80/160 #3: AKo

[Nate tha' Great]

80/160 Bellagio again, this hand is from a different session than the last two I posted. I raise with AKo UTG and this Russian dude named Boris is the only caller in the BB. My sense is that Boris is a somewhat goofy, losing player but we haven't played too many hands at the table together so this read is not precise.

Flop 752 rainbow. Boris checks, I bet, he raises, I call.

Turn is a Q, putting two spades on the board. He bets, I raise, he calls.

River is the 8 of spades, completing a backdoor flushdraw. Boris checks, I see him re-checking his hole cards. I bet.

That's it for now. I'll post two or three more tomorrow.

[Nigel]

Ok, have to change my post. I misunderstood the river action, sorry Nate.

Given your description of him, do you think he's capable of folding anything you are ahead of here? I don't play this high, so the goofy 80 player might be a good deal different than the goofy 30 player. But as you know goofy losing players love to go to showdown. On the off chance that your read is slightly off, I don't think the continuation bet is that bad an idea though.

Sorry, wish I could be more helpful on these hands, these are tough ones.

Nigel

[Nate tha' Great]

Nigel,

Sorry, I think the wording as originally posted was misleading. Boris did not bet; he checked it to me but I saw him re-checking his cards while he did and decided to bet it myself.

[rory]

I think if I was Boris and I had A5 or whatever I would be wondering what I could beat at this point in the hand too once the flush gets there on the river. Good bet.

[bobdibble]

I don't like this one... but maybe someone can convince me otherwise.

His CR on the flop looks like a pair or some kind of straight draw. He didn't fold on the turn when you represented the Q. Given that, do you really think he will fold anything other than a busted draw on the river?

[Nigel]

Nate - Changed my post above.

[ShawnHoo]

I played against Boris in a 50/100 game that same weekend and never saw him laydown any pair at any point in any hand. Against an opponent like this, it's all about value-betting, and I don't think there's much value here. He's got something to showdown and he will.

BTW, nice meeting you this past weekend. I get the impression you don't play live that much, since you looked really nervous during the time we played together at the tournament. Did you find yourself settling in more as the weekend progressed?

[BWebb]

Without a read this is tough. I'd expect him to call down with any piece of the board since he doesn't know you, after all that's what losing players do. I think I check behind.

P.S. I tend to think when players recheck their hole cards on the river it usually means a busted draw. Thoughts on this?

[Nate tha' Great]

[ QUOTE ]
BTW, nice meeting you this past weekend. I get the impression you don't play live that much, since you looked really nervous during the time we played together at the tournament. Did you find yourself settling in more as the weekend progressed?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't play live very much. Also, I've also got kind of a klutzy/jittery demeanor in general so I can sometimes come across as nervous even when I'm not.

That said, I wasn't really in a very good mindset for the tournament. I hadn't gotten much sleep but still got to the Rio much earlier than I needed to, which had the effect of riling up my nerves rather than calming them, especially after a Starbucks and two Red Bulls. And the presence of all the pros at the table didn't help either; it was the first time in a long while that I remember playing at a table where I wasn't sure that I had a skill edge.

[bobdibble]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
BTW, nice meeting you this past weekend. I get the impression you don't play live that much, since you looked really nervous during the time we played together at the tournament. Did you find yourself settling in more as the weekend progressed?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't play live very much. Also, I've also got kind of a klutzy/jittery demeanor in general so I can sometimes come across as nervous even when I'm not.

That said, I wasn't really in a very good mindset for the tournament. I hadn't gotten much sleep but still got to the Rio much earlier than I needed to, which had the effect of riling up my nerves rather than calming them, especially after a Starbucks and two Red Bulls. And the presence of all the pros at the table didn't help either; it was the first time in a long while that I remember playing at a table where I wasn't sure that I had a skill edge.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nate, what do you look like? At one of the tables a guy sat down next to me and for some reason I wondered if it was you.

[Nate tha' Great]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
BTW, nice meeting you this past weekend. I get the impression you don't play live that much, since you looked really nervous during the time we played together at the tournament. Did you find yourself settling in more as the weekend progressed?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't play live very much. Also, I've also got kind of a klutzy/jittery demeanor in general so I can sometimes come across as nervous even when I'm not.

That said, I wasn't really in a very good mindset for the tournament. I hadn't gotten much sleep but still got to the Rio much earlier than I needed to, which had the effect of riling up my nerves rather than calming them, especially after a Starbucks and two Red Bulls. And the presence of all the pros at the table didn't help either; it was the first time in a long while that I remember playing at a table where I wasn't sure that I had a skill edge.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nate, what do you look like? At one of the tables a guy sat down next to me and for some reason I wondered if it was you.

[/ QUOTE ]

About 5'9", skinny, dark brown hair. I was wearing these faggy Diesel jeans the whole weekend because I was too lazy to change pants and pull all of the money out of the pockets. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[kurosh]

Well, you're representing an overpair or a queen. It's entirely read based if you think he'll lay down a pair. I don't know why this is an interesting hand.

[bobdibble]

Were you wearing a grey t-shirt at the tourney?

[Nate tha' Great]

[ QUOTE ]
Were you wearing a grey t-shirt at the tourney?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah.

[bobdibble]

I think I saw you then, but you are not the guy I originally thought you were.

[Paluka]

I don't like this one, the board doesn't have enough draws and this guy isn't folding a pair.

[catlover]

I don't understand the river bet at all here. It looks like your hand is too good to bluff with and too weak to value bet.

The only bit of sense I can begin to make of it is if you are putting him on a missed gutshot -- he now has A3o or A4o and will call you down. While this could be correct, it feels like an awfully specific read to make based on the action and his actions.

Or are you thinking you might move him off a pair? I don't know what kind of "goofy" player you think he is. Most sensible people, having come this far with a pair, are not folding now.

[glen]

you don't think he would fold a 7 with no spades? I think eh would. . .

[Paluka]

[ QUOTE ]
you don't think he would fold a 7 with no spades? I think eh would. . .

[/ QUOTE ]

he was described as a "goofy, losing player"

[DpR]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
you don't think he would fold a 7 with no spades? I think eh would. . .

[/ QUOTE ]

he was described as a "goofy, losing player"

[/ QUOTE ]

While I totally understand what Paulka means here, taken in the silo that is this hand this very common statement is a bit funny. Since our "goofy losing player" calls and takes down the pot, inferring that our "good winning player" folds a reasonably large pot away.

[tpir90036]

I am having trouble putting him on a hand range that 1) calls the turn raise and then 2) folds the river that we are 3) not beating anyway... unless he is one of those players that would call down with a middle pair and fold the river if he doesn't hit his 5-outer.

[Nate tha' Great]

Opponent folded pretty quickly.

Three or four things going on here:

1) I don't think it's out of the question that the opponent calls the turn raise with a 5-outer and then folds the river if he doesn't improve. The reason why is because he can probably hope for a free showdown enough to make the math of calling down work out. In fact, there is a somewhat wide range of opponents here against whom my play would be exactly to call the turn raise and check-fold the river unimproved with one pair. Of course, I can't assume that the opponent plays the same way that I do, but the facts that the river completed a b/d straight and that this is a live game and that my table image is strong contribute some to my bluffing equity.

2) The 8 is a problematic card for me, in that it might have paired up a hand like 86, which is not an improbable holding. I think the opponent can sometimes give me credit for a queen (or some other reasonably strong hand) and not call down with this pair after I follow through on the river.

3) Nobody has mentioned the 'tell' yet, but it indicates to me at least an opponent who is somehow hoping that his hand is a bit stronger than he'd remembered it, perhaps hoping that he backed into a flush or something else.

4) There is no flush draw on the board on the flop, so it is less likely than it otherwise might be that my hand is best on the end.

I think collectively these things auger for a river bet.

[BWebb]

[ QUOTE ]

3) Nobody has mentioned the 'tell' yet, but it indicates to me at least an opponent who is somehow hoping that his hand is a bit stronger than he'd remembered it, perhaps hoping that he backed into a flush or something else.


[/ QUOTE ]

I mentioned think this was a tell of someone who missed their draw. The player looks back at his cards in somewhat disbelieve he missed all his outs. Not sure if this is correct, but that's how I read this.

[Mikey]

wow, you are advanced.