HU w/ Overcards

[elbuddha]

Hopefully this hand is boring and standard. But I'm suffering a 150BB downswing over 2000+ hands, and am questioning every move I make.

Villian seems kinda loose but not a maniac, and is capable of being aggressive.

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (9 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with K/images/graemlins/club.gif, A/images/graemlins/diamond.gif.
<font color="666666">2 folds</font>, MP1 calls, MP2 calls, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises</font>, CO calls, <font color="666666">3 folds</font>, MP1 calls, MP2 calls.

Flop: (9.40 SB) 9/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, 7/images/graemlins/heart.gif, 3/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="blue">(4 players)</font>
MP1 checks, MP2 checks, <font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, CO folds, MP1 folds, MP2 calls.

Turn: (5.70 BB) T/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
MP2 checks, <font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, MP2 calls.

River: (7.70 BB) J/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">MP2 bets</font>, Hero folds.

Final Pot: 8.70 BB

Maybe not auto-bet the flop?
Maybe not bet the turn?
Maybe not fold the river?

[Nick C]

These hands are difficult. I don't think there's any standard way to play them.

Often, I'd play the hand the way you did. I'd probably bet this flop with three opponents. With two, I almost always would; with four, I'd be more inclined to check.

Heads-up on the turn I want to bet and try to take the pot right here. But I am tempted to check behind and take the free card. I don't like the ten very much. And I don't like the possibility of getting checkraised, because I'll fold to that, but I'd (barely) have the odds to call if I'm behind but an ace or king on the river would have made my hand best.

When I get bet into on the river, I usually fold, wondering if I just surrendered the pot to a stab with something like an unimproved ace-rag. I think often such bets are weak made hands (such as bottom pair, ace kicker) that Villain planned to call with anyway and decided to bet. In such cases, a raise might push him off a better hand. But Villain's hand will often be better than that (such as a rivered straight or two pair that he was worried would get checked through, given the board, and maybe he wouldn't fold bottom pair anyway), so I usually fold and occasionally call.

[htc1278]

I have problems with these hands as well. My problem is that when an opponent hits a MP or has a small PP that opponent will almost always call to the end no matter what you do (I think that's what was happening here--please don't tell me that he hit a straight on the river and that's why he woke up!).

Maybe not auto-bet the flop? No, bet the flop.
Maybe not bet the turn? Bet the turn (no one has shown any strength yet).
Maybe not fold the river? Tough call. Any PP or randomly made pair and he wins. Any 8 and he wins. You read him as a loose aggressive player (but not a maniac) and I think he has you beat here. I'd save the bet for another hand and fold like you did (unless I thought that there was about a 1 in 4 chance that he'd fold to a raise here but I doubt it with his calls all along...).