I was playing in a Limit Tourney - blinds are 25/50, I'm in the BB with T-1533 with pocket 33 - 4 fold to MP (with T-2075) who raises to 150 - next one folds, one other calls (with T-570) small blind folds - I thought a sec or two - I'd just landed at this table a hand or two before and hadn't grasped the texture of the players yet, but I thought if I make my set, hooray, if not I fold. I put the MP on some paint or high ace & considering the other guy's stack, I didn't give him much respect for any real strength. My gut said call and so I did.
With three of us in the pot, the Flop comes down 3 2 A rainbow - I bet, MP raises, the other guy calls - now I'm just seeing my set out there, thinking bring it home, I'm NOT giving full consideration that MP raised my bet with that A out there - at this point I'm thinking no-one would have called the pre-flop raise with a 4-5 so I'm not afraid of a straight; because of the raise, I put the MP on AK and made a pair of AA, so much the better for me, I made my set, so I re-raise, aannnnnd, MP re-re-raises, the other guy calls (he's on A?), and I call - thinking ok, they are over-playing their AA....
The turn comes and the board is now 3 2 A 8 - I can't imagine the other two re-raising and calling with an A8 - or even 88 at this point - so I fearlessly bet out, MP calls - aha - no raise, now I firmly put him on a pair of AA, the other guy calls which puts him all in - he's got his AA, too.
River floats in and the board is 3 2 A 8 9 - I bet out again, MP just calls and I figure I am home free, if this had been a B&M I would have been reaching for the pot as MP turned over his AA for the higher set (the other guy had AK suited). I am stunned, down now to about T-500 and from within the top 30 to 132 or there-abouts and a couple of hands later I was out entirely - # 222 in a field of 369. Ouch.
Analysis - really a no-brainer. First, I should have given more respect to that pre-flop raise AND the other guy's call. I had no read on the table texture - so didn't know if these guys were from the land of EnnyAce-L-Doo (across the channel from the land of EnnyTwo-L-Doo) or if they knew what they were doing. I decided to gamble and sneak in with my 33 and got lucky-ish. When my re-raise got re-re-raised, I should have read that signal loud and clear - I was dead and should have laid that set down.
Agree?? Disagree?? Want to pummel me for being an idjut? Congratulate me for my great insight and humility? At the very least - take my little story and remember it the next time you land a baby set and the action gets hot.....
