Lots of action: a hand-reading excercise.

[SpaceAce]

PokerStars $3/$6 full game. I'm playing a bunch of tables but I have enough of a read on the guy to my left to know that he isn't much for bluffing; if he's acting strong, he's strong. I'm not saying he's good, just straightforward.

I get red nines in the big blind. The action is limped all the way around to me. This is the first family pot I have seen in a long time.

The flop: 295 with two clubs.

The small blind checks, I check and the action is checked to a late position player who bets. Two people call and I check-raise. The player directly to my left calls two cold, the bettor three-bets, I cap, the person to my left calls two more cold and when all is said and done, four of us see the turn.

The turn: 7 of not-clubs.

I bet out. Now the player to my left wakes up and raises. The tagalong player folds and the aggressor from last street calls two cold. I three-bet, the player to my left caps and the third player calls two more cold. I call.

The river: 2 of not-clubs.
Final board: 29572

I bet, the player to my left raises, late position calls two cold, I three-bet, player to my left caps, late position calls two cold and I call.

So, what cards were we holding and how did we play them? This was a hell of a hand given the generally weak-tight texture of the PokerStars $3/$6 game.

SpaceAce

[bdk3clash]

"I get red nines in the big blind."
...
"So, what cards were we holding..."

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you had 99. What the hell, I'll be specific and put you on 9/images/graemlins/heart.gif9/images/graemlins/diamond.gif.

Guy on your left should have 22 or 55 here, more likely 55.

Since I don't know the exact flop, tag-along player could have a lame overpair like TT or JJ or something like A/images/graemlins/club.gif2/images/graemlins/club.gif, something like that.

[Alexthegreat]

seems pretty obvious that the aggro has 55....could possibly have 77.....The cold caller has a flush draw with the 2 /images/graemlins/club.gif in his hand.....he could have the 7 and 2 /images/graemlins/club.gif

I'm not sure what this post is for though....pretty standard hand here....congrats on the large pot...

[sfer]

I prefer betting, not checkraising the flop, hoping for a raise, seeing where I am in relation to it, and planning the rest of the flop/my turn action appropriately.

[sthief09]

if you lost to quad 2s then it's the poker gods getting back at you for raising 22 UTG at our 2+2 2/4 table back in March and flopping quads against JSD's AA /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[SpaceAce]

[ QUOTE ]
"I get red nines in the big blind."
...
"So, what cards were we holding..."

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you had 99. What the hell, I'll be specific and put you on 9/images/graemlins/heart.gif9/images/graemlins/diamond.gif.

Guy on your left should have 22 or 55 here, more likely 55.

Since I don't know the exact flop, tag-along player could have a lame overpair like TT or JJ or something like A/images/graemlins/club.gif2/images/graemlins/club.gif, something like that.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL, by the time I noticed, I couldn't edit.

SpaceAce

[SpaceAce]

[ QUOTE ]
seems pretty obvious that the aggro has 55....could possibly have 77.....The cold caller has a flush draw with the 2 /images/graemlins/club.gif in his hand.....he could have the 7 and 2 /images/graemlins/club.gif

I'm not sure what this post is for though....pretty standard hand here....congrats on the large pot...

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not quite that straightforward. If I hadn't botched and posted what I held, the mystery would be a bit deeper. Results coming soon.

SpaceAce

[SpaceAce]

[ QUOTE ]
I prefer betting, not checkraising the flop, hoping for a raise, seeing where I am in relation to it, and planning the rest of the flop/my turn action appropriately.

[/ QUOTE ]

I considered this but with the clubs out, I was hoping to get in some bets right there and possibly force some of the players to call two cold.

SpaceAce

[x_Gamblor_x]

My guess is that lefty limped with 77, 55, 22 or 6c8c. Ac9c is out for me because of his raise on the turn together with your "straightforward not strong" read. I lean to 68c because that gives him more incentive (13 outs to a strong hand) to call the flop cold. That would explain him raising the turn with a made staight. I would have to ask myself if he's the type of player who'd limp with a hand like that from ep - or would he only limp with a small pair?

I also guess that your lp preflop raiser has a decent overpair that he is hoping will hold up. I don't put him on a flush draw because of his calling down on the river.

[x_Gamblor_x]

I completely agree with that check. You can almost be sure someone will bet with that many limpers.

[SpaceAce]

[ QUOTE ]
if you lost to quad 2s then it's the poker gods getting back at you for raising 22 UTG at our 2+2 2/4 table back in March and flopping quads against JSD's AA /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Hah, that was a great hand but, believe me, the poker gods have more than exacted their justice in the interim /images/graemlins/smile.gif Did I really raise that one pre-flop? Come to think of it, I did, didn't I? By the way, that happened AFTER the 2+2 table, when we all sat down together and tore up that $2/$4 game (unless I flopped quad 2s twice that day and just don't remember it).

OK, here are the results:

I, surprisingly, had 99 for top set on the flop. The late position player, who came on strong on the flop but went into call-down mode on the turn, had 55 for the flopped second set. The under the gun player who passively absorbed a ton of action on the flop then went nuts on the turn had 22 for flopped bottom set, rivered quads.

What I think makes this hand interesting is not that the quad twos put in an appearance but rather which hand they showed up in. After the ferocious flop action, having UTG suddenly come to life on the turn was confusing. The turn seemed like a blank to me, yet this opponent who had called a zillion bets on the flop was suddenly becoming aggressive. Usually, I would put UTG on the flopped or turned nuts but 68 under the gun calling two cold twice on the flop seemed unlikely. Still, he played the turn like the nuts and I was close to being convinced.

When the river paired the deuce, I figured my hand was good. I was a little worried about the late position player because I didn't put him on a draw. The way he played, I thought he had a big hand but when he failed to bet out or reraise the river, I figured his big hand had to be 55 or an overpair. The last place I expected to see 22 was in UTG's hand. I just didn't give serious credit to the idea that anyone could believe they were "slow playing" 22 given the flop action and my obvious show of strength on the turn. If 22 were going to put in an appearance, I expected it to be in LP's hand.

This hand was noteworthy to me because it is rare that I am thrown so far off by a player's action. I try to keep an open mind about what my opponents might be holding, even when it seems unlikely, but in this case I almost completely dismissed the one holding that could beat me on the river. I'm just glad there is a cap because I would have put in a few more bets on that river if I had been given the chance.

SpaceAce

[SpaceAce]

[ QUOTE ]
I completely agree with that check. You can almost be sure someone will bet with that many limpers.

[/ QUOTE ]

That was my belief, as well.

SpaceAce

[SpaceAce]

[ QUOTE ]
My guess is that lefty limped with 77, 55, 22 or 6c8c. Ac9c is out for me because of his raise on the turn together with your "straightforward not strong" read. I lean to 68c because that gives him more incentive (13 outs to a strong hand) to call the flop cold. That would explain him raising the turn with a made staight. I would have to ask myself if he's the type of player who'd limp with a hand like that from ep - or would he only limp with a small pair?

I also guess that your lp preflop raiser has a decent overpair that he is hoping will hold up. I don't put him on a flush draw because of his calling down on the river.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your thinking is similar to mine. I was playing multiple tables so I didn't have a pinpoint on UTG's limping standards but I thought a pair was more likely than 68s/o.

SpaceAce

[x_Gamblor_x]

quack quack