In the last couple of weeks since returning from Queensland quite a few things have happened. Firstly, as a part of the Merrylands Magic number 1 pennant team we travelled to Windang (South Coast near Wollongong) for the State number 1 Pennant Play-offs. Traditionally in bowls this is the big deal. The top 16 teams from around NSW play-off in 4 sections of 4 and progress to a knockout semi final and final.
Our team played very solidly throughout the initial section. We won all 3 games and won on all 3 rinks in 3 consecutive games. We entered the semi final against the favourites Cabramatta. It is widely known that they have 6 internationals and a solid group of Sydney based players in their team. We started well with one of our 3 rinks leading 11-1! Overall the score levelled and then they accelerated with explosive and accurate driving and pin point accurate sit and stay shots. They continued to grind us down and consistent draw bowling extended their lead.
Our team had very strong and vocal support. We never gave up and it was only in our supporters voices breaking that revealed any cracks in our resolve. As the game neared its end Cabramatta led by 25 and it was a very convincing win by our opponents, who did in fact, end up winning the overall championship. They defeated a very strong team form the Central Coast, Halekulani, in the final.
At the Club Merrylands I have had a very good year. I played with Paul Webb a 17 year old junior from our club in the Major Pairs championship. We won the final 22-7 after getting off to a handy 14-2 lead. The win probably lands me the overall points for bowler of the year which was extra motivation after winning the singles earlier in the year. In itself I am very proud and happy to be playing well within a strong club but I am mainly happy with my role within the club and the team. I feel very much a part of the players developing at our club and I can’t wait for the next few years as we have the makings of a very strong club throughout the grades.
I managed to play a home game of poker after the Major Pairs championship on Sunday. I won’t mention names of people or amounts without peoples permission so I will go ahead without too much detail. There was a fair bit of niggle in the game and it really got the juices flowing. I actually felt nervous due to adrenaline pumping as there was both money and pride riding on every hand. After playing for so long I really never have had that psychological/physiological response in a while. I feel it really made me play at another level.
Finding your optimal level of arousal (in terms of performance) is widely explored in sports psychology texts. I was surprised to find within myself an extra level through this nervousness, extra pressure and sudden challenge in what has otherwise been a pretty much straight forward game. Many times in this game I have been bored, tired or otherwise uninterested mainly due to the stakes and nature of play (mainly social), I think after playing many hands at once online (8-12 tables) it seemed very unstimulating.
Live games however have a whole other skills set besides basic bet sizing, position and history between players. Physical tells, cues and timing of elements greatly influence players decisions. Many people are aware of physical tells and more sophisticated players throw out reverse tells all the time. What can be difficult is when a player who is terrible over rates or under rates there hand and throws out every physical and verbal cue that contradict the actual strength of their hand.
There are some situations where you have to ask yourself is this guy just plain bad, terrible bad, no idea bad or genius. They could be a genius, who knows, who am I to judge? One such situation came up where a player (we will call him Nigel) raised in late position with pretty deep chips compared to the blinds. I re-raise with KQ suited on the button and he calls. The flop drops 3 88 with two clubs. He bets about half the pot I call. Turn is a 10 of clubs making my flush. He checks and in position I bet about 2/3rds the pot. He minimum raises me. I call. The river drops an ace that is not another club and he bets the rest of his chips which is about twice the amount that is in the total pot. Now just on basic betting this is scary, whenever people minimum raise the turn it is usually a huge hand but then to shove the river for twice the amount of the money in the middle I was just like, what!?
So whenever this happens you have to go with what you feel and the cues, tells and what ever interrogation skills you have. In online games I would fold this to most unknown players (really I don‘t play many cash games online, mainly live cash and online tournaments). It really looks like a full house with an over bet on the river to make it look like a bluff. If it is a bluff it is pretty good too. I probably wouldn’t bet so much on the river if I was bluffing.
So the guy is holding up his cards physically in both hands in front of his face so other people can see them. I find this usually means a huge hand or complete bluff. I say to him that I can see his cards in the mirror in the background (which I can’t really) to which he doesn’t even flinch (I think he is not that stupid, but it is always worth a try to get some reaction). I end up deciding that it is not worth it as he bet twice the amount in the pot and I continue to believe it is either a full house or nothing so I fold after some pressure from the table after most of them have seen his hand!
After I fold he shows me A10 for a rivered 2 pair on a paired board and 3 flush. Remember the board 8h8c3c 10cAd. I think I would have respected his play if he had been bluffing. I asked him if he thought on the river (when he put all of his chips in) that he had the best hand or was bluffing. He had real trouble answering. He really had a few ideas for example, ‘I thought you maybe had a single ace of clubs and you missed it on the river.’ If I really had missed as he had stated wouldn’t he have been better check calling and letting me bluff. In reality it is a very scary board. With a hand like his I would see it as a check calling hand on the river. I really am only calling his over bet on the river with a full house or rarely a nut flush.
Very soon after I am against the same guy and he raises in late position again. I am in the small blind with AQ off suit and re raise him in a 6 handed game. Earlier we were playing 9 handed but a few people left/lost money. He calls the re-raise along with someone who has limped who also has hundreds of big blinds in there stack. The flop drops Qc 3h5h, I bet about 80% of the pot as there are draws (flush and straight), these guys are limp calling 2-4 and 4-6 no doubt as well as pocket 3’s and 5’s. Any suited cards like Kh9h are always played as well. The first guy folds and Nigel calls after physically spreading/touching my chips and saying how much?
At this stage I will let you know now that he has K9 of hearts…so he has a flush draw. I think by betting such a high percentage of the pot he refrains from re-raising me and he just calls. So the turn comes out a Q of hearts giving him the flush and myself trips, now obviously if the board pairs on the river my full house beats his flush. This is very, very similar, almost identical situation to the hand that played out between us previously but in the exact reverse.
I cannot believe the irony in the situation as he then bets a tiny amount (20-25% of the pot) when I check my trips hoping to fill on the river. I call and the ace falls on the river not only giving me a full house but the best hand other than aces full on the river. This guy always re-raises large with aces ( I have seen him open fold KK pre flop to a 4th re-raise and the guy actually did have AA), and the way he has played it I am 99.9% certain he has a flush or smaller full house like 33 or 55 in his hand. I shove the river which is in the end an over bet like his bet earlier and he snap calls, does not even think about it and loses all of his chips. We play about one more hand where I make a straight and get paid and the game ends. The guy who I stack is still going on about it as we finish he and seems a bit drunk and aggressive. I go to shake his hand and he says we will talk outside. I was like yeah right! He gets a lift home and I wait then drive home.
Usually things like that do not happen in a game where immediate reverse karma happens. When it does it is so sweet. I was so pumped as I won that pot. It wasn’t the biggest or most difficult hand I have played but my adrenaline was pumping from the ‘verbalisation’ going on between hands. If he was paying attention he would have noticed my hand physically shaking and a crack in my voice as I said 'all in' on the river.
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