Playing Scared?

[Moozh]

My first post here (small stakes). Just moved up to 2/4, so hopefully I'll be posting here more often now. Thanks in advance for any help.

Party Poker 2/4 Hold'em (10 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, K/images/graemlins/spade.gif.
<font color="666666">4 folds</font>, <font color="CC3333">MP2 raises</font>, <font color="666666">1 fold</font>, CO calls, <font color="666666">2 folds</font>, <font color="CC3333">Hero 3-bets</font>, MP2 calls, CO calls.

Flop: (9.50 SB) 5/images/graemlins/heart.gif, J/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 2/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="blue">(3 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">MP2 raises</font>, CO folds, <font color="CC3333">Hero 3-bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">MP2 caps</font>, Hero calls.

Turn: (8.75 BB) 4/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, MP2 checks.

River: (8.75 BB) T/images/graemlins/heart.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, MP2 calls.

Final Pot: 10.75 BB
<font color="green">Main Pot: 10.75 BB, between Hero and MP2.</font>

[dejableu]

What made you check the turn? There are only two hands I fear at that point--JJ and AA. He raised preflop so any other set or two pair is highly unlikely. Go ahead and bet here as if you've got the best hand (because you probably do).

[Moozh]

I checked because the preflop three-bet signaled strength and after he capped the river, I had a hard time putting him on anything other than a high pair. I figured I could only beat QQ. Am I seeing monsters?

[zstratt]

Seeing monsters. I'm actually a little surprised he checked the turn as well. A lot of people three bet after being raised to still show strenght of their pf raise even if that strenght is only AK, he was letting you know he had strenght too. I would've bet the turn if he raised you there than I might be worried of JJ. Think you have to bet,

[Bluffoon]

Barring any reads, I bet the turn and pay off AA and JJ here. The important thing is the read on your opponent. Did he just wake up from a twenty minute nap and start betting and raising or has he shown any prior loose or aggressive behaviour.

[Noodles]

well i am not that sure about betting the turn here,ok he did cap the flop after you 3 bet p-f,he must either be overplaying AJ or have better than your hand,
oops wait he coul; have QQ aswell,
wow i dont really know,a flopped cap usually means something quite good unless he is really aggro,

i wonder ig you stopped the hand when you checked would people still be advising to bet the turn,not knowing what the guy did next,
Or maybe i am just a total cautios wimpoid /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[bernie]

If MP2 had capped preflop, then i might be inclined to check the turn. His lack of a cap indicates he doesn't have AA. So that leaves really only JJ to be worried about. I'd bet the turn, if raised, im calling all the way. I don't know this player well enough to lay it down to a turn raise.

That said, since he is an unknown, i can see playing the hand the way you did. At least you didn't check the river through.

b

[Moozh]

Yeah, well when he checked behind on the turn I was pissed because I knew I had just given him a free card. In retrospect, since I 3-bet pre-flop and he only called, I shouldn't have been so scared.

Anyway, our villian flips over 82o for the bottom pair. Precious. So, will I be seeing more plays like this at 2/4 than 1/2 or .5/1?

[Bluffoon]

We can only hope.

[challenger84]

I play this the exact same way, but only because I want to checkraise the turn. 90% of the time your average party player will bet the turn here after capping the flop.

[spamuell]

I think you really butchered the posting of this hand. If you had just written "Hero checks..." on the turn and left it at that, I'm willing to bet your responses would have been very different.

I'm fine with the way you played it, I don't want to get raised on the turn, he's unlikely to be playing a big draw hard on the flop and could easily have a better hand than you. Most of the time, I think he'll bet the turn with worse hands than you as well. Anyway, the card you gave him certainly wasn't free, you went four bets on the flop while in the lead.

[Moozh]

I think you're right about how I posted the hand Spamuell. Next time I'll just include the play up to the 'crucial' decision (which was the turn check here).

It's true that one of the reasons I checked the turn wasn't because I necessarily thought I was behind, but because I didn't want to get raised if I was. I was planning on calling the two bets that I knew would come on the last two streets. His check behind on the turn caught me completely by surprise.