At APL at the local tavern tonight, usual mix of donkeys and semi to fully obnoxious players. I really think that is what puts me on tilt more than anything else. I just do not like to see some surly, rude and barely literate tosser taking down Casino Malaysia, and after a while find my self playing just about anything against them so either they leave or I do.

A habit I am going to have to work hard to curb for cash games.

Anyhow, I picked up a nice 400 chip pot early on with pocket nines. Then a bunch of draws with excellent pot odds failed to come off, so I went into level 3 (75/150 blinds) with just under 2,000. Not so bad.

I have Q 6 in the SB and there are four limpers into the pot, so I call too. The Dufus head BB checks.

The flop is K 10 6 all spades. I watched the table as the flop came out, and saw every limper take a peek at their cards, a sure sign they have one spade (or a black card at least). So no one has the flush I am sure, and no one looked all that thrilled by the flop, so an excellent opportunity to bluff I reckon.

I lead out with a half pot size bet. Dufus calls, the rest all fold. Ha.

The turn is a blank. 5 diamonds I think.

I check, Dufus bets 500. Perfect. I check raise him all in for another 1100 and he has me covered by about 1000, so he can get away from the hand with only a 20% loss from his stack.

I am 100% sure his 500 was a bluff. He has either very little or nothing, and is facing most likely one or two over cards, and a check raise from a possible flush, with most likely a draw to the flush or a low pair. If he has a small to medium pair, what can he beat? Only a bluff. If he has a draw to the flush, even the nut draw, he is not getting the odds he needs to call. He has to fold.

He calls.

I show my paired six and the queen of clubs. He shows a queen of diamonds and a ten. The river is a blank and his ten is good.

Perhaps, maybe, he had a read on me? Could be, I don’t think I did anything different to give anything away. But I am very, very sure in order to get see a tell you have to be observing your opponent. That is very hard to do when you are only looking at the table and the cards. Which I know he was, since I was observing him the whole time.

So. A great read on his weak hand. Poor judgement about the player though, to not consider that he would play a hand so weak. My own fault too, since I had already picked him as a total Dufus.