Am I Insane?

All fold to me on the button. I raise with 3s 3c. Both blinds call.


Flop comes Qs 9s 7d. Blinds check, I bet, small blind calls. Note: the small blind plays decently.


Turn comes the Qh. The small blind checks, I bet, the small blind raises.


...


I 3 bet.


Comments?

Puggy

This is a $20-40 game.

i would sometimes play it exactly the same way so, yes, you are in fact insane.

Glad to hear I'm in good company.


I've now been called insane and a big monkey. Who's next?

In this sort of steal/re-steal situation many people would check-raise you here with JT or T8 or 2 spades in addition to a Q or in some cases a 9. Since there are only 2 queens left and dozens of hands he could be semi-bluffing with (and could be pure bluffing) the three bet isn't too bad.


If he calls I think you have to check behind on the river and hope for a busted draw because he is unlikely to lay down a 9 after calling the turn. If he four bets you can fold against almost all opponents.


Regards,


Paul Talbot

If you feel you are insane then you must not see any merit to your play. If you feel you are insane you must believe that your three bet was made out of frustration and was not the correct play. If you feel you are insane you must not understand what "playing" poker is all about. Even if all of these are true you still may not be insane. You may just be lucky that you stumbled upon a valid poker play.


Vince

"In this sort of steal/re-steal situation many people would check-raise you here with JT or T8 or 2 spades in addition to a Q or in some cases a 9. Since there are only 2 queens left and dozens of hands he could be semi-bluffing with (and could be pure bluffing) the three bet isn't too bad."


see my experience has been that at 20-40 while a player who reads this forum would be sure to make this checkraise the vast majority of mid limit players wouldnt even consider this play. ever.


so while i would make this reraise probably way too often, it's quite pointless if it's against an unsophisticated opponent, which is almost always the case.

Given the multiple draws there is very little chance the SB will fold so I don't like the 3 bet. Also, the SB's play so far is fairly consistent with having trip Qs or a full on monster like a full house, again, another reason not to make a move. I think this move is better when the board is hi-low and rainbow. That way you can really put your opponent to the test.

The reason that I made the 3-bet is BECAUSE there were so many draws on board.


If the board was K 5 2 and I get checkraised, I'm looking at a king a very high percentage of the time.


If I call on the turn, I will call the river anyway. So why not 3-bet? I might even get him to fold a bigger pair on the river by doing so (of course this means I have to bet the river).


Puggy

"The reason that I made the 3-bet is BECAUSE there were so many draws on board."


Good reasoning.


"If I call on the turn, I will call the river anyway. So why not 3-bet?"


Good again. If you are planning to fold if he four-bets the turn, and you were planning to call him down had you not made it three-bets, then I think the three-bet is a very good play.


There are hands that he might make a move with that he might also laydown to your reraise on the turn: pocket pairs mainly, and bottom or second pair if you don't have a reckless turn history.


Tommy

"a reckless turn history"


i think i have this. i dont think it's necessarily a bad thing to have though against the sort of players i play against (weak awful clueless, but in some sad way still *trying* to play right).


something: i love this 3 bet the turn check behind on the river play. i overuse it perhaps, ill admit that. i have As4s on the button. weak guy limps early, folded to me and i raise, on blind calls i think, it doesnt matter. it's heads up with EP on the turn and the board is Ah2d9s,6s. he checkraises me and i make it 3 bets. he calls and checks to me on the non spade river and i check behind. he gets *angry* when his AQo is good. "what was i thinking?", "when am i playing there again next?" the fish are giving me lessons, explaining that i need a kicker and so on. i dont show my hand, i dont teach, i just smile and say nice hand.


they think im a maniac there. im loving it.

Hmmmm.... Looks like we found something to disagree about Tommy. If Puggy had absolutely no pair at all then maybe sure, go ahead and make a move. But if the SB has a draw with overcards, does he really care if he puts a bunch of chips in the pot against 33? I sure wouldn't mind. Especially when I take into account the meta game considerations.


But Puggy has a potential winner with the 33. I think on the turn is a great place to cash in the free card and pick off the almost guaranteed bluff on the river. I know this is a sissy way to play the hand but I gotta wonder who wants the free card in this situation?


Weren't pocket pairs supposed to be easy to play? /images/smile.gif

I 3-bet the turn. Small blind calls.


An offsuit 2 hits on the river and we both check.


The small blind shows Q8. I muck ASAP. One of the other players asks to see my hand. They show it. The rest of the table looks at me like I'm insane.


Thanks all for the comments.


Puggy