First Play at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana

This past weekend was the Caesars/Horseshoe changeover (technically, the Horseshoe's grand opening). The new digs are actually pretty nice; everything is very upscale and has more of a casino-y feel, if that makes sense. After watching a free Barenaked Ladies concert (put on by Horseshoe), AA and I decended to the newly renovated poker floor. Not much changed except the high stakes area "cage" was replaced by a 1/4 wall. Also, at the high stakes tables, there are nicer chairs. On the regular floor, everything else was the same; same tables (33 now, and no blackjack tables), same WSOP chairs, cupholders, quasi-old chips (the Horseshoe chips replaced the Caesars chips some time before the grand opening), and, yes, same donkey players.

With AA and JA (AA's wife) playing slots/roulette the money we received for attending the free concert ($5 each), I sat for 2 dealers at the $1-2 NLH table. The only interesting hand I remember was:

$1-2 NHL
SB - $155
BB - $85
UTG - $500
UTG + 1 - $575
UTG + 2 (Villain) - $350
UTG + 3 - $110
UTG + 4 - $300
UTG + 5 - $700 (maybe 800)
UTG + 6 - $300
CO (Hero) - $200

Hero is dealt QcQs

Blinds post. UTG - UTG + 6 limp for $2. Pot is $17. Hero raises to $15. All fold to Villain, who calls $15. Pot is $47.

Flop - Jc2c9s

Villain checks. Hero bets $30. Villain calls. Pot is $107.

Turn - Ts

Villain checks. Hero bets $70. Villain thinks, then calls. Pot is $247.

River - 8c

Villain pushes all in. Hero folds.

I folded on the river because I came to 2 conclusions: either the villain caught his flush, or he realized the situation, and executed the proper theatrics to bluff properly. I've played against this particular player a few months earlier and I remembered him being fairly weak, so, I ruled out the"making a move" option. Everything else seemed to point to hands that beat me. No sets because I would have expected him to repop the turn, and/or check the river (notice I'm really not giving this guy credit for being able to make moves). JT-J8 were all likely holdings, and they all beat me. All I could really beat was AX - JQ. I think, despite ignoring the pot odds at the end, I made the correct lay-down. I really didn't think he was a sophisticated player, and, he proved it a few times by continuing hands when he knew he was beat, and being caught in errant bluffs (that were not similarly played as compared to this hand).

I showed 1.1 to 1 preflop, 1.6 to 1 on the flop, and 1.5 to 1 on the turn. So, really, unless he had pocket aces preflop, he made mistakes on every street, which is exactly what you hope players do; make mistakes. So long as I keep playing those hands the same way, I'll make money in the long run... or I *hope* to make money in the long run.

In other news, I've picked up the Harrington on Cash Games (HOCG) Vol. 1 & 2. Hopefully, they'll be as good as the HOH series.

Finally, I squandered my Fulltilt winnings and have reloaded. Maybe this time, I'll be able to catch a "Ferguson" run to $10K.

EDIT: PS: 2 new goals. First, earn at least one Fulltilt Iron Man medal by December. Second: Due to the recent success of David Dao (old family friend from childhood days), I'd like to be listed as a ranked player in the player database on Poker Pages.