blonde poker forum

I hope you all don't mind, but I enjoy this so much and learn alot from considering your views. This is a hand from the last 3 tables of the main event on Sunday. I am posting it as a staged what would you do here thing. I have chosen it for 2 reasons: 1) I am very proud of it and am showing off a bit and 2) i think it will generate very interesting discussions as it could be played in a number of different ways at every stage, not least folding it before the flop.

anyway, here goes. Blinds 1000-2000 my stack around 80k. My image at this time is fairly tight solid, although I have raised a few pots in the last couple of rounds, showing hands when called.

I limp in from 2nd position with  Ahrt 8h

Called by Lionel at the cutoff. His stack is slightly smaller than mine. Small blind folds big blind (Paul Parker) checks

there is 7000 in the pot

Flop comes  Kh 2h 9s

Big blind checks

What do you do?

By the way, for those of you that don't know them, Lionel is a pretty savvy, loose aggressive player who could have anything at all. Paul is a very solid, experienced player very unlikely to get involved unless he has it.

I'm going to check raise here..

Cry

its a check raise for me, if it doesnt get bet, then u get to see a free card for ur flush, plus u can bet out if u miss the flush, coz noone here in this situation is checking a king and giving a free card, so u know noone has got a king (unless they have 3) if it does get bet u can reraise with the nut flush, coz a check raise is a very powerful move and u could take it there and then

check raise if Lionel bets

if he checks, check too, then bet the turn if it is a blank to have two hopes of winning a) there and then becuase neither is likely to have a king by now and b) by completing the flush if you are called

The check raise was the first thing I thought to do. Thing is, i am taking a generally risk averse strategy in this tourney and Lionel is quite likely to stik it back up me if he has a K, putting me on the exact hand I have. Now I am almost compelled to call for most of my chips. Ugh! Otherwise fold a potential winner and sacrifice alot of chips to a dangerous player. This is exactly the type of decision I am playing to avoid.

My actual play is to bet 6000. I am hoping to win a small pot uncontested, and if not to see how the land lies with Lionel and Paul. Also, I feel I am giving less information away like this. I could be betting the K, flush draw, A9 maybe I limped in with Aces or perhaps simply taking a stab with nothing.

Lionel raised to 22000

Paul in the big blind folds

What do you think of this play, what do you put him on and what do you do?

I'd consider check raising Lionel on that flop.

Don't forget that you have an overcard in the ace if he has top pair.

You must bet here. You have plenty of chips, so just take down the pot.  I know that it is likely that the cut-off will bet, but if he doesn't your free card might outdraw your middle pair.  If you check and the bb bets the turn what do you do?  If you bet the turn and the cutoff raises what do you do?

He doesn't have a pair. ;)

Because you've limped in early position, I think a check/raise is mostly likely the best option and will show a lot of strength from early position against two players.

bollocks thot it was  Ahrt 9h

hmmm opticians visit required

I bet out slightly less and pass to that raise, Lionel is very unlikely to pass any hand to the all in bet. Check raising is also out of the question as Lionel overplays hands and would call with something like K-10. He is also likely to pay you off if you hit the heart. I actually don't mind the limp as it changes your game up a bit and you have a nice stack.
How many chips does Lional have?

Lionel has about the same chips as I do, maybe slightly fewer.

At this point in the hand I think one can make a case for all 3 actions.

1) pass - no shame in that. Have only invested 8000 in this pot so far, getting in deeper could easily result in playing for all my chips with A8. Given my generally risk averse approach to this comp, this would be the most likely action here.

2) calling - 16k for 35 k in pot plus the equity that Lionel is reasonably likely to pay me off if I hit. But I hate the call here for the simple reason that I hand the initiative to Lionel and If I miss on the turn I now have to make a very dangerous play with 1 to come or fold having put 24000 chips in the pot

3) Reraise allin - never a bad play to put the pressure back on your opponent, but obviously risky and thus out of characher for my play this tournament. If you get called you are 45% to win, assuming the Ace is good and 35% if not. Personally, I think Lionel folds hands as strong as KQ or KJ here, fearing I might have limped with Aces. I am actually pretty sure he is playing a hand like K10 or maybe J9, either of which he lays down to me. I judge he needs at least KQ or AK to call here. Much as I hate to disagree with JP here as I am undeniably a spratt to his Barracuda, that was how I saw it at the time.

This was my thinking at the time. You have now been thinking about 30 seconds or so, what do you do?

You re-raise all in, he calls with a hand he shouldn't, you hit and set yourself up for the final and knock him out

but you didn't want the call

All in hoping he has nothing and he folds, also you have possible flush and if you say its against ur nature for the all in move how would you expect him to act if you called this?

1st thing to look at here is the decision to limp.

personally, if Im in this situation, its an easy pass. I would have to have a reason to play from this position with the type of players behind you that you had. "mixing it up" just isnt a good enough reason here. Even if im in top gear, ruling the table, I would prefer a hand like suited connectors or small pair. Some hand that I could flop a less than obvious hand and get paid well, rather than A8 that could flop a second best hand.

 So, you limp, but what are ypu going to do now? Are you going to pass to almost all preflop raises?  Most flops your simply going to check and pass to a bet? whats this play going to prove to the others at the table? that you can limp in early position with less than premium hands? Perhaps, that they can outplay you when u are in early position? The point is that this play could affect your table image, so its important to know what image that your trying to preserve or change.

After the flop you bet because its a good flop and you and you just want to end it here and pick up the 5k profit in the pot and after all, you are representing aces here. I think this is probably the right play now you are here.

now lionel raises, what has he got? i think its a more difficult read now you have limped, whats more, your limp may have deterred him from raising some hands he would normally raise with and given value to some hands he wouldnt normally limp with. having played with lionel it just is not impossible that he has K9 K2 29, 99 22. he would normally raise 99, but what if your limp put him off raising or he was mixing up his play? its also not impossible that he has q10 kx or even 9x, but the point is, the way the hand has been played, you just cant be sure here?

Seeing as you cant be sure of lionels holding, you cant be sure he can give it up. Remember too, that he has raised you on the flop, quite a strong play if he put u on a strong holding preflop, so personally i pass here.

Your raise, however, takes down the pot. This is a superb result. you have made a tidy profit and the other players at the table claim they all knew you had limped with aces. Your image is now impeccable.Your re-steals from now on make you a massive, risk free, profit and  now, everyone thinks twice before stealing from you and every hand you play will be viewed as aces.

Some players egos get the better of them here and they show the bluff, what a waste that would be huh?

in conclusion, i dont play A8 here, instead i wait for easier hands to play and less risky spots.

If i had played it, i would bet the flop and pass for the reraise. Lionel's flop raise is a fairly strong play and i couldnt be that sure that he would lay down here.

Thank you Justin for that valuable and well argued analysis. you know I respect your play and your opinion and I agree with everything you say. At the time, i felt sure he would lay it down and he did. If he did have say, 22 or K9, both very possible, personally I think he flat calls rather than raises. The raise says good, but not massive, hand to me coming from Lionel and I was pretty sure I could make him believe aces, and if I was wrong, well I could still have made my flush. However, having said all that, most of the times I had hands like this in early position I did fold them This was a one-off that went my way, as so much did. Thanks again for taking the time to post.