A Set of Two’s

It's very hard NOT to make money at this game when you have players willing to throw their cash around with sub-par hands. As stated in other articles, this is one of seven tables I was playing simultaneously. Needless to say, it was the most profitable table for that particular hour.

Hand #xxxxxxx-xxxx at Bielefeld (No Limit Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet

mad_man_mike is at seat 0 with $29.55.
mecha0117 is at seat 1 with $140.50.
malicarni is at seat 2 with $94.20.
DrEaMoFCaSh is at seat 3 with $95.
jzab is at seat 4 with $120.90.
WhiskeyNites is at seat 5 with $48.65.
Mikaele1965 is at seat 6 with $22.50.
TheGreedyGecko is at seat 7 with $118.25.
youbetchalife is at seat 8 with $27.35.
LiquidGator is at seat 9 with $110.95.
The button is at seat 4.

WhiskeyNites posts the small blind of $.50.
Mikaele1965 posts the big blind of $1.

mad_man_mike: -- --
mecha0117: -- --
malicarni: -- --
DrEaMoFCaSh: -- --
jzab: -- --
WhiskeyNites: -- --
Mikaele1965: -- --
TheGreedyGecko: 2s 2h
youbetchalife: -- --
LiquidGator: -- --

The Greedy Gecko says: I actually intended to stop playing, and this was to be my last hand before the blinds. I had already unchecked the "auto-post blinds" button, and had mentally moved on to the upcoming outdoor activities. Nonetheless, I'll always see a cheap flop with a pocket pair.

Pre-flop:

TheGreedyGecko calls. youbetchalife calls. LiquidGator
calls. mad_man_mike calls. mecha0117 folds.
malicarni calls. DrEaMoFCaSh folds. jzab folds.
WhiskeyNites calls. Mikaele1965 checks.

Flop (board: Ts 5h 2c):

WhiskeyNites checks. Mikaele1965 checks.
TheGreedyGecko checks. youbetchalife checks.
LiquidGator bets $2. mad_man_mike calls. malicarni
calls. WhiskeyNites folds. Mikaele1965 folds.
TheGreedyGecko raises to $4. youbetchalife folds.
LiquidGator calls. mad_man_mike calls. malicarni
calls.

The Greedy Gecko says: The flop seemed pretty safe and I was happy to have callers. Consequently, I didn't want to push too hard at this stage of the hand.

Turn (board: Ts 5h 2c Kc):

TheGreedyGecko bets $23. LiquidGator folds.
mad_man_mike goes all-in for $24.55. malicarni calls.
TheGreedyGecko calls.

The Greedy Gecko says: With the Kc, the board shows four cards to the flush and potentially the straight. Therefore, I want to push hard here, extracting large sums of money or winning it outright. I led out with a pot bet and both players called. Unfortunately, UltimateBet doesn't allow a reraise by me at this point. Otherwise, I would have forced malicarni to call an additional, steeper raise.

River (board: Ts 5h 2c Kc 8d):

TheGreedyGecko goes all-in for $88.70. malicarni goes
all-in for $64.65. TheGreedyGecko is returned $24.05
(uncalled).

The Greedy Gecko says: The final card appears innocent, so I happily throw the remainder of my chips out there. Clearly I would be paying off a stronger set throughout the hand if one existed. However, you will get sufficiently paid off by pair, two-pair, or drawing hands so that even when you are beat by a higher set, the long run expected return is still favorable. To put it in perspective, having played 7 tables simultaneously for nearly 2 years, I have been outsetted only a handful of times.

Showdown:

TheGreedyGecko shows 2s 2h.
TheGreedyGecko has 2s 2h Ts 2c Kc: three deuces.
mad_man_mike shows 4c 5c.
mad_man_mike has 5c Ts 5h Kc 8d: a pair of fives.
malicarni shows Kd Ad.
malicarni has Kd Ad Ts Kc 8d: a pair of kings.

The Greedy Gecko says: Seeing what the players had, it demonstrates how by playing relatively slowly on the flop allowed both players to catch up slightly and then pay me off.

Hand #xxxxxxx-xxxx Summary:

$3 is raked from a total pot of $225.95.
$3 is raked from the main pot of $96.65.
$0 is raked from side pot #1 of $129.30.
TheGreedyGecko wins the main pot $93.65 with three deuces.
TheGreedyGecko wins the side pot $129.30 with three deuces.