These are the players I play with. Part III

The really gross part of what follows is how close I came to pulling it off.

I was sitting at a tight table and decided to loosen things up.

You know.

The old "play it loose at a tight table and tight at a loose table school of poker."

I start raising hands preflop to 12.5 times the big blind. Utter insanity.

At first they all fold. And they have to respect it. I've been a rock for an hour.

Some guy straddles and I do it again. Everyone folds. Talker to my left asks me if I had jacks.

Why else would I be raising so big?

I shake my head to indicate that no I did not have jacks. Then I return to ignoring everyone.

Very next hand I raise it up again to 12.5 times the big blind.

This time I get me two callers. One of whom is all in.

But this time I got pocket aces.

I've been card dead for an hour. It's the main reason I've been playing so tight. I decide to open up my game and suddenly pocket aces appear. Is it really that easy? Is that all I had to do?

Flop comes jack, jack, 2.

I'm either way ahead or way behind.

I guess the good news here is there are no draws.

Of course I should bet out but I go the other way with it and check. No real good reason. I guess I wanted to see how the other guy felt about these two jacks. Maybe get some information from the way he bets. But I doubt I'm going anywhere.

Guy to my left bets out small. Is he milking his jacks? Is he testing the waters with a small pair? Is he hoping I have ace king and begging for a fold?

I've been playing pretty tight lately but I decide to pay this one off. There wasn't that much money on the table. If this guy has a jack then he's got me.

I think he has to bet the flop if I check because he also knows I've been raising with any 2 cards so I could have rags here.

I push my chips into the middle.

He calls.

Turn is a 2.

River a king.

Board is Jack, Jack, 2, 2, king.

And he turns over 2 6 suited.

Wow.

Where's the jack?

I was all ready to come home and write about what a donk I am because I couldn't let go of my aces when a guy hit trips with his jack and he turns over 2,6?

Now I'm not mocking the 2,6. I won a huge pot the other night with 2 5 suited. So it's not like I won't go down that street.

But for my own sanity lets discuss the differences:

PREFLOP WHEN HE HELD 2, 6 SUITED:
This guy cold called my preflop 12.5x the big blind bet all by himself. (The other caller in the hand came from the blinds.) In other words, he was prepared to battle me one on one with the 2,6.

PREFLOP WHEN I HELD 2, 5 SUITED:
I called a 6x the big blind bet preflop in late position after there were multiple callers in front of me.

FLOP WHEN HE HELD 2, 6 SUITED:
This guy flopped a bottom pair of 2's with his 6 kicker. When he bets out small on the flop the only hand he's beating is ace king. If another overcard comes on the turn or river he has no clue where he's at. If he's going to bet this hand I think he has to bet it harder. Even if he's ahead here he's letting me stick around with overcards. And if he's behind he's only getting himself further into trouble. Most of the time. Obviously not this time.

FLOP WHEN I HELD 2, 5 SUITED:
I flopped trip 2's on an ace, 2, 2 board. My opponent bet his ace jack. I raised him and he wouldn't let it go.

TURN WHEN HE HELD 2, 6 SUITED:
This guy needed to hit a two outer to beat me. His 6 was useless since the board was already paired.

TURN WHEN I HELD 2, 5 SUITED:
My trips were good unless a two outer came. It didn't. Like it's not supposed to.

Can I also brag that 2,5 is easier to make a straight with than 2,6?

But seriously the thing that's important to point out regarding this hand is that I asked this guy to call me with 2 6 suited. I did. I asked him to play that hand by my raising the previous pots so much.

I wanted action.

And I got it.

The thing is when you get your aces cracked by 2,6 suited it should be because he flops two pair.
I should lose all my money to him on a 2,6, king flop.

Or let him draw out on me and hit a straight or flush. That sort of ugliness.

But for him to hit his two outer 2 on the turn doesn't make sense to my brain. It just doesn't compute. Was he really about to give me his whole stack on that hand with a pair of 2's and a 6 kicker?

I guess so.

We can both thank and blame my table image.