Again: We're talking $1/$2 no limit hold'em.
I'm thinking perhaps I should have chosen a different title for this post. Please, refrain from "Brokeback Mountain" jokes, okay? The "pocket cowboys" I'm talking about have to do with the beautiful experience of being dealt a pair of kings.
I only took $100 to the casino today in order to limit my losses should things go south. After only ten minutes I was on the button when I looked down at the cowboys. What made it even better was that the straddle was on and four guys had called the $5 straddle. There was $28 in the pot before I had the chance to act. I raised to $30, reasoning this was low enough to attract callers but not so much that I would have a hard time folding should an ace hit the flop. Rasing from the button with monster cards has the added bonus that someone might think I was trying to steal the pot and play back at me. I only got one caller - the guy who put the straddle on- and the flop came A K 5 rainbow - giving me a set of kings. Being first to act, I bet half the pot, figuring if he has an ace he'll call. The only way I can build the pot is if he has an ace and thinks he has me beat. Anything else and he folds, unless he tries to bluff. He folds, giving me a $58 pot, and I do something I hardly every do - I show my hand. Not only do I show my hand, but I say "I thought I would get more callers with just a $3o pre-flop bet."
Why did I show my hand? Why did I remind everyone of the size of the bet I made with this monster? I'm not sure. I thought that weaker players at the table would expect me to play that way again if I got a good hand. I thought that the stronger players would expect me to be bluffing the next time I made a similar move - why else would I show? Does that make any sense? Poker is about mind games. I thought I knew who was strong and who was weak, so I thought I was giving myself a better chance down the road.
The very next time I'm on the button something really great happens - I'm dealt pocket kings again. Just like last time the straddle is on, and there is already about $30 in the pot before I have to act. "I raise to $30, " I announce. This time I have three callers and they are the three players I had pegged as my best opponents. I think they think I'm full of shit. The flop is Qh 10s 4h - giving me an over pair. The first two players check, but a guy in a designer baseball cap bets $70. This is the classic bet someone makes when they think they are ahead, but are afraid of the flush draw. He might actually be ahead too, but when I think of the range of hands he could be holding it seems likely he has pair of queens. Only one way to find out - I push my remaining chips into the center. The two others fold and Designer Baseball Cap thinks for awhile. I hope he's thinking about how I deliberately showed my kings like I was setting him up for a bluff, and maybe he is thinking about that because he calls and shows A Q - top pair, top kicker. His hand doesn't improve, and I rake a little more than $350 - enough to buy a few spiffy hats of my own.
An over pair is not a killer hand, but it is the relative strength, not the absolute strength of your cards that matter. I was pretty sure DBC thought I was bluffing, so I knew he would call if he hit the flop hard enough, and a pair of queens with an ace kicker is strong enough if you think the other guy is bluffing.
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