55 - Turn decision

[Mychen]

Hi all, first post here. Here's a hand I played a few days ago which I hope is interesting.

Pretty bad Party $5/$10 table.

A loose (40/6) MP1 open-limps, MP2 folds, I raise in MP3 with 7/images/graemlins/diamond.gif7/images/graemlins/heart.gif, folded to the SB (23/7/2.5) who calls, BB folds and MP1 calls one more.

<font color="blue">Standard isolation raise, right?</font>

Flop: 5/images/graemlins/diamond.gif5/images/graemlins/heart.gif3/images/graemlins/diamond.gif 7SB

SB bets, MP1 calls, I call.

<font color="blue">My hand is probably good here but it is really vunerable. Pretty much any turn card is a threat and a raise here wont protect my hand. So I decided to call and consider all three options on the turn depending on what develops. Good?</font>

Turn: Q /images/graemlins/spade.gif 5BB

SB checks, MP1 bets (no read on aggression), I...?

<font color="blue">Not sure what I should do here. Folding seems weak since MP1 could easily be taking a shot at the pot since it was checked to him. If it were heads-up I'd call down to make the most if he's bluffing, but the presence of SB makes me want to raise to protect my sevens.</font>

Comments on all streets appreciated.

[Fat Nicky]

pre-flop raise is fine.

However, I do not like your flop play. Raising the flop allows you to make better, more confident decisions on the turn and river. For example, you raise the flop, an overcard falls on the turn, then someone bets into you on the turn, here you can feel better about making a laydown than if you had just smoothcalled the flop.

[brettbrettr]

pre-flop, good, flop you have to raise. Bet the turn, depending on what comes on the river bet or take the free showdown. If you get check-raised on the turn, fold.

Yes, your hand is vulnerable and "pretty much any card that comes on the turn has you beat." But your opponents aren't holding every card in the deck ove a 7. They only have 2 cards, each. Raise the flop.

[crunchy1]

[ QUOTE ]
Raising the flop allows you to make better, more confident decisions on the turn and river.

[/ QUOTE ]

One of the greatest concepts that I've learned reading these forums is that a player should not be making a play on a particular street soley to make his decisions on future streets easier.

I like a raise on the flop because it's a value raise and you're going to gain 2 more SBs out of your opponnents. A nice side-effect of this value-raise is that if you get bet into (or more likely check-raised) on a later street you can toss your hand with confidence.

That being said I don't mind the smooth call either on the flop. Your flop raise isn't really going to protect your hand at all since both players are already in for one SB. I see no problem in smooth calling and raising a safe card on the turn.

As far as MP1 leading the turn - I think you need to provide an avg. aggro number to help analyze that. If he's loose-passive post-flop then I think it's a pretty easy muck.

One final note - pre-flop raise is fine but, definitely not standard. I think you need a good read that the remanining players are tight enough to let you do this. Even if they are, sometimes, it's not so bad to encourage them to enter the pot with a call and play your small pair for set-value.

[Catt]

I like raising the flop. The raise is for value - just because we cannot protect does not mean we don't raise for value. There are very few "safe" cards that can fall on the turn -- I'd prefer getting money into the pot while I likely have the best hand. I also like the fact that I believe it buys some fold equity against only two opponents. You raised PF -- they don't know your hand is as vulnerable as 77. As crunchy points out, a flop raise has the added value that we might be less uncertain about MP1's turn bet (and would also be less uncertain about a C/R from MP1) -- that's not enough to raise the flop, but it is some extra bling bling to the other very good, IMHO, reasons to raise the flop.