80/160 #6: ATs

[Nate tha' Great]

Last one.

Same game as #5. A solid opponent raises UTG, this is an older Texan guy who looks like some oil industry whale but actually plays quite well, and somewhat more prudently than some of the other regulars in the game. A solid, maybe slightly too loose preflop player cold calls on the Button, he's the LMP player from hand #5. The SB, the maniacal Asian guy who was the HJ in hand #5, calls, I call in the BB with ATs.

Flop is 975 with two of my suit. SB and I check, UTG also checks, Button bets, SB calls, I raise, Button 3-bets, SB and I call.

Turn is an offsuit 6. SB checks, I check, Button checks.

River is an offsuit blank, SB bets and I raise.

EDIT: Flop should probably be a 4-bet in retrospect. More interested in the river play though.

[steveyz]

Is SB folding any pair here? He's betting with a lot of hands, but the real question is if he's folding anything you beat. Now, I'm not sure about Button. Would he check something like A9 there on the turn?

I know you wanted to move Button off a better hand in hopes that SB was on a bluff, but I'm not sure if that will happen often enough to justify the raise. There's only about 9 BBs in the pot when SB bets, so you need to have this play work about 1 in 5 times, which I'm really not sure about.

[SL__72]

This game is way over my head, but it looks like you might be able to get the button to fold a flopped pair (maybe A9?) and then win a showdown against maniac.

[legend42]

I don't like this one. Sure you should knock the button out, but there's a decent chance SB has an 8 and was going for a turn check-raise. If you're representing pocket 8's wouldn't you have bet the turn?

And when you say the river was a blank, I guess you mean a deuce, but even a 3 or 4 might have given him a dummy straight, which I doubt he's folding. I just think it's a bad spot.

[SL__72]

My guess is that a maniac would play JT, or maybe even K4s K3s like this here trying to steal the pot after everyone checked the turn.

[sthief09]

I think your hand reading on the SB is good here, but what about the button? is it even worth a raise? seems like he has a flush draw also or a slowplayed (on the turn) monster, and probalby not a pair. can the SB maniac bet a pair and fold it? I kind of like a call here, as I don't really see any benefits of raising, unless button is capable of going off on the flop then checking the turn with a pair, or unless SB can fold a pair after betting the river. also, button might not overcall with a pair on that board.

EDIT: I take it back and think the button is scared of the straight on the board so he checked, and that makes it a clear raise for me

[Turning Stone Pro]

Played it well PF and on the flop, I would have kept betting on the flop. You missed, and, as one other poster mentioned, not an enormous pot. Save the $320, you had outs, missed, and too good a chance that the SB has an 8, and I don't think he is folding a pair because your turn check/river raise is questionable.

TSP

[DpR]

Pot may not be big enough, however that may be just what can make it work if the others are really thinking.

It is not clearly great, but I think it is about as good as a river bluff raise against two opponents could be. In fact this hand is pretty much how you would script such a play. The river bluff raise rarely works, but I think if not now, then when?

[aK13]

I'm pretty sure the raise is because Hero doesn't want an overcall. He's fairly certain his hand is better than any hand the maniac has, but wants Button to fold. Button's check on the turn is very weak, so Hero is fairly sure Button will fold whatever hand he might have for 2 bets.

[mike l.]

this was a great play. you shouldnt have posted any of these hands. clearly you have an excellent feel for the game and because you play so hardcore online youve played more hands in a couple years than most of your opponents have in their lives, and im including even the better players. youre there pal, good work. maybe ill get there some day too.

[Nigel]

I have a hard time believing you'd check the turn here with an 8, nor go pass up an overcall from the button on the river, unless maybe you had T8s of the flush draw? Maybe I am off on this assumption (someone please correct me if I am), but anyway...

Given that, I think if button actually has a hand, respects your play and is also smart enough to realize the above, that this play won't work here often enough to make it worth it.

Especially if we assume that essentially the same thing applies to the maniac, with the added problem that he might look you up here with even a weak hand just because he is a maniac.

Nigel

[Nate tha' Great]

Somehow I got the board a bit screwed up here. I do distinctly remeber that LAG had 84 suited to the board and that this hand gave him the idiot end to a straight, which he called down with to take the pot. I do suspect that that he would have folded a lot of one-pair type hands.