I'll be your STUD....

I put a solid seven hours of grinding into, "The Office" on Saturday, because I just couldn't walk away. I didn't want anyone to pinch me either. I was afraid it was just a dream!

A steady flow of Euro's kept jumping on to the $3/$6 STUD table I was at, and they just kept on bringing more and more re-donkulous play and cash. It was a small part of Nirvana and I couldn't pull myself away!

I was seeing plays that would make any descent STUD player, drool with the anticipation of a bank roll building dream session.

Example #1 - I have rolled up 7's and four players decide to see fourth street. No one is dealt anything too coordinated, except for the player to my immediate right. He has been dealt a second flush worthy card and bets it out. I'll see another one, thank you very much! Only the two of us go to battle on fifth street to see him blank his Flush suit and me hit a pairing card, to the Jack I was dealt on fourth. Boat it up! I lead it out, figuring there was already enough in the pot and I'd be fine if it was pushed my way right then and there. Instead, he re-potted it! It threw me a little when I saw that. I took my time and checked the notes on lost outs from earlier in the hand. He could only be on one of two things, the four Flush draw, or a made set. I have 7's over J's and only one of my cards are the Club that I think he needs to hit. It's also buried. I decide to re-pot it, thinking I just may be able to get the rest of his $ in the middle. He flats ???

**NOTE** - This is a pathetic play in STUD. If the hand is so war-worthy, get the money in the middle. It would make sense to have him put me on a set of Jacks. That's the only way he could have possibly read this board. Therefore I have to assume he either has a higher set, or he's really hoping to hit that Flush. Either way, if he really thinks he's good at that point, the jam - call my re-jam, shows me that I can pretty safely put him on the draw only.

Sixth street brings me a crap card and him a big beautiful Club! We get it capped going on to seventh street, where he proceeds to get all of his stack in the middle with no connectors, no pairs and a bunch of clubs staring me in the face. I also miraculously managed to hit the case 7 ! I didn't need it however, as my original boat would have been plenty strong enough, to take out his sixth street King high flush. Dealer... please push me the BIG POT !!!

Example #2 - I was dealt the Ah-Kh-10h and had one player join me on the road to fourth street, showing x-x-Qh. Fourth and fifth streets, brought the following board. Yours truly, Ah-Kh-10h-2h-9h... and villain, x-x-Qh-7h-3h. Can you say, WOW! Here's where it gets just plain crazy! The dude is hitting the pot button like a maniac! He just can't get his $ in the middle fast enough, even after I re-pot his every effort!

**Note** If he doesn't believe or isn't worried about my first re-pot, he surely has to give a little careful consideration to the second one. We had played together at this table for about two hours at this point, I'd shown nothing but the stone cold nuts at each showdown too.

I took this monster pot down after getting everything he had into the center. Wanna' see something insane? At showdown, his board read 4h-Jc-Qh-7h-3h-9d-Jh ! With the flip that FullTilt puts on the display of hands, I'd say that the 4h and Jh were the flipped cards. With the board I had showing and my aggressive betting pattern, he went to the end with a crap four flush and a pair of Jacks! EASY MONEY !

Example #3 -
**Important Note** Same player from example #2, has just re-bought in short, about 25 minutes after that hand!

I was dealt Ah-Ks-Kh, as "Easy M" is showing x-x-Ad and has lead out the betting. I decide to see how the board shapes up, and I go along for the ride. Bam-Bam! I go Ah-Ks-Kh-As and he runs out, x-x-Ad-10d. I bet it out and he flats instead of potting. Fifth street is dealt out and I get to Bam-Bam! Bam-Bam-Bam!!! My Ah-Ks-Kh-As-Kd is up against his x-x-Ad-10d-Ac. I'm actually begging the RnG to have dealt us both Full Houses at this point. I bet it out and am very happy to see him re-pot my bet. When we cap it, I'm pretty sure I'd gotten my wish. His short buy-in meant he was out of any extra betting bucks on sixth street. It was then that I got to see his holdings of, 3d-8c-Ad-10d-Ac-7h. MONSTER POTTIN' #2, from a player I'll be searching for at the tables every chance I get!

Example #4 - Is NOT about dragging in a huge pot! It was all about a fold I made, after reading the two boards I was up against, pretty damn good.

After getting the bring with 5s-3s-3h, there were two limper's to fourth street. Fourth brought the following hands. Myself the 5s-3s-3h-3d. My opponents, x-x-10c-Qc and x-x-Ah-Ad. The pair of Aces lead it out and was immediately called by the connected Clubs. Here's my dilemma. I'd already lost a five as an out from a folded hand on third street. Only three players playing the hand at an eight handed table, gives me pretty good reason to suspect at least one of my other 3's or 5's has been lost as well. That means that there are 14 unknown cards to me from the 7 other players down cards, 27 cards in play of which I know can see 8 and, from the folds on third street, I know what five other cards are dead from the deck. I have not seen another Ace or Club in play and with my draw having to be pretty close to two possible cards out of the 25 left in the deck, I feel that with less than a 10% chance of making what I feel need to be Quads, I can lay this hand down.

Villain #1 showing x-x-Ah-Ad just might already have his made set in which case, I was crushed. Villain #2 is apparently on a high Club and possible straight draw. My gut told me that he held the Ac buried. I can't think of another reason for him to snap call the way he did without it.

**Note** - Both players were VERY solid for the entire time they were at the table. This was actually one of the few hands, where two of the three of us had made it passed fourth street. This also factored into my fold.

I was ecstatic to see this hand go all the way to showdown, as it confirmed several of the factors from my reads along the way. I actually may have even over estimated my outs in the deck, as the boards displayed in the following manner.

Villain #1 - 9s-As-Ah-Ad-7h-Jh-7d = After the F/T display flip, A boat on fifth street.
Villain #2 - 2d-Jc-10c-Qc-8c-9c-Ac = After the flip, he'd nut flushed up on fifth, with a draw to a Straight Flush or Royal with two cards to come and he hit.

The way this hand played out, the pot was actually relatively small. Villain #1 was constantly on the lead and if/when he bet, Villain #2 merely called it all the way down to seventh street, where he obviously value popped it in the end. Then it was agonizing waiting for and watching Villain #1 make the crying call when he had to know he was solidly beat. That sometimes, is just how this kooky little game of ours goes.

Probably the three most solid players at the table get hooked up in one hand. One goes away happy, from making a solid read in a losing situation. One goes away crushed, from hitting an obvious monster and trying to figure out how to get paid for it. One goes away with the pot, after patiently controlling it's size and knowing that he needed a huge hand to have any chance.

Now if it were me personally, Villain #1 sent enough signals to let villain #2 know that he was dominated. If I was Villain #2, I don't know that I'd have had the stones to stay in it to sixth street in the first place. It was a gamble in a gambling game I guess and there's no denying the end result. I'm just glad I stepped aside and let them hash this one out.

So with cem's Skillz Series resuming tomorrow night and the game being STUD, here's my tidbit of advice for those of you thinking about giving it a whirl. Not recognizing what type of strength you're up against in the game of STUD and over-valuing your own holdings, is the single largest mistake made by beginner players in the game today. Before you go fishing for that card to make an incredible hand, make sure it's actually available to you in the first place.

Oh and if you haven't stopped by to congratulate cem on the birth of his new baby girl, take a moment to do it for me would'ya!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....