On Wednesdays and Fridays, there is a $40-$80 HORSE (Holdem, Omaha hi/lo, Razz, Stud, Stud hi/lo) game at the Horseshoe Casino that I like to play.  I usually only go once per week, because it oftentimes ends up being close to a 20 hour session and it’s a little exhausting doing that twice per week.  I’ve been working hard on my mixed games for the past year, and HORSE is one of my favorite types of poker to play.

Today I lost a little bit, but I’m pretty happy with the result considering how few good hands I was dealt.  In games like no limit holdem, sometimes you’re able to manufacture wins even if you aren’t dealt good hands, but in limit games when you aren’t getting good hands you just have to control the damage as best you can.  I think I played well considering the circumstances.

Below is a write-up of one particularly interesting stud hi/lo hand that I played today that I’ve been thinking about a lot. (There is a fair amount of poker jargon in this post, so I apologize if it’s difficult to understand for non-poker players)

We’re playing 8 handed.

The up cards are:

4 (bring-in by Dasher, a very aggressive regular)

7

K (K8) (my hand)

8

J

T (The other opponent, Bobby, who is a tight regular who is pretty good at the stud games but very bad at holdem and omaha)

4

A

I complete to $40, Bobby calls, and Dasher calls.  When I raise in early position with a K showing and an A and a bunch of low cards left to act, my hand is a pair of Kings an enormous percentage of the time.  Bobby is smart and knows this, and I think he would’ve folded if he had a pair of Tens.  I think he has either a pair in the hole and is going to try to hit a disguised trips, has a big straight/flush draw, or he has rolled up Tens.  My hand is so face-up as a pair of Kings that some good players would even just fold it right away because everyone will be able to play perfectly against me, but I played it because it’s still a very strong hand and the guy with the A showing wasn’t very tricky so I didn’t think I’d have to worry about him causing problems without a huge hand.

4th street (I’m leaving out suits because no flush draws came):

K4 - Dasher

KK (K8) - me

8T - Bobby

I bet $40, Bobby calls, Dasher calls.  When Bobby calls I can narrow his hand a lot.  He either has three T’s, three 8’s, or a straight draw.  Dasher bricked but he’s going to peel another card to try to get a low.

5th street:

AK4 - Dasher

9KK (K8) - Me

J8T - Bobby

I bet $80, Bobby raises to $160, Dasher calls, and I call.  My hand looks so much like three Kings, that I’m pretty certain that Bobby will have a straight a huge percentage of the time.  I call because the pot is enormous and I have plenty good enough odds to draw for a full house, and there’s an outside chance he’s making a mistake and inflating the pot with three of a kind.  Dasher picks up a 4th low card and he’s drawing for the low now.

6th street:

7AK4 - Dasher

49KK (K8) - me

QJ8T - Bobby

I check, Bobby bets $80, Dasher calls, I call.  Not much has changed here.  I still think I’m losing to a straight most of the time and I’m drawing for a full house.  Dasher probably doesn’t have a low yet, but he might be slowplaying it to keep me in the pot.  Either way, this street played itself.

7th street:

(?) 7AK4 - Dasher

(3) 49KK (K8) - me

(?) QJ8T - Bobby

I miss my full house, but my plan is still to check call because the pot is gigantic and there’s a chance Bobby has a worse 3 of a kind.  I check, Bobby bets $80, Dasher raises to $160.  Dasher obviously has made his low, and very well might have a straight as well.  I still think Bobby’s most likely hand is a straight.  It’s $160 to me to call, but I’m actually facing a lot more than that.  If Bobby has a straight (or a full house), he’s going to re-raise, Dasher is going to keep raising since he has half the pot locked up, and the betting will end up being capped at $400.  Seeing a showdown is going to cost me $400 when I’m losing, and I’m going to be calling $160 to win half the pot when I’m winning.  I decided to fold given the overwhelming likelihood that one of them had a better hand than me.

Bobby calls and turns over three Tens, and Dasher has just a low.  I ended up folding the best hand that would’ve won half the pot in a huge pot.  I’m not really sure I could’ve played the hand differently.  If anyone thinks I made a mistake at any point I’d really like to hear if there’s a different way I should’ve played the hand.