slowplay or bet?

[schwza]

playing a 30+3 at paradise. sorry i don't have the hand history, will recreate as best as i can.

i've been raising preflop a fair amount and usually following through with a bet on the flop when called, and haven't gotten picked off yet (with a call or c/r).

i am in the cutoff with 2200 and A9o. villain in SB has 700. blinds 15/30. 7 players left, top 3 pay.

folded to me in the CO, i make it 90. villain calls.

flop: A 9 4 rainbow. pot = 210

villain checks. should i bet or check behind? i'll post my action and reasoning in a bit.

[jnh24]

My initial reaction is to check here and hope to induce some action on the turn.

But I think betting here is better. Depending on the SB (you didn't include a read), you may pick up the pot right away. I'd bet small (1/3 to 1/2 of the pot) and hope he comes along. Then push harder on the turn.

[bigredlemon]

I'd bet it and put him to the test.

If he comes over the top of you, he could have you dominated or else just be playing back at you thinking you have a marginal hand. I'd call it and see if he bets the turn.

[jnh24]

What could he be dominated with? Would a short stack call with aces or nines in the hole? The only hand I would give a second thought to is a set of fours.

[microbet]

I like betting 1/2 the pot too. Villian will probably put you on Ax other than two pair, or PP that doesn't make a set. If he has AK-AJ he may make you happy with a decent sized raise.

If you check, he will probably either put you on either nothing or a slow play and a monster. Either way, it will make it hard for you to get much money out of him.

If he has trips you are in trouble and will probably only be able to get away from it if he makes a big raise and you are pretty sure he is tight and not aggressive. But you can't win them all.

[DemonDeac Holding Rockets]

bet. you gotta bet the flop sometimes when YOU DO HAVE IT. if you check and the hand gets shown down, some people might see that if you raise PF and bet flop, you got nothing. but if you raise PF and check flop, you're strong. bet

also depends on your read of villain, but bet and take it down.

[bigredlemon]

my reading comprehension isn't what it used to be

[adanthar]

Great place to underbet (make it about 75-90) and watch for the bluff checkraise.

[schwza]

i bet it. one thing on my mind was that i usually bluff when i miss, so it'd be good to bet now in case the hand winds up getting shown down. also, checking on an A-high flop after raising pre-flop might look suspicious. that is, i might be more likely to get action from a 9 by betting the flop rather than checking behind (especially if a T-K hits on the turn).

checking gives 2 outs to a pocket pair, who will get my stack if he hits.

the biggest one for me is that there isn't a clear hand i'm hoping for him to make. if he has, say KQ and hits a K, i probably still won't win much. if i had AA on a 942 board, i'd be more inclined to check and hope the villain hits top pair, but here the villain will either spike a set or continue looking at a crappy hand (one exception would be if villain has 9x or 4x and hits two pair or trip 9's - not too likely though). villain could also pick up a draw, which i guess would be moderately good for me.

the argument for checking the flop is to induce a bluff on the turn. but a turn bluff will only be ~T150. if i bet, i might induce a bluff c/r, which will be for villain's remaining T600. yeah, probably less likely than a bluff on the turn, but it would be for a lot more chips.

i bet (T150, i think), and villain folded. my roommate was watching and was lobbying for a check.

[schwza]

[ QUOTE ]
If he has trips you are in trouble and will probably only be able to get away from it if he makes a big raise and you are pretty sure he is tight and not aggressive. But you can't win them all.

[/ QUOTE ]

there's absolutely no way i'm folding this hand except *maybe* if the turn and river are paired cards above a 9 (counterfeiting my 2 pair) and i haven't bet the flop or turn.

[microbet]

Valid, but out of context, as I'm advocating a bet.

[esbesb]

Underbet the pot. I'd say about 1/3 of the pot. Hopefully you can induce a bluff. Maybe you will get a call with a medium pair or something. Checking after raising is too suspicious in this situation.

[pooh74]

[ QUOTE ]
Great place to underbet (make it about 75-90) and watch for the bluff checkraise.

[/ QUOTE ]

and the winner is....Adanthar.

bingo

[MikeyEdge]

I would make a pot sized bet and hope for the raise all-in. He is either going to fold now or go all-in. He won' t be calling trying to draw to a KQ here. I would put him on a small pocket pair like 7-7. And I'd rather make him pay to try and hit his set if he is so inclined.

With 7 players left I would probably wait to make a move like checking a monster flop until a little later when you can take out a bigger stack.

[assron]

aces up on the flop is an automatic bet imo. aces up have a way of looking worse as the hand goes on if you let the other player see free cards and take control of the hand. if you're called though, usually it's by an unpaired ace and you're golden. I wouldnt slowplay a hand that is so easily outdrawn by such a wide variety of hands though, and if I did check, I'd be ready to fold it if it got too hot.

[schwza]

[ QUOTE ]
aces up on the flop is an automatic bet imo. aces up have a way of looking worse as the hand goes on if you let the other player see free cards and take control of the hand. if you're called though, usually it's by an unpaired ace and you're golden. I wouldnt slowplay a hand that is so easily outdrawn by such a wide variety of hands though, and if I did check, I'd be ready to fold it if it got too hot.

[/ QUOTE ]

as i said to another dude, stacks are too short to fold here. not sure if you meant aces up this hand or in general.