Foxwoods 20/40--in over my head

[scrub]

Reaching the magical 300 BB mark, long waiting lists, a bruise where the deck has been hitting me in the head this week, and the presence of two terrible players in the must move led me to sit in the Foxwoods 20/40 last night. I felt uncomfortable during this hand, and left during the next orbit.

I'm in LMP with A/images/graemlins/spade.gifJ/images/graemlins/club.gif There is a LP poster who has looked at his hand and has it halfway into the muck already. I've seen BB in the cardroom many of the times I've played there before, but don't have much of a read. He does not seem to be overdefending his blind. I openraise.

Everybody folds but BB, who calls.

The flop is 6/images/graemlins/spade.gif 4/images/graemlins/spade.gif8/images/graemlins/club.gif

BB looks at me for a long time and I think I see him check. I reach down to my stack and toss out a bet, but after I get the chips out there, I realize that BB had thrown out a bet while I was looking at my chips. Now I'm in pretty unfamilar territory--I'm used to having some sense of where I am when I get bet into by the blind here, and I don't usually just call if I'm going to continue in the hand. Then again, if the guy was capable of 3-betting me or betting out again on the turn, maybe I'm glad I accidentally didn't raise.

The turn is the 9 /images/graemlins/spade.gif. BB checks. I decide getting checkraised sucks, so I check.

River is A /images/graemlins/heart.gif. BB bets. I call.

Anyway, I felt pretty uncomfortable during the whole hand. I guess it was some combination of slightly higher stakes than I've played in the past, not having seen my opponent play very often, and inadvertently taking an unfamiliar flop line.

How should I have played it?

scrub

[Turning Stone Pro]

First, be more careful before you act. Make sure a player has either check or bet, not a bad idea to wait until:

1) you see him put chips in; or
2) you hear the dealer say "check" when it is on him.

with regard to the rest of the hand, I think you played it fine but I would consider betting the turn. I don't have a huge problem with taking a free card, either, but if I had a decent table image I would probably bet when weakness shown on the turn, and you have numerous outs if he comes over the top (any spade, plus an A or J could be good, too).

Best of luck at the f-woods 20-40.

TSP

[scalf]

/images/graemlins/blush.gif gr8 post; i like the fact you realized the stakes could influence your play; and got out..the 10-20 he i recently played at foxs was very beatabl; although i booked a loss...

gl

/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif

[stoxtrader]

I think this is actually a pretty good line.

I guess the flp call is the only questionable play, but All raising does is fold worse hands and let better hands get more in.

The turn check is great because it saves at leat a bet when you are behind and possibly wins you an extra bet on the river by inducing a bluff.

I think it was well played.

[mmcd]

I think you played the hand pretty well. I might value bet the turn when checked to (players in this game would often call overcards with K or Q of spades there, and fold a hand like 33 no spade), but since you had the nut draw, I don't think you made a terrible play.

My best guess he has a hand like 2 facecards with a spade and is hoping to bet you off a pair on the A river OR maybe something like A7o here and made a misguided value bet.

As a tight player preflop I'm surprised you didn't get checkraised on this board.

[1800GAMBLER]

[ QUOTE ]

The turn check is great because it saves at leat a bet when you are behind


[/ QUOTE ]

You are more likely to be saving him a bet than saving yourself a bet here.

[ QUOTE ]

and possibly wins you an extra bet on the river by inducing a bluff.


[/ QUOTE ]

The benefit of gainning 1BB the times he 1. doesn't have you beat times 2. the times he doesn't improve times 3. the times he feels like bluffing has cost you giving him a free shot at 3bbs when he could have LOTS of outs.

I bet for the free showdown here. I raise the river also.

[scrub]

I called and lost to A/images/graemlins/heart.gifK/images/graemlins/club.gif.

I thought the other player in the hand took a pretty strange line with his hand.

I contemplated raising the river, but I was pretty surprised that he was willing to bet out at a river ace when I had played the hand consistent with having an ace in my hand. Since he seemed to be a thinking player, I thought it was either a bluff or that he could beat one pair.

I'm used to playing this hand betting or raising the flop, and I think I might have won the hand had I used that line.

Either way, the hand left me feeling pretty off balance, so I decided to take a seat in a more familiar game.

Thanks for the responses!

scrub