Shall we do another

[MXRider]

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (5 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

Button ($67.40)
SB ($15.30)
BB ($48.55)
UTG ($25.10)
MX ($45.75)

Preflop: MX is MP with , .
1 fold, MX raises to $0.85, Button calls $0.85, SB calls $0.75, BB calls $0.60.

Flop: ($3.40) , , (4 players)
SB checks, BB bets $3, MX raises to $12.4, Button folds, SB folds, BB calls $9.40.

Turn: ($28.20) (2 players)
BB checks, MX bets $29, BB raises to $35.3 (All-In), MX calls $3.50 (All-In).

River: ($93.20) (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $93.20

[Piemaster]

Well played I think. Are all these hands those where it turns out you got all-in with the worst of it?

[Scully]

This smells of a set to me. The lead out followed by the CRAI looks like a monster to me. It could also be JJ or QQ, but it might also be AA, unless he's doing something screwy with 57 or 79. Hard to put him on this given the PF call, but not impossible.

I would raise a little less on the turn, but even then it'd be pretty tough to get away from it anyway.

Just one of those hands that suck I reckon

[poker_Elmo]

I play it the same - no way you can get away from this on the turn when only one pot-sized bet is left. Further, on the flop you have to raise with all the draws out there.

[MXRider]

[emmapeel]

I'm calling the flop. I'm not playing for 180BB stacks with this hand.

I'll get more information by the time the turn comes and then I can decide if I want to call any more bets.

EP

[emmapeel]

I'm baffled by the responses.

For me, this play is only correct if the table is extremely loose. I suppose, since it is the BB that 99+ might only call pre-flop so these hands are possible. But is villain going to play for 180BB stacks with JJ against a likely over-pair? It's possible but I think it more likely that Hero is getting stacked here.

EP

[ciaran]

Temporarily moved here from NL and bumped for our expert's opinions.

[royze1]

I'd like to know some reads. Player/table/our image.

I'm not sure it's possible to give a good line here. For instance that is a fairly scary flop for a set if BB flopped one. The correct play would be to lead strong and hope OR has a big PP and raises the draws out. If he does that, by raising he the OR is likely trapped for his stack. Is BB smart enough to know this and play his set fast? Or is he a trappy player with sets? Is he likely to be leading a draw? If so will he call a raise that is pot committing MP on the turn? Fishy players like to lead bluff at pfr's, while stronger players usually do it to trap. What is this guy? How much do the players left to act pay for draws? What is their range for even being in the pot?

How active have we been? Are we raising a lot both pre & post flop? What type of hands are we showing when we do? Are we showing a willingness to get into big pots with single pairs? Are we getting blown off pots frequently?

There are so many variables that just posting a hand, looking for input and then trusitng that input is correct is asking for too much imho. I don't mean to offend, so don't take any, I can be too direct. This I know.

I can see times where i'd fold this on the flop without thinking twice, times where I'd play as you did and times where I do something entirely different. So once again, it depends.

[NickChristenson]

Okay, I'll throw in my $0.02 on this hand.

First, I think the pre-flop raise seems reasonable, but I'm not happy when I get three callers. I certainly don't want to be getting three callers when I raise in general. If getting three callers is something I could have anticipated, then I'm probably making a mistake by not having my pre-flop raise be larger. Of course, sometimes it just lines up where you get a lot of callers. Perhaps this is just one of those times.

Okay, so four people see the flop. It comes favorable. A made straight is possible, but it seems to me that we can fairly expect the pre-flop raise to have chased most 75's out.

Flush draws, on the other hand, are entirely possible, as are sets. This is a moderately dangerous flop, but we could have seen a lot worse.

On the flop, we get bet into. This causes me some concern, especially with two more people to act behind me. I normally don't like making small raises, but here is one situation where I do like it. In our book, Russ and I call making a small raise here the "Minimum Raise Squeeze Play". If we raise, not only do we put pressure from our bet on the two players yet to act at minimum cost, but they face the additional pressure of knowing that we've reopened the betting so the early position raiser has a chance to reraise. If they have any clue whatsoever (and I know that's a big "if" in games these size), they have to be reluctant to keep coming. So, I'd make it $6 to go.

I assume if MX had done this in the hand example, the button and SB would fold and the BB would call. If the BB re-raised, that would be enough for me to be willing to dump the hand. However, just the call is fairly spooky.

Turn comes Tc. BB checks. What do I do? I think I check back. I don't like to give a free card to a draw, but he's already "said" he has a made hand when he bet on the flop into a possible overpair. The big problems come from (a) the fact that we're playing this hand fairly deep and (b) he's got a much better idea of what I'm holding than I have of what he's holding. I hate to give a free card to a possible draw, but on balance keeping the pot small here seems like the lesser of evils.

The river comes 3d. I have no idea what he'd do. If he checks, I'll probably check back, but sometimes I might bet for value. If he has either the cards or the stones to check/raise the river after going check/check on the turn, I'll tip my cap. The more likely I think my opponent is to make such a play, though, the more likely I am to check it back on the end.

By my calculations, if the hand played this way the pot would be about $15-ish on the river. If he makes a reasonable-sized bet on the end, say, up to $12 or so, I'm calling unless I've got an amazing read on him. It might be the feared set, it might be a busted flush. Heck, it might be one pair. If he overbets the pot, I've got a tough judgment to make.

If a flush card comes on the end and he bets, I'm more likely to fold. (If a flush card comes on the end and he checks, I'm almost certainly checking back.) If he doesn't have the flush, he can't be completely certain that I don't have it. If he's seen me play enough, he would know that I'm at least capable of playing AhKh (or AhXh) the same way.

I think this hand is a lot easier to play than the JJ example. Why? One big reason. In this example we have position. Basically, it saves a bet here in a pot I'd rather keep small. In many cases, having position will save a bet. In limit poker, that's nice. In big-bet poker, that can be huge.

In any case, back to how the hand plays out. Pre-flop the BB has to put MX on either big cards or an overpair to the flop. MX keeps on coming, but BB is happy to check-raise MX on the turn all-in. There are only three possibilities: (a) BB can beat any one-pair hand, (b) BB is running a hell of a bluff, (c) BB is a complete idiot. Not knowing anything about BB, my tendency is to give him the benefit of a doubt, at least if he wants to play for my whole stack.