Sprit Pot (Part 6)

Here I turned a made hand into a bluff on the river, hoping to fold out much better hands than the one I got called by:

Seat 4: bruechips (UTG) ($304.15)
Seat 6: UTG+2 ($316.90)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bruechips [As Kh]
bruechips raises to $8
UTG+2 calls $8

*** FLOP *** [Kd 6s 4s]
bruechips bets $15
UTG+2 calls $15 (Pretty standard so far. With his call I'd say his range is KQ/AK, 66/44, possibly QQ-TT and some spades)

*** TURN *** [Kd 6s 4s] [7s]
bruechips checks (If I had it to do over again I'd probably just barrel again here. But I decided to keep the pot smaller and be sure I'd get to see the river, rather than bet and either fold to a raise when I have a draw to the nuts or get it in way behind. Check-raising with the intention of shoving any river isn't a bad option either.)
UTG+2 bets $30 (The spectre of spades obviously looms large...although his range of spades is narrowed by the fact that I have the As, he could still have KsQs, JsTs, maybe Ts9s/9s8s, although those are somewhat less likely given that he called an UTG raiser when he was still in early position himself.)
bruechips calls $30

*** RIVER *** [Kd 6s 4s 7s] [8c]
bruechips checks
UTG+2 bets $60 (The 8c doesn't really worry me too much because there aren't many fives in his range. He could have floated the flop with 87s and have runner-runnered two pair, but that would be very gross and unlikely. His bet sizing (the pot is about $100 at this point) indicate to me that he's trying to make some kind of thinnish value bet. I.e., he does not have a flush. Also I have the As, so for sure he can't have the nuts. The problem with me raising and trying to represent a flush is that I check/called the turn, which is a line I take only occasionally with a flush. But I did think I would have a chance of getting a fold out of 66 and 44 with a river check-raise. It's just so rare that you see a river check/raise from a non-psycho player that's a bluff. He tanked forEVER and finally called.)
bruechips raises to $175
UTG+2 calls $115

*** SHOW DOWN ***
bruechips shows [As Kh] a pair of Kings
UTG+2 shows [Ks Ad] a pair of Kings

Well, you probably already knew the outcome from the title of the post. I wonder if he can call this down if he doesn't have the Ks (eliminating the possibility that I have AsKs or KsQs). I do not think his call is a good one, because the best he's getting is a split. If I had say, AsQh, I think I would almost always just barrel the turn because I have less showdown equity and check/calling with just a draw on the turn is almost never good. If I had QsQh, I would either bet/fold or check/fold the turn. The range of hands that I could possibly be check-raising the river with is AsKx, AsQs, occasionally AsJs (usually I just fold AJs UTG pre-frop), and AsAx (mostly as a bluff, same as I did here with AKo). Against that range, even if it's heavily weighted to AKo since I don't check/call the turn too often with the made flushes and don't bluff raise the river as often with the rockets, he's not doing so well, since at best he's chopping. But, my turn action did make my line a little weird and I'm positive that's what made him call down. Oh well. Just have to mark him as a suspicious type. And check/call the turn and check/raise the river with flushes more often.

Finally, I will be leaving the country for two weeks tomorrow, heading to Patagonia to do some hiking and whatnot. I will try to post some pictures when I get back if I figure out how. In any case, Brackchips will be in charge of the brog while I'm gone. So essentially, don't expect too much in the way of posting until the second half of January. Happy New Year, everyone!!

-BRUECHIPS

Thanks for not Stacking Me, Bro! (Part 10)

This one isn't literally a thanks for not stacking me, since I don't think I would have gone broke with the worst hand here, but at least there was some big value missed.

Seat 1: MP1 ($375.35)
Seat 4: bruechips (CO) ($219.85)

*** HOLE CARDS **
Dealt to bruechips [Jh Ks]
MP1 calls $2
bruechips raises to $10 (Standard isolation of a limper in late position)
MP1 calls $8

** FLOP ** [8h Jd Ts]
MP1 checks
bruechips checks (I hit top pair, but this is not a flop I'm really excited about getting a whole lot of money in on. I could get check-raised by some hands I beat, such as KQ, T9, 89, J9, and QJ, and I'd be in a tough spot, because I'd also get check/raised by JT, JJ,TT,88, and Q9. I would be either way behind or a little bit ahead. I decided to play it safe and check behind.)

*** TURN ** [8h Jd Ts] [9d]
MP1 checks
bruechips checks (Now I'm behind most of the second-best hands I was ahead of on the frop. I also pick up a straight draw of my own. Best to just keep the pot small and check behind again, as there are very few hands I beat that would call a value bet. Maybe KT? I could be with the intention of making another big bet on the river to fold out two pair or AJ, but I think he might have made a smallish lead bet on the turn with those hands. I'm hoping he has pocket fours or something and I can just check down a win.)

*** RIVER ** [8h Jd Ts 9d] [Td]
MP1 checks
bruechips checks (Absolutely no reason to bet now. I no longer beat KT. He might somehow have slowplayed some weird backdoor flush. I now beat some of the two pair combos I might have tried to bluff.)

*** SHOW DOWN **
bruechips shows [Jh Ks] two pair, Jacks and Tens
MP1 shows [Ac Ah] two pair, Aces and Tens

ROR!!! Way to srowpray your aces into a monsterpotten of ZERO post-frop bets after I fropped top pair second kicker. Granted the board came out gross for him, but...just shows you the weakness of srowpraying a hand pre-frop out of position rike that. Anyway, enjoy that juicy $10 you won on that hand, bro. Take Tiffany's mom for a nice night out on the town.

-BRUECHIPS

Deep Stacked Play - Part 4, Brack is Beautiful - Part 15

As you can tell from the title above...this hand fits into a few categories, check it out.



Preflop my open is def a BIT roose, but I rike to mix up my UTG opening range with sooted connectors.

The SB 3bs me…and the first thing that comes to mind…AA or KK. This villain is one of the nittiest regulars at this level, and his range is incredibly polarized to just these two hands. My thoughts are when facing the 3b, call or fold. A combination of factors went into my decision to call here…the raise size is NOT pricing me out enough this deep, especially since I have position. If he makes it in the 55ish+ neighborhood, I’m going to be folding much more often. We are 200bbs deep…I’m getting great implied odds, that coupled with the fact that my hand is very well disguised, I opted to see a frop.

Pretty much a dream frop for me, pair and a FD. When playing 100bbs deep vs most other villains…I’m looking to get money in on this frop. I can honestly say that I would be raising this frop 95% of the time, looking to fold out better hands...and gamble with big made hands. But in this SPECIFIC spot, 200bbs deep vs a supernit…calling is the best line here. If the villain has AA or KK...he’s not folding! I need to wait for spades to come in on the turn, see if I can turn trips/2 pair (which obviously are no good vs top set). His c bet is so weak…again I’m getting great odds to call, thanks for making it so cheap!

So my money card rolls off on the turn…and this where its time to go to valuetown. I bet BIG, large enough that if he xc’s…I will have a little less than a pottish sized bet so I can do my favorite thing in NLHE…SHOVE. LOL.

He checkraises me arr in and boom we get it in for 200bbs…I fought off the boat redraw and raked a monsterpotten.

5th in the Stars Blogger Championship of Online Poker

I managed to make the final table of the blogger freeroll on PokerStars. TarHeel1641 is my sn on Stars; I didn't have an account there until I decided to play in this tourney, but I'll be playing there at least a little bit more as now I have a Step 3 and a Step 6 ticket as a result of my freeroll finishes. Although it's usually the case that anybody making a final table in a large tourney has to run like god for a while, in this tournament I really didn't. I was all-in before the river 22 times and won 10.5/22 (one spritpot!), while my average equity was 46%, so basically right on the money. Most of my chips came non-showdown style. I think I played pretty decent, but a couple of key mistakes cost me.

The first and most egregious came when we were down to 10 players, with blinds at 5k/10k. I had about 160k in chips in the bb, and the sb had about 100k in chips. It folded around to him and he min raised. I thought he was trying to steal cheap without risking his tourney life while on the final table bubble, and would fold like a girl if I put him to the test. So I shoved K2o and ran into AA. Whoops. Looking back, that was pretty terrible. He had open shoved a few times before, so I think that's what he would have done if he had wanted to steal. Actually the time I got in KJ vs. AA was kind of a similar situation, where the sb was down to about 10 bbs, opened but didn't shove, and snapped off my re-ship. I definitely need to pay more attention to that kind of bet sizing that's trying to induce a shove from me. Anyway, the K2 shove cost me big time as a couple of hands later, down to 5 bbs or so, I woke up with AA and doubled up through an aggressive player who had QQ. If I had 15bbs there instead of 5bbs, I would have certainly doubled up to 30bbs, and had a very formidable stack, not to mention crippling one of the better remaining players.

The second was down to five players. I had 11 bbs or so on the button and the cutoff, with about the same stack size as mine, open shoved. I tanked for a bit and folded KQo. If the players to my left had been weaker I could maybe fold there and rely on picking up a lot of blinds and antes later. But folds from them were somewhat hard to come by, so while I don't really relish calling off my tourney life with KQ-high preflop, I think I beat the range of a cutoff shover pretty handily. He's probably shoving 50% of hands or so, and I've got 56% equity vs. that range, plus the overlay of blinds and antes. There is the small chance too that one of the blinds wakes up with something huge, but...I think that one should be a call. In any case, a few hands later it was folded to me in the sb with A4o, so I obviously shoved in my last 10bbs and was instacalled by AT, which held.

Congrats to all the other bloggers that came away from the event with a prize, and thanks to Poker Stars for hosting the event and throwing in some nice prizes. I'll be hunting for a nice place to spend my Step 6 ticket....

-BRUECHIPS

Poker Stars Blogament

I managed to score in last night's Poker Stars Blogger Freeroll, netting myself an entry into the final tourney on the 21st as well as a Step 3 ticket. Not bad. I might have done better if I hadn't folded this hand below, but on the whole, I think it's a good fold. Keep in mind that the prize structure was such that 10th-27th got the same prize, 2nd-9th got a much better prize, and 1st a very nice prize.

Seat 1: Hijack (27075 in chips)
Seat 2: bruechips (CO) (28581 in chips)
Seat 9: UTG+1 (16838 in chips)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bruechips [8d Ad]

UTG+1 raises 13463 to 16463 and is all-in (This part doesn't concern me that much. This player is  shoving from early position, but the blinds are approaching him fast, he is shortstacked in a structure that requires him to double up at least once more before raising his payout level, and he seemed like an active player anyway. If it were folded to me, I'd definitely reshove.)
Hijack raises 10237 to 26700 and is all-in (Unfortuantely, that doesn't happen. A8s seems looks like gold when everybody's seemingly shoving every hand, but 3-way, but even if the first player is shoving 50% of his hands, and the second player reshoving as much as 25% of his hands, I still have only 34% equity.  And this doesn't even consider the possibility of one of the three players behind me waking up with a monster and me ending up with even less equity than that. Also, winning this pot would make me a big stack, but still not a monster stack. I'd definitely have more work to do before getting to the final 9. I'd much rather wait for a spot where I can be the one to put in the last chip and have some fold equity, rather than just gamble here.)
bruechips folds
*** FLOP *** [2h Qs 3s]
*** TURN *** [2h Qs 3s] [9d]
*** RIVER *** [2h Qs 3s 9d] [Ah]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
UTG+1: shows [8s Kh] (high card Ace)
Hijack: shows [Jd Kc] (high card Ace - King+Queen+Jack kicker)

Anyway, I'll probably come back and play the other two NLHE blogger freerolls in hopes of getting more tickets or other tokens, even though my entry in the Sunday final is already secure. Hey, it's free.

-BRUECHIPS

Cutting back on variance, Brack is Beautiful (Part 14)

I've been falling on the wrong side of the RNG of late...combination of some coolers and overaggression. In an effort to cut down in the variance and leverage my postfrop knowledge, I've cut down on the aggression - both post and prefrop. Here is a perfect example...




Ok, so I guess you could say I sucked out here...and granted I was a dog on the flop, but my opponent let me get there on the cheap.

Here are my thoughts on the above hand...

On the flop...I have such a powerful draw that I will definitely not be folding it. When I lead into the field...and I get min raised by a donk. Folds back to me and this is where I face a big decision. Do I want to put more money in right here or should I call and wait for a good turn? I have a HUGE draw, my equity is probably in the hood of 50%.

Folding is obviously not an option...but 150bbs deep, I felt like my villain was not FOLDING. That's a huge factor in my decision. He definitely has at least an Ace, maybe two pair...possibly a set. He's definitely not folding any part of that range...and he probably shouldn't be either. Do I want to get 1500bbs in the middle with a mega draw where I have no FE? Meh...pass on the variance, I call.

Turn strengthen's my hand...but not relative to my villain's range...I bet and don't get raised...SWEET! Nice cheap river card for me...

River - BOOM! Money card...I have the nuts vs his range. I bet big and get paid off...I do regret not sticking in a little overbet though, definitely lost some value...dagger.

PokerStars Bloggament

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

The WBCOOP is an online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers.

Registration code: 960649

Crazy Hand in a Donkament

This one kind of goes in the "don't slowplay your big hands vs. calling stations" file. Also in the "min 3bet is not always the donk method of playing a big pocket pair" file. Again, I swear I have not doctored this HH:

Seat 1: CO (2,145)
Seat 5: bruechips (UTG) (3,000)

*** HOLE CARDS ***

Dealt to bruechips [Ks Ad]
bruechips raises to 90
CO raises to 150
bruechips raises to 570 (Vs. some donks I might even consider folding here or at least playing more cautiously. But this guy was such a nut job I felt pretty confident just getting in as much money as possible.)
CO calls 420

*** FLOP *** [5s 2d 5c]

bruechips bets 700 (Keep betting for value...this bet size was designed to get him to shove over the top)
CO calls 700

*** TURN *** [5s 2d 5c] [6d]

bruechips bets 900 (Another value bet with AK-high)
CO calls 875, and is all in
bruechips shows [Ks Ad]
CO shows [9d Qd] (Well played, genius)

*** RIVER *** [5s 2d 5c 6d] [7c] (Blank river saves me a tirade)

-BRUECHIPS

Betting the River for Value

One thing I've been working on recently is betting for value on the river. There are a lot of spots where you have a medium-strength hand that is often best. When deciding whether to bet, you need to consider 1) whether your opponent will bluff if you bet, 2) whether your opponent will bluff if you check (only applies when out of position, obviously), 3) whether your opponent will call with a worse hand, and 4) (again, only applies out of position) whether your opponent will bet for value with a hand worse than yours. Most players (all except the most aggro sharks and the biggest aggro-nut retards) raise the river as a bluff very very rarely. So in most situations with a medium strength hand on the river, if you bet for value and get raised, you can safely muck (this requires discipline on your part, but is necessary to make betting the best play). Also most players will check behind a medium strength hand on the river. If you check/call instead of betting, vs. most players, you're shifting their betting range to a mix of missed draws and very strong hands, whereas if you bet, their calling range is more medium strength hands. Here are a couple of examples of what I mean, where I have two pair in each case, can't really call a raise in either case, but if I check, the opponent probably checks behind and I miss value:

Seat 2: MP2 ($200)
Seat 4: bruechips (SB) ($789.95)
Seat 6: UTG donk ($322.80)
Seat 9: MP1 ($177.40)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bruechips [Qs Ks]
UTG donk calls $2
MP1 calls $2
MP2 calls $2
bruechips calls $1
BB checks

*** FLOP *** [Ts 8c Qd]
bruechips checks
BB checks
UTG bets $5
MP1 folds
MP2 folds
bruechips calls $5 (This frop is good for me but I'm probably way behind if a big pot develops, so I decided to play it conservatively)
BB folds

*** TURN *** [Ts 8c Qd] [Kc]
bruechips checks
UTG bets $10
bruechips calls $10 (Looking back I should probably raise this one...I'm really only worried about TT, 88, J9, and AJ, and there are a lot of two-pair combos that might put in a bunch of money.)

*** RIVER *** [Ts 8c Qd Kc] [Js]
bruechips bets $25 (Here's the decision in question. The J puts a 4-card straight on the board. Since he's a donk, he probably won't be folding any Q or better if I bet, but will check anything but an A behind. The only danger is that I bet into a 9 which might have checked behind if I checked as well.)
UTG calls $25

*** SHOW DOWN ***
UTG mucked [Qc 7c] - a pair of Queens

Nice call, moron...limping Q7s UTG...genius play.

Here's another one:

Seat 3: bruechips (SB) ($200)
Seat 7: MP1 ($361.35)
Seat 8: MP2 ($102.15)
Seat 9: CO ($425.75)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bruechips [4d 5d]
MP1 calls $2
MP2 calls $2
CO calls $2
bruechips calls $1
BB checks

*** FLOP *** [5h Ad 4s]
bruechips bets $7 (I usually like to bet out here because it's so likely that somebody has an ace and bottom two pair needs protection.)
BB folds
MP1 folds
MP2 calls $7
CO folds

*** TURN *** [5h Ad 4s] [8s]
bruechips bets $19 (67 gets there, but keep getting value from an ace...)
MP2 calls $19

*** RIVER *** [5h Ad 4s 8s] [7c]
bruechips bets $30 (This seems like a pretty terrible card since he could have 87, A7, A6, 63, all these hands that now beat me...but he'll also be checking behind a bare ace if I check, so I might as well bet to get value from those hands.)
MP2 calls $30

*** SHOW DOWN ***
Seat 8: MP2 mucked [Ac Qh] - a pair of Aces

Enable your raise button preflop, donkey!!

-BRUECHIPS

So Wrong Yet So Right...

I usually try and post hands that I think I played well just becuase that seems to be the best way to explain things...but here was one interesting hand where I totally missed my read on the opponent yet somehow backed my way into a sick value bet. This was down to 3 in a 1-table donk-n-go, with blinds at 80/160.

Seat 1: SB (3,140)
Seat 2: BB (5,105)
Seat 7: bruechips (button) (5,255)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bruechips [6c 7c]
bruechips raises to 400 (I'm chip leader, I'm on the button...vs most opponents I will be raising a pretty wide range)
SB folds
BB calls 240 (This guy had been really tight up until this point. I think his stats were like 13/2 or something. So I interpreted his call as being pretty strong. But not AA/KK, which I thought he'd probably re-raise, not wanting to risk getting sucked out on when he and I were significantly deeper than the SB, who was also a donk.)

*** FLOP *** [9h 7d 5h]
BB checks
bruechips bets 600 (As far as flops go, I can't ask for much better than this. I bet at the time because while I will in general be folding out only worse hands, and have to fold if he check-raises, I just wanted to go ahead and take down the pot if he had nothing rather than checking and having a jack peel off on the turn and losing to QJ or something. Maybe vs. this passive opponent I'd be better off checking back since he's never going to bluff me on the turn.)
BB calls 600 (At this point I put him one pair, and most one pair hands beat me.)

*** TURN *** [9h 7d 5h] [2c]
BB checks
bruechips bets 1,350 (He had been playing so tight, I convinced myself that here he'd be folding 88, T9, 78, A7, etc....)
BB calls 1,350 (He still won't go away....)

*** RIVER *** [9h 7d 5h 2c] [Tc]
BB checks
bruechips bets 2,905, and is all in (He checks again when something of a scare card hits. Again with him playing so tight and clearly not having the nuts, I thought if I shove no way he can call. And there are plenty of hands better than mine he could have. The hands I mentioned above, plus now JT, maybe some random hearts that included the Th...who knows. But I clearly had him misread as my horror at his call turned into confused glee once he turned over his cards and the pot got shipped my way....)
BB calls 2,755, and is all in

*** SHOW DOWN ***
BB (big blind) mucked [5d Ah] - a pair of Fives
bruechips showed [6c 7c] and won (10,290) with a pair of Sevens

Ship the accidental value bet!

-BRUECHIPS

Thanks for Not Stacking Me, Bro! (Part 9)

This one almost speaks for itself...

This may very well be one of the most entertaining hands I've played in a while...a player with a BEST hand prefrop...extracts the MINIMUM for a 2nd best hand prefrop (both hands were an overpair to the board through the river!).  Ok so yes, he raised more than the minimum, preflop...but you get the point.  Seriously folks...this has to be a record of some kind.  This is not a brag so much so as it is a testament to the fact that this player was INCREDIBLY passive postflop.  

Now you may be wondering why I didn't 4b preflop with Kings here...but as evidenced by the HH, the villain was VERY passive and me 4b'ing was NOT going to get any action from anything other than the nuts.  Getting in 200bb's vs a nit is not exactly my idea of +EV.  

How can you not bet AT LEAST one street to exact value from worse hands?  Clearly he was uncomfortable playing that deep IN POSITION with a one pair hand...ROR.  

"The Dream Match"

This weekend we've got the biggest boxing match since Oscar de la Hoya/Floyd Mayweather matchup. When the fight was first announced, many fans were skeptical because of the size difference between the two fighters. But now that the fight is almost here, there's a lot of excitement, assuredly a sold-out house and well over a million PPV buys.

As with most big sporting events, Brackchips and I have some action. He wouldn't have it any other way than to back the Asian dude, so he's got Pacman and I've got the Golden Boy. Certainly at current Vegas odds that's the smarter bet, just because of the size advantage he'll have. While Manny is a great fighter who has shown both power and a strong chin up to 135 lbs, he'll be facing a 160 lb guy for the first time (the fighters must weigh in at 147 lbs Friday, but Oscar will probably put on a dozen or so pounds overnight). While Manny does have a huge speed advantage, he's a guy that likes to fight. I don't see him using his quickness to stay on the outside for 12 rounds.

But I will be rooting for Manny, for two reasons. The first is that I can't stand de la Hoya. Does anybody come off as a bigger fake in interviews? He's got illegitimate children on his payroll just like every other boxer yet he presents himself as this family/business man. Dude, start acting like a boxer and not a CEO. The second reason is that if Manny wins it will set up a HUGE fight with Floyd Mayweather. And I've got to believe the Floyd will come out of retirement for a fight of that magnitude. And I want to see it. It would be the toughest fight of Floyd's career (right now I'd call his bout with Diego Corrales the biggest challenge he faced), and would go a long way towards defining his success in the context of the all-time greats. If Oscar wins, it's possible Floyd would fight him again but...he's already had that deal set up and backed out. Instead we'll probably get a craptastic de la Hoya-Hatton fight, which Oscar getting another huge payday to fight against a guy he'll outweigh by a wide margin. Oscar, how about you fight Antonio Margarito after he beats up your business partner Shane Mosley instead?

Anyway, I hope you guys find a way to get to watch the fight on PPV this Saturday....

-BRUECHIPS

Triple Pwnage

It looked like I wasn't going to be able to score anything out of this DNG as I was low on chips with 5 players remaining, but then these three hands happened, one after the other as I triple-pwned this poor SOB:

Hand #1 (blinds 50/100):

Seat 6: Poor SOB (SB) (3300.00)
Seat 7: bruechips (BB) (1255.00)

** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to bruechips [Ac Kd ]
SB raises to 350
bruechips raises to 1255.00
Poor SOB calls 955
Poor SOB shows Qd, Kh

** Dealing Flop ** [ 2c, As, 4h ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 7c ]
** Dealing River ** [ 4d ]

Pretty standard hand, his call is kinda meh given that I hadn't been super-active up to that point, we were down to 5 players, and he was pretty much tied for second in chips, but it's not a really bad call IMHO.

Hand #2:

Seat 6: Poor SOB (button) (2,045)
Seat 7: bruechips (SB) (2,510)
Seat 9: BB (1,515)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bruechips [Ks 7d]
Poor SOB calls 100
bruechips calls 50 (This is pretty marginal. If I thought the Poor SOB were a better player or if the BB were a good player I'd fold, but since they're both preetty donkish I decided I'd take a flop with them getting 5:1 on a call, fairly confident that the BB will check his option.)
BB checks

*** FLOP *** [8c 7s Ts]
bruechips checks (I was check/folding here, I think...you might think leading would be OK, but I think you get called a lot by Tx,8x,9x, and random broadway cards that have straight draws. I would rather try and keep the pot small while I am out of position with a weak hand and see what develops.)
BB checks
Poor SOB checks

*** TURN *** [8c 7s Ts] [6s]
bruechips checks
BB checks
Poor SOB bets 200
bruechips calls 200 (I pick up a flush draw to go along with my pair. My hand is good enough that I don't want to fold it but weak enough that I don't want to risk my whole stack with it. I think the Poor SOB would have bet the flop if he had any pair (aside from an underpair to the board), two spades, or a 9. So I thought that I'm probably ahead, but the 6 probably improved his hand somehow, like he has A6, or just a single spade in his hand. I guess he could have 76 or 66 too. The other reason for check/calling instead of check/raising is that I can see what the BB does cheaper. If the BB raises, he's got a straight or a flush for sure. I could lead 200 into the BB and button to get the same info, but I don't get quite as much info if I get raised there, since either player could raise me with a single spade. This way, the button will bet 200 into me (instead of a bigger raise if I bet into him), plus his range includes a lot more hands I beat, and also the BB will fold in the face of a bet and a call whereas he might have been more aggro in the face of just a lead into a pot that was checked around on the flop.)
BB folds
*** RIVER *** [8c 7s Ts 6s] [3c]
bruechips checks
Poor SOB bets 500
bruechips calls 500 (Given the way the hand played out and my read, this is an easy call once the 3c hits. Note that he takes down the blinds preflop if he just raises instead of limping the button.)
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Poor SOB shows [Js Qc]

Then Hand #3, just to finish the job...this one just plays itself:

Seat 6: Poor SOB (CO) (1,245)
Seat 7: bruechips (button) (3,410)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bruechips [Jd Jh]
Poor SOB raises to 300
bruechips raises to 800
Poor SOB raises to 1,245, and is all in
bruechips calls 445
Poor SOB shows [8s 8h]
bruechips shows [Jd Jh]

*** FLOP *** [5c Kd 2s]
*** TURN *** [5c Kd 2s] [3c]
*** RIVER *** [5c Kd 2s 3c] [Tc]

I went on to take down the DNG.

-BRUECHIPS