Deuces Never Loses?—Bah, Humbug

Really, I think I played this hand more or less correctly, but since the result was not pleasant I want to run it by you good folks and see what you think. Besides, it's been awhile since I posted some actual poker content here, and there's a rumor that this is a poker blog, so here goes….

It was a rather boring table the other night, although the stacks were all decent sized, not too many players were putting chips in play. But there was one guy there that I thought might be more than willing to pay me off if I caught a hand, so I decided to stick around for a bit.

Actual, there was a dynamic there that I thought could work out for me. Let's call the aforementioned guy "Villain" cuz I'm too lazy and too rushed to think of something clever. He and his two buddies at the table were clearly all there to have a good time. They seemed to be reasonably knowledgeable players but I got the impression that they were more interested in taking the money from each other than the other players at the table. I think the greatest thing for any one of them would have been to have felted his two buddies, and if he had given away some money to the other players in the process, no big deal. Everyone else at the table was playing fairly tight, it was these three guys who would likely be the source of any money to be had.

Villain was by far the most aggressive of the three, but the other two seemed to like to play in hands he was in to try to suck out on him, and similarly, he seemed to like playing when one of his pals was the aggressor.

So I was down to about $180 when I got a couple of deuces. I was the second limper, one of the Villain's buddies limped in right behind me, and the Villain, in one of the blinds, made it $16. Note: I was distracted by another hand right after this one, then by chatting with a buddy who was in the room and recognized me, so it took me awhile to jot down my notes. Thus my details might not be perfect, but I'm pretty sure anywhere I'm off wouldn't make a big difference.

It folded back to me. Villain had me covered. With my stack, it was marginal at best to set-mine there. Maybe it was a definite fold. But I felt that if I called, the guy's buddy would call as well, giving me better odds. Plus, I really felt Villain was a guy who could stack off light if I hit the flop. I had been waiting for a chance with this guy and this seemed like that chance.

I called but his buddy folded rather quickly, so it was heads up. The flop was sweet, Queen-6-2, rainbow. Villain led out for $16. I thought about raising but really, the flop looked about as dry as could be. I was fairly certain if I called he would bet the turn. So I decided to just flat.

The turn was a 10, and put four suits on the board, so no flush possible. I didn't think a straight draw was much to worry about. I started thinking then about how much to raise his inevitable turn bet, and wondering if he would be bet big enough so I could just shove. But instead, after appearing as if he was going to bet, he surprised me by checking. So I had to bet. I thought about maybe a 3/4's pot bet, but then I figured, if he's going to call $45, he's just as likely to call $60. And if he's getting trappy with a bigger set, I'm suppose to lose my stack there. So I put out $60.

After a few seconds, Villain announced all-in, and I snap-called. If he had me set-over-set, well, that's poker. We didn't show and the river was an Ace, at which point he announced, "I have the nuts," and turned over King-Jack. Seriously?

I was already in the process of turning over my deuces. He said, "Wow, I had no idea you were so strong there, you bet so much." Then he added, "You really played that well. You made me play bad. I just got real lucky." Yes, runner-runner to take down a flopped set is pretty lucky.

For whatever that's worth.

But what say you? Did I make any mistakes there? I mean, other than the preflop call, which I know was iffy but I think was justified. Seems to me that my assessment was pretty damn good, I gave him 2-to-1 odds and he needed 4-to-1 to be correct with his open ender. He was indeed prepared to stack off light. Or do you think deserved to lose for not raising on the flop?

I'll mention the next hand because it sort of ties in. I rebought, and called $8 with pocket 7's. It was four-ways. The flop was Queen-high, two clubs, no 7. But no one bet. The turn was a 7 of diamonds, giving me a set and putting a second diamond out there in addition to the two clubs. First to act put out $17. Next guy called the $17. I bet $60. Last guy, who was one of the Villain's buddies, said, "That was my move…I was gonna do that. I was gonna bet $60 too." And then, with great reluctance, he folded. The other two players also reluctantly folded. All the players in the hand, seriously, all of them, told me, "Good bet." They actually went on and on about how great a bet it was. "You priced out all the draws," one said. He had a draw, the other guy said he had a Queen. I seem to recall Poker Grump once commenting on how stupid it is to say, "Good bet," as you have no idea if it was a good bet or not. You don't know what the player who made it had and you don't know what he was trying to accomplish. Maybe he wanted a call?

Anyway, I couldn't build on that win, and had to leave the session early due to matters out of my control, down another $10 from the second buy-in.

So, I would appreciate some feedback on the big hand I lost (or even the one I won).

Who says deuces never looses?