Right or wrong???

[Mr_J]

Just before level 4 at PP (so blinds are 25/50). 7 left in the game. I'm UTG and have $970. Villain is button w/ $1545. No reads since I wasn't paying much attention to the game.

I get dealt TT. I raise 150. 3 folds, villain calls, both blinds fold.

Flop is 2 6 Q rainbow. I bet 250, he raised to 500 and I push. He calls and turns over AQ.

Ok, if he had AA-QQ&AK he'd probally reraise me PF. So JJ or lower, 2 face cards or A8-A9+. I bet figuring that I was in front since he probally missed the flop. As soon as he raised AQ, KQ entered my mind but felt he's more likely to have something else, so I felt I had an edge here.

Looking back, he probally wouldn't min-raise if he hadn't hit something (ie QQ), since a min-raise is really begging to be called at this level, even if I hadn't hit anything. If he had nothing and wanted to bluff, he probally would've pushed. Then again, people try to steal blinds with min-raises, so why not a pot?

I didn't consider a low pair. The hands I'd think he would've called with at this level are 88-JJ (at this level a reraise PF is possible w/ JJ), A8+, KQ and sometimes KJ-QJ.

I guess my question is, does he have something else enough (at $33s) for me to come back over the top?

Also, I should've limped w/ this since I was UTG and still level 3?

[Myst]

Personally, I play TT for set/overpair value on Level 1 - 3. I think raising is the second best play.

But the way you played it, I would have bet 1/2 the pot on the flop, and folded to the minireraise. Unless you have a read, going over the top is not viable, because you must give credit to his raise.

[Mr_J]

The reason I raised was I easily had enough chips to get away from a re-raise, and I was probally going to be going up vs 1 or 2 with face cards (hopefully HU). Was this too loose/aggressive?

I'll add I've never done this with non-monster cards, so I'm not worried it's a leak, just a lapse in concerntration.

[Mr_J]

Yeh that's what I was thinking in my 1st post. A min-raise really is begging to be called, so he's hit something. A push is probally a bluff. I didn't have a read, so assumed that he wasn't an ok player.

Should also add that I don't like his re-raise considering my flop bet was decent sized, and that I raised decently UTG. I could've easily had AA-QQ here. Just wondering, if the roles were reversed and someone had done what I did (up to and including the flop bet), what would your action be?

[Myst]

I'm not saying that open raising with TT in EP is a horid play. It can be a very profitible one, if you have excellent post-flop decision making. 60% of the time you are going to face an overcard to your pair. When that overcard comes with either a 4-flush or 4-straight possibility, TT becomes a very complicated hand to play.

In your hand, there were no draws on the board. Therefore, if you went with your original read (2 face cards), the mini-reraise should have alerted to you to AQ or KQ as the strongest possiblities. Folding would have been best, and you still would have had 550-600 chips.

[Myst]

[ QUOTE ]
Just wondering, if the roles were reversed and someone had done what I did (up to and including the flop bet), what would your action be?



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If I was him, I would have folded AQ to an EP raise. But, if forced to play the hand, I would have flatcalled the bet on the flop. Why? Since there are no draws on the flop, I am either FAR BEHIND (AA, KK,QQ) or WAY AHEAD (AK, JJ, TT) on the hand. That, and I have position. Typical Party opposition is VERY agressive, so if he bets the turn, I reraise all in, and if he checks the turn, I check as well. The river would see me going all in if he checks to me again.

You are basically committed to playing this hand to the river if you call the preflop bet.

[Mr_J]

Ok I went back to PT and looked at all the hands I've raised preflop with in lvls 1-3. Apart from AA-QQ and AK, all were from button or blinds, and it looked like most where when I was folded to. Not sure why I raised from EP this time.

[Irieguy]

[ QUOTE ]

As soon as he raised AQ, KQ entered my mind but felt he's more likely to have something else, so I felt I had an edge here.


[/ QUOTE ]

Coughlin's Law: Never put your opponent on hand you can't beat... it makes it too hard to call.

Irieguy