Bellagio 80-160 KJo hand. . . .

[Turning Stone Pro]

Was just reviewing some notes, and noticed this hand that I played last week. Comments are appreciated.

I'm in the cutoff, dealt KJo. Folded to EMP player who limps. He appears to play more hands than normal for the game, but haven't noticed anything highly unusual about him. Older gentleman, appears to not be a regular but has played in this game more than I have.

I limp.

Solid local pro in the SB calls, BB checks, 4 to the flop.

Flop is AJ4, two hearts ( I dont have a heart). Checked to the MP who bets.

Your move?

Thanks!

TSP

[La Brujita]

If I play the hand I raise preflop.

Given the action I fold.

[glen]

Why didn't you raise preflop?

[Fianchetto]

I'd consider a raise preflop. You may be able to get knock out the button and blinds, buying yourself last position, and be heads up against the limper.

As you played it, now the flop decision isn't so easy. Would he limp with a weak ace? Seems like MP should open raise any ace that he is going to play in that spot. He could have a heart draw, or maybe KJ, QJ?

I would probably continue, and if you do, I think a raise is best. Hopefully, you eliminate the SB and BB, then you can bet the turn and take a free showdown if the limper is still hanging around. If you meet strong resistance from anybody you can fold.

[hockey1]

This looks like a pretty easy raise on the flop to me. In fact, I really can't think of much of a reason not to. Preflop's iffy, but if the blinds are tight then a raise is much better than a limp, no?

How was the 80/160 anyway? Some of the worst 30/60 players I played against at Bellagio last weekend said they sometimes plated the 80/160.

[Ryno]

If the vibe was such that you did not want to make the standard play and raise preflop, folding could be better than limping.

On this flop, raising the MP bet makes the hand real easy to play. Yes, the pot is small, but MP might be betting anything figuring that no one wants this pot. He probably puts you on a little pair or connectors or something.

[luckOverSkill]

Raise. I would see how other players respond to my raise, and determine what happens on the turn, if it gets that far...

/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[Turning Stone Pro]

I called the flop bet from the EMP. The SB called. The turn was a blank, EMP bet, I mucked. The river was a 2, the sb checked, EMP bet, sb called and showed T2h. EMP showed KQo, and his hand was s**t.

Thank you all for the responses. This was probably the worst hand I played all week. Not raising PF is contrary to aggressive, winning strategy. By the time the flop came, I had no idea where I was, dogged it by not raising, trying to spike a J or K on the turn. I then weakly mucked on the turn, because I put myself in a losing position by not taking control early.

If I raised PF, this pot was, of course, mine.

One of those hands when you make a decision, reflect on it, and say "how in the world can I play it so bad?"

I had been playing about 6 hours straight at the time, and obviously lost my focus for a brief but costly instant.

Thanks for the responses.

TSP

[Baulucky]

[ QUOTE ]
If I play the hand I raise preflop.


[/ QUOTE ]

If I play the hand I fold preflop.

[DeeJ]

[ QUOTE ]
One of those hands when you make a decision, reflect on it, and say "how in the world can I play it so bad?"

[/ QUOTE ]

uh huh /images/graemlins/smile.gif letting in the sb cheap could have been even more costly if you caught your K and he or BB caught some random 2 pair.