J9o in the SB, Blind vs Blind.

[Bob T.]

Online 10-20 game.

Folded to me in the small blind. I have J9o, and I complete. The big blind raises, and I call. The BB, is loose, aggressive, on tilt, whining about bad beats which aren't, and calling people names in a friendly way. He has also chastised me for being a smart ass, which I probably deserved, but he was serving up a lot of straight lines that it wouldn't be right to leave untouched.

Anyway, flop AJ4, rainbow, I check, and he bets, I call.

Turn 2, I check, and he bets, I call.

River 5, I check, and he bets, and I call.

Are there any spots that I could play differently? Was this reasonable?

[thirddan]

i read your hand until the flop, then i said to myself "just call this guy down"...i would have played itt the same...

[Joe Tall]

Sometimes I raise preflop here but I don't think this is one of them. I think your completion is fine. I can't see any other line to take after that, as getting 3-bet sucks in this situation and there is a likelyhood of him betting all the way w/out a pair.

Peace,
Joe Tall

[Bob T.]

i read your hand until the flop, then i said to myself "just call this guy down"...i would have played itt the same...

Well, then you would have played it exactly the same way I did. I thought about it for a bit on the flop, and then decided to check/call all the way.

[helpmeout]

Looks good if you raise he will call/fold unimproved.

If you raise he might 3bet and you really dont want that.

If you are lucky he might have a small PP or KQ,KT type hands.

[Bob T.]

I posted this hand, because I was wondering if I would be ahead often enough to justify calling on all three streets in a two big bet pot.

Apparently everyone agrees with the play that I made in the heat of battle. In that case, you would have all won the pot, my opponent had pocket 8s, and as a bonus, you would all also get called 'moron' by the BB.

[AceKQJT]

[ QUOTE ]
I posted this hand, because I was wondering if I would be ahead often enough to justify calling on all three streets in a two big bet pot.

Apparently everyone agrees with the play that I made in the heat of battle. In that case, you would have all won the pot, my opponent had pocket 8s, and as a bonus, you would all also get called 'moron' by the BB.

[/ QUOTE ]

WOW...I like this guy. That is the exact phrase I like to use when someone raises the river when I bet the nuts, then calls my 3-bet /images/graemlins/grin.gif "Moron" /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I think you are ahead here more than enough times to make the check-call correct.

--Casey

[Entity]

Is 10/20 so different that you'd deviate from a check/call, check/call, bet line? Why / why not, especially given the river?

Rob

[thirddan]

i don't play 10/20, nor can i speak for Bob, but it seems like this guy was on pretty bad tilt or crazy aggro so check/call the river prevents us from having to deal with being raised, which would really suck...

[cold_cash]

I think against this particular opponent checking the river is okay because I'm guessing he'll bet more hands than he'll call with, and it also seems this is a spot where being bluff raised on the river is a possibility. Also take into account an aggressive/tilting opponent might raise with just top pair if hero bets the river.

I guess what I'm saying is that I think the river check is okay because we're probably paying off a raise here, and there's a good chance our opponent will bet many hands we beat if checked to. Is this correct, or am I up too late?

[ QUOTE ]
He has also chastised me for being a smart ass, which I probably deserved, but he was serving up a lot of straight lines that it wouldn't be right to leave untouched.


[/ QUOTE ]

This was my favorite part of the hand, by the way.

[Shillx]

I think the key words are 'on tilt'. I would let him just steam off his money. If you bet and he has an ace, you don't have to agonize over calling a raise that you would probably have to.

The Shill

[StellarWind]

Looks good.

Don't be a smartass. Bad for business.

[Bob T.]

Don't be a smartass. Bad for business.



Usually I agree, but in this case, I think it was good to respond to him. He enjoyed it, and seemed to be having fun with it.

Our table gets shorthanded.

He says, 'I can't believe our table is getting short, and people are on waiting lists for other games.'

I say, 'Yeah, and they could come over here, where we have a moron, an idiot, and a retard that they could play with. /images/graemlins/grin.gif.

He says, 'Exactly right, lol'

The namecalling, and jokes were going on for a couple of hours, and although sometimes it seems mean when that happens, at this table, it seemed like the players were having fun with it.

[Bob T.]

That is pretty much what I was thinking on the river, with more detail. Thanks.

[Entity]

Didn't realize the guy was playing like Tilty McTilterson. I like the hand completely then.

Rob

[spamuell]

Bob (or others),

Do you find yourself just calling a lot heads-up? I like the way you played this hand, I would have done the same thing. In general, though, I have recently noticed that I frequently just call down heads-up, even with fairly strong hands like top pair weak kicker (if that pair is aces and I am in position after limping in LP with, say, A6s). Sometimes I'll raise the river but only if I can confidently fold to a 3-bet.

Usually I just hope to either rope-a-dope or lose the minimum. Obviously specific hand examples would be necessary to answer this question completely but do you find just calling down heads-up with medium-strong hands is often a good strategy against unknowns?

[Bob T.]

Obviously specific hand examples would be necessary to answer this question completely but do you find just calling down heads-up with medium-strong hands is often a good strategy against unknowns?

Yes, with mitigating factors being my hand, my position, and my recent history with this player.

[StellarWind]

An idea I adapted from bridge is useful in this situation.

Your opponent probably has a better idea who is ahead than you do. We are sort of thinking 'way ahead/way behind', but he probably knows which it actually is. Usually he's either betting a nice ace or else he has nothing or a small pair.

A good reaction to an information disadvantage is to take his decisions away from him. That is best accomplished by being passive. The problem with betting is if he folds he'll probably be right and if he raises he'll probably be right. Don't give him a chance to make those good decisions. Keep the money coming in when you are ahead and minimize the action when you are behind.

This works better with position because you can prevent free cards. Here you have to do the best you can by checking and hoping he bluffs when he's behind.

[spamuell]

A good reaction to an information disadvantage is to take his decisions away from him. That is best accomplished by being passive. The problem with betting is if he folds he'll probably be right and if he raises he'll probably be right. Don't give him a chance to make those good decisions.

I thought I knew this, and then you said it, and now I know it so much better.