Two hands from a 3-3-6-9 home game.

[Huh]

Two hands from a 3-3-6-9 game I played in last night. A loose-aggressive game.

Hand 1: Didn’t mind this hand, but got some funny looks from people.

I am third to act and open raise with JJ
Two fold to another player who raises. I call, and its heads up.

Flop is A92 rainbow.

I check, he bets, I check-raise, he three-bets, I fold.
Is this an acceptable strategy, or did I just cost myself a big bet.

Hand 2: I think I misplayed this, but I'm not so sure.

I open raise UTG with AQ sooted.
It comes back to me capped 5 way, and I call(4 bet cap).

Flop is AJ2.
BB (preflop capper) bets out, I call and one other person calls.
I only called here because the pre-flop capper is a solid-player and bet into a field of 5 people. In retrospect, I think I should have raised. I put the capper on KK, AA, AK, or A Qs/A Js…Maybe QQ or JJ.

Turn is another Ace, and the capper bet out again, I called and we lost the third person.

River is some rag, capper checks to me. This is where I hate my play. I checked behind and dragged the pot. No doubt that the capper is very capable of a check raise..especially with the big bet on the end, but I think I am waaaay good here, I also don’t think he lays down his Kings(his actualu hand) after a bet to him, when he checked.

Comments?

-Huh /forums/images/icons/confused.gif

[Homer]

Hand 1 - As weak as it sounds, I would check-fold. What hand will a reasonable preflop three-bettor have that you can beat? Maybe TT, but that's about it. If there is a possbility of him folding a hand like KK or QQ, then I suppose the checkraise has merit. In the games I play in, though, these hands are going to the river, so the best play is to check-fold.

Hand 2 - If your hand was offsuit I would fold to the cap, even with 11:1 odds. Suited, though, I think you have to call. On the flop, I would raise. The pot is very large so you want to do everything you can to get the hands behind you to fold. There is a good chance you are behind, but with the pot being this large, it is worth risking an additional small bet. Perhaps another plan could be to call the flop bet and raise the turn if a blank comes, since many of the opponents behind you won't fold for two small bets on the flop but will fold for two big bets on the turn. This tactic also allows you to get away from the hand is there is a raise behind you on the flop or if a scare card comes on the turn. I agree with your call on the turn, as you are either way ahead or way behind. If your opponent has KK or QQ, you want him to continue bluffing. If he has AK/AQ/AJ, the best you do is split. On the river, I would definitely bet. There aren't many people I know that would try for a checkraise there.

-- Homer

[rtucker5]

Hand 1:

You're getting very tricky Huh /forums/images/icons/smile.gif . I like the play. You may get him to fold a non A hand that has you beat; KK or QQ. If he 3 bets you you can safely fold. The only problem is if he calls. Do you continue firing or shut down on the turn?

Hand 2:

You have a clear value bet on the end. I don't see him checking AK.

[Huh]

If he just checked I would probably bet 2/47th's of the time and check-fold 45/47th's depending on the turn card.

If he bet after my check I would fold, but make a mental note on the player. Next time I have a hand that I think is good I would have some fun check-raising him on the flop and the turn /forums/images/icons/cool.gif

-Huh /forums/images/icons/confused.gif

[elysium]

hi huh
hand 1) call the reraise. you have the odds to see the turn.
hand 2) fold when it comes back to you capped or; call the reraise and fold on the flop unless you pick up two pair. only make this play, however, when you need to show action because your bets aren't getting called, folding when the A gives you just top pair.

[ashes will fall]

Hand 2:

I think your first mistake here was openraising UTG with AQo. I might be tempted to limp in here, but I think folding is the right call being that you're UTG. After it comes back to you capped, you should have an easy fold. You never should've seen the flop with this one.

But since you did, you should've raised on the flop. I think you already know this, because of your unsure play on the following streets, but you really have to raise here if you want to be able to play your hand well the rest of the hand. If he 3-bets, then you call and fold to a bet on the turn unless you improve. If he calls and checks to you on the turn, you bet out, regardless of whether that ace falls on the turn. Your call on the flop left you feeling off-balance, unsure, and a little suspicious for the rest of the hand, and set you up for 1) not getting full value out of this situation when you end up winning, and 2) losing an extra .5 or 1.5 BB's when you lose this hand. Either way, you're able to play the rest of the hand better and maximize your winnings or minimize your losses on this one if you simply raise the flop. The rest of the streets just get easier from there.

I don't claim to be an expert at this game, so any corrections to my thinking and analysis here would be welcome and appreciated.