Poker on the Caribbean

I've just spend an amazing week on the Explorer of the Seas! They have an onboard casino, complete with matching poker tables... well they're ex-blackjack tables converted to "poker tables." As an aside, the poker tables/limits were the ONLY underwhelming feature of the Explorer; all else was out of this world!

So, as any usual blackjack table, there were 7 available seats per table. Explorer designates 2 tables for poker. The only available game is a 5-10 limit hold'em game. One table was full, and there was nobody on their waiting list. So, I joined the waiting list, and in no time, we filled a table. Sweet. Most people sat, as I did, with around $100. One guy sat with $700, and another guy, the guy to my left, sat with $300.

And then came the obligatory trash talking and limit dropping before the cards were dealt. Here's an example of what I'm talking about. I usually try to make a little small talk... this time I said "You guys play alot?" I got a lot of "I play a lot online, won about $X hundred dollars... yada yada yada." To me, this translates to "I've never/rarely played live poker, and I'm really not that great." Then you get the one guy who looks at everyone and seems to get intimidated by all of the talk. Not trying to make it sound like Rounders, but this is how I find the donks.

My rule of thumb held up again today.

Now, some were newbies who knew they were newbies and introduced themselves as/and warned the table of there presence as newbies. No problem. I have a lot of sympathy for newbies, as it was not too long ago that I was a total n00b. As usual, they were better than the trash-talkers :)

Ok, so this is the usual lowest-limit-possible-no-foldem-holdem game. The guy who sat with $700 is trying to muscle people with his big stack, which is what you're supposed to do. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize that it's no-foldem-holdem, and consequently gets thumped a few times and now is playing very conservatively. Everyone is playing I-have-the-goods-and-bet or I-don't-have-the-goods-and fold poker, which would make it particularly easy bluff EXCEPT for the fellow sitting to my left who plays LITERALLY every hand. In 50ish hands, he played EVERY SINGLE hand, even if it was raised, and ALWAYS paid to see the turn. Yeah, one of those; and he begged for them to raise the limits to $10-20. I was like "Yea raise the limits and I'll take your money more quickly."

So, I'll tell you about the hand that defined the night in my eyes. First, the villain is the guy to my left who plays every hand.

- Players and Stacks -
BB - $85
Villain/SB - $115
Hero/Button - $80

SB has been "beating up" on the n00bs and I guess is feeling pretty good about himself. The past few hands, though, he'd been playing donk cards, not catching cards, and trying to represent it. This behavior is fine except he also doesn't realize that this is no-foldem-holdem, and gets thumped.

Anyway, SB and BB post. 4 folds. Action is to me/hero and I look down at AKspades. I raise to $10, SB reraises to $15, BB and Hero call. Pot is now $45.

Flop comes: J 4 5, 1 spade

SB checks to me, which is strange, because SB bets/raises EVERY street. I bet $5, he calls. Pot is $55.

Turn comes 3, giving me a gutshot. SB checks, I bet $10. SB calls. I start to think "Is he slowplaying me?"

River comes: 2

SB checks again, I bet $10, he calls. Shows KJos and says "I missed my straight." I show the big slick, rake the pot and he goes on tilt. He's like, you called me with an ace high? How the hell can you make that call with ace high? And consequently he busted out soon after. And I wanted to be the one to take his money :P