.

I am at around £3500 when again on the button (seems to be i kept getting my big hands there) i have AAJ8 double suited in hearts and diamonds. There has already been a raise to make it £50 to play here and whilst i would normally make a raise to try and isolate one opponent i decide to call thinking that if i do hit a big hand it will be better disguised. There are four of us that see a flop of AK7 with two clubs in play. One opponent raises to £200 to play and there is another caller when it gets to me. Both of these players have stacks that have me covered so they may call a pot reraise here. I decide just to call and see the next card and fire at it if its a blank. Next card is a blank and this time it is checked to me and i bet £800. One guy insta calls and the other passes. The last card is a scary looking T meaning there is a potential straight. Phew he checks... i check in case he is trapping me and he shouts, "Trip Kings." I show my aces and pick up a nice pot. He had £5000 in front of him before that hand and said if it had paired up he would have given all his money to me. Even a blank and he would have paid me off. Maybe i should have bet even with the T.

I was now sitting with nearly £5000 in front of me feeling very good about things. I decided i wanted to play on as there were at least 3 players on tilt. I then went card dead for a while and lost a couple of pots and decided the next time i put more than £300 into a pot i would call it a night and with £4200 the following happened. Under the gun i find 9933 and its £25 to play so i call it flops 932 rainbow to give me two sets of 9's and 3's. I think then fire out £150. The Vic player who was clearly after me because i had won a few big pots against him and got him riled with a big bluff raises it to £500. Everyone else passes back round to me. Hmmmm what to do now? I follow my usual tactic of waiting to see the next card and then firing if its a blank. I far rather get my money in the middle on the turn than on the flop. Especially as i am certain he would call me with something like 456 in his hand. I know this player quite well and feel that he will fire again on the turn if its a blank. The turn brings an 8. I check and he bets £1000. Wow... i immediately declare myself all in and he looks very shocked. It will cost him another £2700. To my relief he passes and i show my hand. I'm not sure if i wanted a call here. On one hand there was an excellent chance i would have won another £2700 but going bust on that hand would have made me feel sick. I think i had just enough to make him pass if he was holding a big straight draw.

I stick to my policy and soon lose about £400 when i make a full house but get beaten by a bigger one and go up to the cash desk with £5300. That has definitely improved my stats for 2005. Its actually my biggest ever cash game win live.

One thought. Looking back at my recent cash game results i see a pattern developing. The last 5 times i have played Pot Limit Omaha at the Vic i have won and the last 3 times i have played dealers choice i have lost.

It’s going to be one fun weekend.