88, flopped a set (11s)

[sahala]

***** Hand History for Game 2146777409 *****
NL Hold'em $10 Buy-in + $1 Entry Fee Level:2 Blinds(15/30)

Total number of players : 7
Seat 1: wireHouse ( $775 )
Seat 2: bookiebeater ( $665 )
Seat 4: Hero ( $805 )
Seat 6: bigdivots ( $650 ) <-- has button
Seat 7: danemayfield ( $1055 )
Seat 9: Debate ( $1650 )
Seat 10: jayduck ( $2400 )
Trny:12765948 Level:2
Blinds(15/30)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ 8s 8c ]
jayduck calls [30].
wireHouse folds.
bookiebeater calls [30].
Hero calls [30].
bigdivots folds.
danemayfield calls [15].
Debate checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Td, 8d, 9h ]
danemayfield checks.
Debate bets [30].
jayduck calls [30].
bookiebeater raises [125].

No reads... Hero?

I was going to push until the guy raised 125 into me. This early I have to fold, correct?

[DasLeben]

I probably push and bust. Then again, I suck.

[tjh]

I push here.

The straight draw must be forced to pay for his cards. Any slowplaying will likely put you at risk of the straight.

Push..

[sahala]

I felt like I had the best hand here, but at the time I felt that raise can only mean something like top pair, drawing to the flush or straight. Or he flopped the straight.

I'd just really hate to just call here, and raising would really bleed chips.

[sahala]

You don't think he'd limp with QJ preflop? I see people limp with it almost as much as KQ. He could also very well be defending a straight draw.

One read, actually, 34% on pokerprophecy at 120-ish games. Doesn't really tell me anything.

Push, pray for a board pair?

[lastchance]

Moves all-in.

[sahala]

Am I really playing weak-tight for not wanting to push?

[DasLeben]

[ QUOTE ]
Am I really playing weak-tight for not wanting to push?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, pretty much. Honestly, I don't see any other alternative here. You can't muck your set here at this buyin, and you can't smooth call. The only logical move is to raise, which means you should just push here.

By the way, you fill up 34% of the time by the river. Push dammit.

[lastchance]

No, that's more ballsy. You don't push because you want to get more equity out of crappy hands. On, say, an A82 flop, I might not push, I might try to get more equity.

If you're not pushing because you're afraid of QJ or a straight draw that makes it, that's horribly weak-tight, and also, absolutely moronic (just making my point). If you want to win at poker, you can't think about being beat here. You have the best hand on the flop. Your hand is very good. Your hand has outs when it's beat.

You assume that on the flop, you are ahead. You are wondering how to price out draws and win as much money as possible. That's it. Nothing else.

[sahala]

Ok...so basic idea being, if he has QJ already (which he is representing), so be it I'm busted. But most of the time I'll be ahead in this situation.

Correct?

Again, it's only level 2...

[chuddo]

folding is not an option at all.

so either push, and blow him off AT if he is a donk, or say screw it and just call.

calling is not as terrible as everyone is making it out to be.

if you call, and a completely terrible card, i.e. 7 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif peels off, and some crazy action goes off. then you can shrug it off and continue the tourney with a non-crippled albeit smallish stack.

if a complete brick hits the turn:
he will either put you on te draw and blow it out if he has a hand like two pair. or may rarely check to you. regardless, on a brick, you are getting all the chips in, be it by calling with them, raising with them, or pushing them when checked to.

and if you fill up on the turn, you can either play it any way you like dependant upon what he does. but if checked to i would like a medium sized bet to entice him to call with a draw that is dead, or make a bad call with a mediocre made hand.

but if multitabling i will often just jam it in there as well. but i see nothing terrible in simply calling. obviously the only thing really wrong that you can do here is fold.

[DasLeben]

[ QUOTE ]
Again, it's only level 2...

[/ QUOTE ]

Doesn't matter. The majority of the time, your opponent is going to be on a draw, so you need to get your money in now. The fact that it's only level 2 doesn't relieve you from the job of playing your hands correctly.

[jgunnip]

If it had be checked around I would be much more inclined to bet 3/4 pot-pot here instead of pushing in order to try and guarantee some value from my set. But with a bet like this, the pot now becomes worth grabbing and I'm pushing this everytime (and twice on Sundays as the saying goes).