Hand 1, I have A23Q on the button with a suited ace and make a raise. 2 callers. Flop brings 24J rainbow. It's checked to me, and I decide that it doesn't look likely to have hit anyone, good spot for a steal. The BB, who I haven't seen much of but had pegged as a solid-ish player, calls. Turn brings an offsuit 9. He bets $15 into a $65-ish pot. This looks weak to me, something of a blocking bet, so I raise the full pot, nearly $100, back at him with nothing but a low draw. I'm thinking his play doesn't look like a set or big two pair with low draw type hand, I want him to lay down here. I do have a little back-up if things go horribly wrong, and perhaps a few ways out although I can't see myself having a scooping card here! Anyhow, he lays down after some thought and I win a nice pot. I think it's not the greatest bluff in the world because it's hard for him to put me on a huge hand, even though I'm representing one all the way with my betting. Plus, his play looks like he maybe has a draw, so I'm clutching at straws a bit to hope he doesn't have, say, A356. I was basically hoping he'd fold something like A3TT etc, or a weak two pair, and I guess I got my wish. Any thoughts?
Hand 2, this one just shows how useful a bit of aggression can be! Ended up making a big score here, when I could easily have checked down and won much less.
Again, the hand is similar, A23J with a suited AJ in
![Hearts [h]](https://pofex.com/images/smilies/hearts.gif)
All fold to the player just before me, who calls. He is passive, so far, doesn't appear remarkably loose. The turn brings 2[h] which gives me a flush draw to go with my 3 pair, but leaves me staring a low or wheel in the face. He checks, I am wary of being check-raised here when I could take it on the river if he checks again and/or make a winning high hand, so I check in turn also. River brings another A, giving me the second nut high hand. He checks to me. Now, my thinking is that he's betting a nut high, or 45 for a wheel here, and any other boat made with a set he'd have bet before now. HOWEVER, he might easily have a garbage low if he has a random 47 or something, and he really couldn't call with that, so I can rescue half the pot by bluffing him out. Of course, the danger is that I have no backup low, so if by some quirk he DOES have AQ, I just flushed a lot of money down the toilet. We both have $300+ stacks and so he could make a collosal check-raise, which I would likely fold to.
Anyhow, it worked out better than expected, with an alternative I hadn't considered: He had A255, no low, and AAA22 for high against me AAA33, and I scooped a nice pot with my high. Good stuff! I could've checked the river down and won a tiny pot, but I think my play was fairly sensible here, not necessarily just because A2 was hugely likely, but more because I might just get him to lay down a hand with a weak low and rescue half the pot.
Great month for me so far, haven't put in many hours at all and broke $3k yesterday, so my mid-year progress is going well. I will put in an in-depth report and figures for the first half of 2005 in 5 weeks or so, as I haven't kept up my journal too well.
Oh, and I'm away this weekend - down in London.
Monk
xxxxx