DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, The proud "BIG LAYDOWN"
I'm playing in the Carbon 50$ freeroll last night and I couldn't believe my eyes. I know I'm no pro, but this was so sick....I mean, really, I don't know what some people think sometimes. Ok, we got about 60 people left at this point. BTW, Pays in this game start at 30 people, for 35 cents. Blinds are at 100-200. One short stack at table has about 1400 and change (7 big blinds) and limps in from UTG 3 (LIMPS?!?). It's folded around to the Big Blind, who pops it to 1k. It is now heads up.
Well, that short stacks timer started, and it seemed he was thinking. Then, he folds, and shows one card, THE ACE OF CLUBS (!?!?!?). The unspoken exclamation, given these circumstances, would certainly be "I'm capable of making a big lay down - see? I'm going to fold this ace." Of course, I could not resist typing into the chat window "You lay that down like you are proud of it?? which elicited laughter from the BB and one other at the table. Proudly displaying a green ribbon, he has won one of these before, SO....he ought to know better! Where did this guy go wrong? Well, let us count the ways.....
1. When you have less than or right around ten big blinds and you are 4th to act, you either fold ace rag or shove. Frankly, folding isn't much of an option this short stacked, even if you think you are up against a better ace, which you won?t be able to think unless you limp! Or, you limp in and shove to ANY raise, especially if you think your shove preflop won?t be called. Personally, I'm not folding any ace, even ace duck, with only 7 bb's. What are you waiting for? AK? Sure, fold and maybe you will get it by the time you have 2 BB's left, then what good would it do you? Besides, see number 2. But you simply cannot limp in and fold anything, really. While I realize the odds of someone else having an ace at a nine handed table when you hold one is VERY likely (see Super System, chart "Absence of aces preflop"), this just means fold at worse, shove at best.
2. He was NOT paying attention. There were some really short stacks at the table who were obviously sitting out. If one of them had the other ace, well, they pitched it! This meant, had he added it up, we were more like 4 handed! And this drastically changes the odds of those aces dealt. And what are the odds of it being in the hand of the Big Blind? See number 3.....
3. If you are in the Big Blind, and It is folded around to you with only one limper, most players will raise NO MATTER WHAT THEY HOLD! Yes, even 2-7 off! Not only that, they will back it up with a reasonable continuation bet post flop, no matter the flop, "out of position" be damned. Is this suspicious or what? It is to me. I have been wrong about it before, but usually no, and if he is ANY kind of a player, well, you know he is raising light, very light indeed.
4. By showing that ace under these conditions, this poor guy screamed, "Push me around, PLEASE! I LOVE MAKING THE BIG LAY DOWNS!? While doing a limp-fold to the BB raise at 7 BB's kind of says this already, all you do by showing is confirm it. NEVER SHOW YOUR CARDS! Unless you just pulled off a big bluff and want to tilt someone, yet even then, it can really hurt you!
5. A few hands later this guy got what he wanted; in the BB he shoved with 10-10, and was called by 2 others, both with ace rag who limped in (get the irony? They probably thought he was trying to steal, lol). They hit the ace on the flop, and he was gone.
What do you think?
