Hyper-aggressive blind defense

[billyjex]

I sometimes feel like people are trying to bully me. I compensate by being aggressive. Is this too aggressive? Stupid aggressive? Or am I not taking any crap ala Artest?

Villian in this hand is unknown, but in my few orbits at this table he has not gotten my attention. The whole table has been tight.

Party Poker 2/4 Hold'em (9 handed)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, J/images/graemlins/club.gif.
UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, CO folds, <font color="CC3333">Button raises</font>, SB folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (4.50 SB) 6/images/graemlins/heart.gif, 7/images/graemlins/heart.gif, T/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">Button raises</font>, Hero calls.

Sometimes I just bet to bet.

Turn: (4.25 BB) J/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="CC3333">Button bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises</font>, <font color="CC3333">Button 3-bets</font>, Hero calls.

How should I feel about the three-bet?

River: (10.25 BB) 5/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="CC3333">Button bets</font>, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 12.25 BB

[Nick C]

This situation doesn't come up all that frequently at the 2/4 tables I've played at, but one thing I've noticed is that a lot of players don't alter their LP raising standards all that much. So, against a lot of players, I think it's more likely than it would be at a higher-limit table that what appears to be a steal-raise in fact indicates a premium hand.

But I don't know. I do see some steal-raises too. And you said the table was tight, which could increase the likelihood of a steal-raise.

Personally, I probably would have folded to the flop raise, thinking I'm probably behind at least a better no-pair hand, and I'm possibly much further behind. I do have the backdoor straight draw to go with the overcards, though, which might persuade me to see one more card.

I think the turn 3-bet means you're behind at least an overpair. Either that, or your opponent is going to keep firing until you relent and finally let him steal your big blind.

If I checkraised the turn and got 3-bet, though, I do at this point have the odds to draw against an overpair (unless it's queens), and I think an overpair is a likely holding. So I'd probably call. (I barely have the odds to draw against AA or KK, though, and I could in fact be drawing dead against a set or flopped straight or thin against JT.)

Then, on the river, it's hard for me to fold top pair in a pot that was heads-up from the outset once I've made it this far.

I doubt you won this, though.

To be honest, I'd probably just check-fold the flop -- in part because I don't have much experience in these steal-defense situations and have too little idea what range of hands my opponent might be raising with. Also, all I have is overcards, and if my opponent also has no pair, one of his cards is nevertheless probably higher than my queen.

[Joshua]

If I truly believed I was being robbed I would either check-raise the flop or check-call (with the intention of check-raising the turn). I think betting out on the flop induces a raise from the opponent so it's not a good bluff. Once the Jack comes on the turn I would check-call the turn and then bet the river. I think check-raising on the turn with the jack lets the cat out of the bag and gives him a chance to escape.