I was playing $10/25 NLHE at Sands in PA when an interesting hand came up. It was my first time in the casino and I didn’t recognize anyone, but everyone seemed to know each other. The player in question was a 60ish gentleman that was probably a decent player, but had lost a few big pots(when I was at the other table, but they were recounted to everyone) and was on tilt. He was limping and calling with far too many hands and didn’t seem to want to fold any decent pair or draw. I had $2800 and he covered me.
The Hand:
He opens to $75(which is standard) in late position, there are 2 callers and I 3bet to $375 with QQ. I had squeezed a few times previously and not been called, and my opponent wasn’t folding most hands he opened at this point. He calls and everyone else folds.
The flop is QdJs4c and I think and lead out for $450. In retrospect, this bet was terrible because it makes him fold most of his lower pairs/crappy draws. If I bet $300 on the flop, he calls with any pair, like 55 which is drawing dead. I should be encouraging that type of action. If he had a draw, he was going to call the flop no matter what, and call or fold the turn based on how he was feeling, not on how much I bet, so there was little need to “price him out.”
Once I bet, he looked unhappy that I had bet so much, and I realized I had made a mistake and wanted to grab some chips back out of the pot. Alas, I could not, nor could I get him not to fold what he said was TT. I will learn for next time.
