Welcome to fishhookpoker blog!

What better way to open the fishhookpoker blog than by talking about my biggest cashgame win to-date!

Before all that, welcome to fishhookpoker blog!

fishhookpoker is a brand. Simple as that. It all started with the name and then a prop-bet that went wrong, but I'll talk about that in a future post! fishhookpoker.com comes from three poker players who play every week in a competitive homegame.

Anyway, onto the big score cashgame.

I've found that my game is more suited to live cashgames than tournaments and recently I took the decision to remove all online poker software from my laptop. I did okay online, even finished 9th, hitting the money in a 1000+ player multi-table tournament, but it just isn't the same as the live game.

Everyone has to have a grounding in the maths, it's unavoidable, but for me, it's the psychology that makes poker such an amazing game. I love reading people, looking for tells and above all, talking people into the wrong decision (or 'acting' them into the wrong decision for that matter!) My favorite book on poker of all time, is Mike Caro's Book of Tells, and one 'rule' that I always keep at the front of my mind in a tough game is to "Work out what the player wants you to do, and disappoint them."

So, I've played live tournaments at the Vic in London, in Vegas at the MGM Grand, and even in Grand Cayman on the beach (another story!) but it's in cashgames where I've hit the cash - in fact, last Sunday I won more money in a cashgame than the winner of the £20 buy-in tournament (which I crashed out of shortly after the break).

I've been lucky at the Vic too, walking out with £7oo one night after starting with £75, and then £900 the next night starting £200 down after losing the £700 in 20 minutes! (another story).

For Jersey folk, I'm obviously talking about the Jersey Poker Club hosted by the legendary, Paul, at the Pomme D'Or Hotel in St Helier. The tournament kicks off at 5pm every Sunday and they usually plan a range of tournaments ranging from £20 buy-in multi-tables with re-buys and add-ons; to the monster £100 buy-in freezeout. I've played in three tournaments and failed to cash. To be honest, there's some insane play, especially from players happy to throw their cash at the re-buys. But there are also some very solid players and it's in the cashgames that kick-off at 8pm every Sunday, and also on Thursday nights, that the quality play can be found.

The first time I played in a Pomme cashgame I was happy to cash-in £350 because it covered the cost of my bad tournament play and left me a little bit up. The week after that, I turned £200 into £800 and didn't dip below by original buy-in once! I had an amazing hand of Omaha, dealt AA99 with each 9, giving me flush draws with the suited Ace! I beat a Kings over Aces fullhouse with my own Aces over Kings fullhouse and took down a massive pot. Shortly after I cracked Linford's trip threes with a straight I made on the turn.

So last Sunday I had no expectations of beating that win, in fact, I thought I was due a bad night and for the first hour, it seemed I was going to get what I expected. I didn't see a single pair for hours and when I played speculative hands, I got pumped. Micky, an old cagey player, just beat me hand after hand. by about 10pm, I went all-in with pocket 8s, a pair at last! And yes, Micky hit his frickin King on the flop. So I was already £200 down and decided to get another £200 from the bank to try and break even. Always a risk this, but patience is the key, right?

Anyway, by midnight, an hour before the club closes, I'm down to about £100 in chips (£300 down) and enough players had left the club so the game was on one table of 11 players. And it was the tough, experienced players at that. I was already resigning myself to losing £300 that night and justifying it with my £800 cash-in the week before.

At midnight, every Sunday, Paul takes a break from dealing the cashgame and we have a few hands of dealer's choice (where the delear decides the game, I.E. Hold'em, Omaha, Seven Card Stud, Raz etc.) and this is where my luck changed.

I'll discuss the key hands in detail below, but essentially, in one hour, with three hands, I turned my £100 into £1200! Giving me my biggest cash-in to-date and in the last hand, the biggest pot I have ever been involved in.

Now I'm no Phil Ivey playing million dollar cashgames, but for a wannabe poker player, playing £10 buy-in homegame sit and go's, it was pretty amazing!

Dealers Choice (HAND ONE)

Someone asks me if I know how to play Omaha. I do, in fact, it's probably my favorite form of poker. The rules are similar to Hold'em but you're dealt four cards in the hole and HAVE to use two but ONLY two from the pocket. That means if you are dealt trips or quads, the hand is un-playable because at best, you have a pair.

Anyway, I'm dealt a marginal hand but I do have a suited Ace (clubs). Almost everyone at the table limps in with the blind. The flop gives me two more clubs for my flush draw. Someone raises £20 and I decide it's now or never with my small stack (£100) so I call, hoping to draw a nut flush. The turn gives me another club and the first to act moves all-in for almost double my chips. Of course I 'call' with my nut flush, hoping I'll get some more callers. The guy to my left puts the original raiser all-in and I sit back and watch the carnage, waiting to pull in my now tripled-up small stack (£300). The River is a blank and the guy to my left turns over the King flush and I show my Ace flush. He takes down the side-pot, covering the chips he threw into the main pot, and I start stacking my £300 in chips.

The Ladies (HAND TWO)

With about half an hour to go, I'm dealt a pair of Queens. Nice! I'm last to act and the guy to my right, raises the pot, which is about £48. I'm pleased it's pot limit as I'd be worried with my Queens for any more. I decide I have to call with a pair of face cards but everyone else folds. I could have raised, but I had a feeling Al (a friend unfortunately) had Kings or maybe AK and I know he's tight so must have a good hand. I tell him "You better have Aces" so at least he thinks I have Kings!

The flop is perfect for me, Queen, 10 and a rag. I have trips (three of a kind) and I know I'm ahead. I'm not sure if my bluff about the Aces was a factor, but he clearly thinks he is ahead and bets the pot again (£118ish) and I declare my all-in for the rest of my £300. He 'calls' but reluctantly, and I tell him I have trips just before we flip our cards over - he has pocket Aces! Wow, no wonder he raised it up! He's gutted when he sees my Queens and the turn card is a Jack. This is bad news for me, as he now has more outs - another Ace would obviously kill my trips, but a King would give him a straight!

It's a rag, and Al can only shake his head as I stack my £600! Busted, Al shakes my hand and leaves the club, cursing pocket rockets as we all do when they're cracked! This is a good example of where pot limit helps lower pairs - if it was no limit, and he could have moved all-in pre-flop, I may have walked away from pocket Queens against a tight player. I was hoping to flop a set, and got my wish quite cheap at £48.

Last Hand of the Night (HAND THREE)

It's literally the last hand of the night and that's one of the interesting aspects of playing in a private club as opposed to the big casinos. I'm used to leaving when I want, which is usually at about 3 or 4am but at the Pomme, the dealer will state "Last three hands gents" and each hand, you're praying for something playable!

So I get my final cards, lift the corners and look at my own pair of Aces!

I'm mindful of Al's fate 30 minutes earlier but can't NOT play pocket rockets! Everyone limps in with the blind of £4 and when it gets to me I raise the pot, which is just short of £40.

A few players around the table moan at my raise - apparently we should all see a flop on the last hand. Tough... I've got AA and want to thin the field. Fold, fold, fold, fold, fold and for a moment, I'm worried I won't get any callers.

The guy to my right, almost reluctantly pushes £40 more into the middle. I have a player.

The flop is Queen, 10, rag with two clubs. I don't want the guy to suck-out a flush or a straight so I bet £100, happy to take down £80 profit right there.

He hates this bet so he obviously got a bit of the flop, maybe pairing a Queen. He shows someone to our right his hand and moans and groans. After a few minutes, to my surprise, he pushes all-in for about another £360! The dealer counts the pot and it's over £700! My call would push the pot to over £1100, the biggest pot I have ever been involved in for real cash! In-fact, even in a £100 sit and go online, the first place prize is only £700-£800 so my heart rate is through the roof!

He stands-up and I tell him I have pocket Aces. He tells me that he's ahead at the moment. I'd been watching this kid make moves all night, and showing the bluffs to rub it in to players he put off the best hand. He's urging me not to call, literally and with the size of the bet. At that moment I'm thinking I could walk away even, a little bit up in fact, or I could call and lose, and walk away £300 down, or of course I could call and win, and take down £11oo in one pot and cash-in £1200 after the hand!

I still think he's on a draw but my mind starts putting him on two-pair. I think over how he played the hand, and his hesitation before pushing all-in, then I remember Caro's rule above... he desperately does not want the call. I turn over my Aces, and he nearly falls over. I tell him I want to check if one of my Aces is a club. It is. This isn't really my reason for turning over the cards, I want to see his reaction to my bullets. I tell him even if he is ahead at that moment, maybe I'll get lucky with the flush.

I call.

He says "Good call" and turns over Queen, 6, of clubs. I can see his dilemma... he has top pair and a flush draw and if I'd limped in to that flop, I may have moved-in myself - but how did he call the £40 pre-flop raise with Queen, 6!?!

I'm praying so hard not to see a club, I don't even realise he makes two pair when a 6 drops on the turn. Everyone watching groans, I'm now way behind and I realise there are about 4 cards in the whole deck that can help me - another Ace, or another 10 (I later learn only three cards could have helped!)

The river is the 10 of hearts, I've made a better two pair with my aces and the 10s on the board! Wow, the guy is stunned and he just watches as I pull in over a Grand in chips!

I'm glad I raised it up pre-flop, as I later find out that someone threw away a 10 - had I slow-played, his trips would have taken down the whole pot!

So there you have it - Three hands in one hour turn £100 into £1200!

Tomorrow night is the usual homegame, this time hosted at Jamie 'Kermit' Pestana's Cassa! Tough field, we got a Rock, two calling-stations and a sneaky bastard!

I'll let you know what happens -

In a future post, I'll talk about the Charity Poker Tournament I'm putting together between April and August!!!

jT