against three flush on 5th

$10-$20 Stud with $1 ante and $5 bring-in, eight handed. I enjoy playing stud, but I have little experience against good players.


The player on my left brings it in with a deuce. All fold to the player to my right. He raises to $10 with a live Ace. I hold (J T) T. All tens and jacks are live and the player with the Ace up has excellent steal position, so I decide to re-raise to $20. Bring in folds and my only remaining opponent calls.


Me: (J T) T 8

Op: (? ?) Ad 3d


Op checks, I bet, he calls. The diamonds are fairly live.


Me: (J T) T 8 3

Op: (? ?) Ad 3d 9d


My Op check, I think for a little while and then bet again. He check-raises me. I call.


We both get blanks on 6th street. I call him both on 6th street and the river with my lone pair. He shows me a flush and a pair of treys.


#1 Do I suck?


#2 Would it have been alright if I had two pair on fifth street?

Your play on 3rd and 4th was fine, but your bet on the 5th was a huge mistake. His worst possible hand is a pair with an Ace kicker and his best obviosly a made flush. There is no chance he'd fold to your raise. You should've checked here, to keep the pot small, and folded on the 6th to his bet, unless made trips giving you 4 to 1 shot of filling up matching pot odds of 4 to 1.


With 2 pairs on the 5th you have 5 to 1 shot of filling up by the river. When you got check-raised, you have to put him at least on Aces up, so you must fill up to win. There was $120 in the pot and you have to invest $40 to see the river, a 3.5 to 1 pot odd. I'd fold.

that is an awfully big bring in for 10-20. was this a home game?


the reraise is probably not the best play. against an ace i think the best play is to just call and bet out. if he has aces then you save a bet and you dont want the bring in to fold since you have to improve anyway. but i cant fault a raise if he is in a steal position.


there was a post recently on another forum about the throwing fastballs essay. this hand may have been taken directly from it. this is a situation where you should consider checking behind him. tough spot but i would probably bet here to avoid the free card.but its a close call.on fifth street when you get checkraised you should clearly fold.


pat

You should have definately checked on fifth.. Problem here is, a good opponent would literally check-raise with nothing more than a four-flush with overcards against your board.


CJ

The situation turns pretty sour on fifth-street. Your hand doesn't look like the kind you want to be married to, and your opponent’s third diamond makes his hand impossible to read. In addition to the other ominous possibilities, he might have had Aces to start and smooth-called your raise to set up the check-raise on fifth (He’s reading you!).


However, I think your bet was not so bad—against a weak player. You might have picked up the pot right there (fifth), or been a small favorite against a calling station, or been able to comfortably throw your hand away to a check-raise. Against a good player, I think you’re putting yourself into a situation where you can be easily outplayed.


Tom D

Thank you bravo cat, pat dicaprio, CJ and Tom D!


Would it be a good play to check on Fifth Street and then call him down if he hits a blank and bets again? Or don't you put any more money in the pot, at all?


If he bets out on Sixth Street, is it best to pass?

Hello,


Calling a sixth street bet, after checking 5th. That is a tougher decision and is very player dependant. In this instance, with an Ace raising third, and with only jacks, I think we could safely pass. With two pair, then a call is justified.


CJ