Full ring game, live 1/2 - deep stacked. Average stack is at least $400, maybe $500. Hero has $800. Regular home game, same players every Saturday. Half of them are LAG's, the other half are tight. Always seems to be a mystery as to how much it takes to thin the field. Sometimes $12 to $15 will get ZERO callers where as $22 will get 4 callers ???? I always comment that the 1st caller opens the gate to the donkey corral and the rest follow his lead.
I'm winning and I know I'm catching cards, but I feel like I'm also playing good - working on my aggression to win pots. And that leads to today's question: was I really playing well or just getting lucky? Hero wakes up in the BB with AKo. 2 limpers and then the Hi-Jack raises to $22, button calls, Hero raises to $65, Villian calls, button folds. Heads up to the flop. 8 high, dry flop. Hero bets out $100 into $150 pot. Villian folds his hand face up - AKo (I am definitely smiling inside)
Several orbits later, very similar hand, Hero wakes up in the BB with AKo again. 2 limpers and the button raises to $22, SB calls, Hero raises to $65. The button folds AQo (he told me after the hand what he had), SB calls with ATs. Flop is Q high dry board, SB folds as I was reaching for chips. Good play or just lucky? If the button had called, I would have lost $165 on that hand (unless a K came on the turn) I have to admit that table image really helped me here - the button put me on a very narrow range at QQ+, AK, and thus he folded AQ like he should. Re-raising from the BB with AKo - good play or just lucky?