Wild 10-20 Hand: Brilliance or Fishery

I'm playing in my usual crazy 10-20 stud home game. There is a $1 ante, and no bring-in. High card starts and can check or bet. Ace opens for $10. This player is borderline psychotic and will raise and reraise with a complete bluff and rarely make laydowns unless there is no way he is winning (then it's 50/50). I see a dead ace out and raise to $20 with my hand. I am cold called in one spot by a calling station who will only get out if there is heavy aggression but is know to make big laydowns. The ace just calls.


3rd Street

Loony (x,x) Ah


Me (Q,Q) 8d


Passive Fish (x,x) 3d


On 4th street, all hell breaks loose, as we all pair our door cards.


Loony (x,x) AhAd


Me (Q,Q) 8d8c


Passive Fish (x,x) 3d3h


Loony bets $20. I raise to $40. Now fish goes into a huddle, thinks and thinks. I know he has trip 3's. He mucks them in disgust. Loony reraise to $60. I call. I do not think he has trip aces or aces up here. In fact, I am quite sure he just has aces bc he would usually turn the heat up on 3rd if he was already paired. I call.


The rest of the hand is almost unimportant. He keeps catching bricks and so do I and I just call down (he did have 3 hearts on 6th). I put $140 in on this hand. How many would have folded 4th and looked for a cheap way out? Was I right or wrong. Results to follow.

He had AA and nothing else and my Queens up won a monster pot. The other player fumed that he mucked trip 3's (I think a good fold by him but a better 4th street raise by me). Comments on all this appreciated.

HMM u played the man rather then the cards which is great. However this is the worst fold i can think of if you are going to fold trips on 4th street. If the fish is folding trips like that then what is his waiting for???? ( quads maybe?

).Anyway Jeff since You are a good player and i play really soft(according to You) I would like to challenge You to a small 8 16 freeze on paradise. Let's who is really soft


BIGSTU

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Hey Jeff,

I too like your 4th. street raise. It was the best way to play the hand since you knew your opponents so well. The third player must have been a fish if he called those two bets with a pair of treys, regardless of his kicker. I would have had to put any sane opponent on a most likely three-flush in that instance.

As far as the Ace goes I agree that he would have popped it again on 3rd st. if he had the real thing. With a dead Ace already out, meaning he has to have the case one, you are left with an easy call against him on 4th, but a "brilliant " raise to get the best hand out. Nice and well thought out play.


Mike

Hello,Jeff,

I would have folded my two underpairs against his overpair.

Even if he doesn's have two pair on 4th,he can easily obtain another pair on one of the later streets.

But I did play my two underpairs aggressively against a PROBABLE overpair--so I'm not following my own advice,am I(LOL)


Sittng Bull

If I am 90% sure he only has aces, how far ahead am I? What is my mathematical advantage, and anyone else think I should have ditched it?


Jeff

Hello,Jeff,

You played it correctly. In 1/5 to 10/20, I do not like to play "close call" situations.

This is one reason I will not maximize my hourly rate.

I just can't take that much pressure.

I like to have a bigger % hand! I'm not called "Sitting Bull" for nothing(LOL)!

Happy pokering

Sitting Bull