THE MIRAGE: 5-10 HAND

Hello,


Now that I have some free time here at the office. I thought I would start posting a few hands ( that I remember ) from my recent journey to Las Vegas.


Here is a hand that could have been played a few ways ( in my opinion ). but I will just mention how I played it and let others comment. The players at this time are actually halfway solid.


I am forced low with rolled dueces. ( suits unimportant in this hand ) I bring it in for $2.


All fold to 10c who completes to $5.

All else fold to my immediate right with 3s who re-raises to $10.

I re-raise to $15 and both call.


4th

----

3s catches a Jc and both me and my opponent catch small unsuited rags.


3sJc is high and bets $5 again.

I raise to $10.

1st original raiser folds and 3sJc just calls.


5th

---

My opponent catches an Ace and bets into me again for $10. I just call.


6th

---

We both catch bad. He bets $10 again and I call.


River

----

Opponent bets into me again. I do not improve. I just call.


Comments welcomed.


CJ

You're right. it could have been played a few different ways, all seemingly logical.


On the 3rd, your reraise is fine, specially at these limits. However, my own personal bias is to call, not to reveal the full strenght of my hand


On the 5th, it seems that you thought he has trip As or perhaps trip Js. However, I would not have dicounted the possibility of KK or QQ in the hole and raised him here. I'd expect him to call, but if get reraised, I'd call here and on subsequent streets. If he just called my reraise on the 5th, I'd bet on the 6th, with him not improving and checking to me, and agian on the river.

I would wait till fifth to get a raise in, three 2's are a monster and you need to try to get max ev out of the hand especially seeing that you took it 3 handed, give them a littlerope if they make a bigger hand and you don't fill well thats poker, you can't win what you don't build regardless off the outcome

one thing i would say is that it makes a difference where you were playing and at what time. in teh afternoon games at the mirage for example i think you played it right since they are very tight. in the evening games you should have continued to play fast. of course this is from my last visit a while ago and may no longer be true.


no matter what his hand, this show that you should give respect to a player who bets into a reraiser after he calls. what did he show down three aces or aces full? if not i am guessing you were playing in the evening. :-)


Pat

My preference when I am the bring-in with rolled-up trips is to bring it in for the minimum and hope to re-raise. That said, when it is two bets back to you and you come over the top, you're basically announcing that you have rolled-up Deuces or maybe pocket Aces. In this case, I would have waited until fifth street to pop it. Having raised on third, raising on fourth is fine. I am generally not one to play rolled-up trips slowly. I've had them cracked too many times (including in a recent $2800 pot in $30/60 stud/8). Build the pot early and hope for the best.


I gather that you were afraid of pocket Aces. If he had had Aces, he might well have made it four bets on third street, or he might have re-raised on fourth. I think that it is fairly likely that his hand is something other than pocket Aces, so I would likely have popped it on fifth or sixth street, most likely sixth. If he comes over the top, well, that's life. /images/smile.gif

Pat,


You wrote the key point to this posting..


'no matter what his hand, this show that you should give respect to a player who bets into a reraiser after he calls.'


When he caught that Ace on fifth, I knew I was in trouble.. But since other posible hands made since also like pocket KK,QQ or Aces-Up ( especially given my board ).. I called. I don't see any reason to raise,cause if I am re-raised I (basically) have to call anyway.


As I suspected, my opponent showed me three Aces and won the pot.


CJ

Nobody has mentioned it, but I think raising the river unimproved is a viable play against many opponents who will not three bet here without a house. Thus, you make your "value raise" later, in a place where you cannot be reraised without the safety of folding.


Mike