Total Zen experience.

Wow, back at $1/$2 since it’s a few more days before vacation is over and I’ve gotta get back to my boring job as a software engineer. Played really tight, learning from my experience on the 24^th… and I pick up KK just one off the button. The action is checked all the way around to me, and I raise it to $17, and I get one caller (this big tattooed guy that I’d never want to run into outside of the poker room). My initial guess was he was on A J, KQ, QJ, J 10…

The flop comes 9 6 6 paint.

He is first to act and bets $25 into me, and now I’m putting him on an over pair, 10’s or jacks, or maybe pocket 8’s… I raise it to $50, and he flat calls. Turn card is a 7, completing a straight if someone had 10 8 (*yeah right*), and he bets $50 into me…

Now I go into my think tank and really try to figure out what he has… He called my re-raise on the flop, and then bets $50 into me?... I was now putting him on JJ or TT and was thinking that he prolly put me on AK and was just hoping to see a small card on the turn… But now I have a dilemma, if I raise him here, he might just fold (he had another $80 or so left) thinking that I have a higher over pair… But if I call, he’s prolly not going to bet any more because only a dumb ass would be chasing AK there… So I’m staring at the board a while making it seem as though I’m afraid that he might have 10 8 and I’m worried about the straight so that on the river he may just try and bluff me out of the pot even if he puts me on an over pair. So I make a really disgusted call… River is a 6!!! Which means if he had pkt 8’s, he’s now got a straight (pretty unlikely, but I’ve seen stranger things)… He goes all in, I call instantly, and he shows 10’s, and I pick up a nice pot.

A lot of hands go by, with me constantly folding, when one hand I pick up QJ suited on the big blind… An overly aggressive player raises to $15 in middle position and everyone folds around to me, and I think about it, and call… This was a borderline call since I was out of position too…

The flop comes 9 Q 5, and I check, and he bets $15…

I was now having that sickly feeling again cursing myself for seeing the flop and knowing I have to lose some money here to a possible A Q… so I call and wait to see what he does on the turn if he does in fact have AQ… Turn is a beautiful jack… Now I am wondering how to extract the most amount… From previous hands that I’ve played with this guy he’s played relatively tight, but overly aggressive when he senses weakness… So I check… and he goes all in for $165… I call him instantly and he says “wow…”… river card is a K, and I ask him if he has a Q… and he just says “you got me”.. and I show over Q J and take down another sweet pot. All in all a nice night, up $447, and my 4^th winning session in a row.