A family of ducks? Let's get them some bread!

[TreyOfLight]

My goal for this hand was to get to a showdown. Call me fishy, but I get a kick out of showing other people my awesome hands and (for once) didn't want to have to do it for free after everyone folded.

I usually never minbet, but had been experimenting with it this session. It's only a small decision you're putting to the opponents, but I saw lots of them get it wrong anyway.

Comments? Criticisms? Backing proposals?


Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 max, 4 handed)

4 handed, SB has $27.55 and hero has him covered. He just sat down, no reads.

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 2/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 2/images/graemlins/club.gif. SB posts a blind of $0.1.
Hero calls $0.25, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="#CC3333">SB raises to $0.5</font>, BB calls $0.25, Hero calls $0.25.

Flop: ($1.50) 2/images/graemlins/heart.gif, 2/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, Q/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
SB checks, BB checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $0.25</font>, SB calls $0.25, BB folds.

Turn: ($2) A/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
SB checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $0.5</font>, <font color="#CC3333">SB raises to $3</font>, Hero calls $2.50.

River: ($8) 4/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">SB bets $3</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $10</font>, SB calls $7.

Final Pot: $28

Results in white below: <font color="#FFFFFF">
SB has Ac Jc (two pair, aces and twos).
Hero has 2s 2c (four of a kind, twos).
Outcome: Hero wins $28.
SB says: "nice"</font>

[piki]

My perception of min-bets/raises are that someone want to see if they get raised. I think 1BB is not enough to build a pot. When I see it, I want to get more information so depending on my hand will fold or raise a good bit. I think this helps better define the pot and what people are willing to call to play it.

[PinkSteel]

I only play $25NL, and I find minbets useful against these players, for two reasons:

* Many of them click that little "Check/Fold" box, and a lousy quarter bumps them out of the hand. In position multiway with a crappy middle pair I'll do this, and you'd be surprised how many limpers you can fold with twenty-five cents.

* Many aggressives interpret it as weakness and play back pretty hard.

Both of these behaviors are mistakes for a good player, and I wouldn't waste my time or money minbetting against someone I thought was solid. But against poor players I get great mileage out of minbets every session.

I think your minbet helped you here: It helped Villain put you on a Q, and when his A hit he figured he had you. If you had check/called the flop, he might have thought you were being sneaky and gotten nervous. If you had led the flop for real, he might not have played back at you on the turn.