Keep going or stop

[Buccaneer]

This is a fresh table. This is the second hand with this guy so no reads other than the first hand which played as follows: I am in small blind and raise to $1, he calls, on the flop I bet out and he folds. So on to our second hand.

My thoughts on the hand are posted after the hand.

Party Poker 0.50/1 Hold'em (2 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, A/images/graemlins/heart.gif. Hero posts a blind of $0.50.
BB calls, <font color="#CC3333">Hero (poster) raises</font>, <font color="#CC3333">BB 3-bets</font>, Hero calls.

Flop: (6 SB) 2/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 4/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 4/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">BB bets</font>, Hero calls.

Turn: (4 BB) 2/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">BB bets</font>, Hero calls.

River: (6 BB) Q/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">BB bets</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises</font>, <font color="#CC3333">BB 3-bets</font>, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 12 BB

PreFlop I raise and he three bets. I figure him to have a playable hand but also consider he is not going to let this one go with out a fight. I call to see the flop and plan to fold if I don't improve.

Flop - I don't like it but he can not like it either. Even though this was Party Poker I could not accept that he had a 2 or 4 and thought he might have a PP or high cards. I called his bet, thinking that he could reraise. I am liking my hand less but not well enough to raise. Is this Mr. Passive play whispering in my ear?

Turn - The 2 put two pair on the board and I tried to put him on a 2 or 4 but didn't think that was a possibility. I think I am ahead here or atleast tied with my ace. I call hoping to hit my over pair

River - spade Q, I like this card but would have prefered a different suit. I raise his bet believing this is an attempt to steal the pot when he reraised I thought I was beat. This is a must call right??????

[DCWildcat]

I heart a turn fold. You're up against a PP here much of the time, and drawing to 6 outs at best getting 5 to 1. Rest is fine.

[MrWookie47]

For a true HU situation, this is probably fine. I'd consider folding the turn if this was some sort of steal gone bad.

[ QUOTE ]
This is a fresh table. This is the second hand with this guy so no reads other than the first hand which played as follows: I am in small blind and raise to $1, he calls, on the flop I bet out and he folds. So on to our second hand.

My thoughts on the hand are posted after the hand.

Party Poker 0.50/1 Hold'em (2 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, A/images/graemlins/heart.gif. Hero posts a blind of $0.50.
BB calls, <font color="#CC3333">Hero (poster) raises</font>, <font color="#CC3333">BB 3-bets</font>, Hero calls.

Flop: (6 SB) 2/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 4/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 4/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">BB bets</font>, Hero calls.

Turn: (4 BB) 2/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">BB bets</font>, Hero calls.

River: (6 BB) Q/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">BB bets</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises</font>, <font color="#CC3333">BB 3-bets</font>, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 12 BB

PreFlop I raise and he three bets. I figure him to have a playable hand but also consider he is not going to let this one go with out a fight. I call to see the flop and plan to fold if I don't improve.

Flop - I don't like it but he can not like it either. Even though this was Party Poker I could not accept that he had a 2 or 4 and thought he might have a PP or high cards. I called his bet, thinking that he could reraise. I am liking my hand less but not well enough to raise. Is this Mr. Passive play whispering in my ear?

Turn - The 2 put two pair on the board and I tried to put him on a 2 or 4 but didn't think that was a possibility. I think I am ahead here or atleast tied with my ace. I call hoping to hit my over pair

River - spade Q, I like this card but would have prefered a different suit. I raise his bet believing this is an attempt to steal the pot when he reraised I thought I was beat. This is a must call right??????

[/ QUOTE ]
PREFLOP, you raised from the Button and the BB reraised. The big blind probably thinks you are on a steal, but in actuality you have a very strong hand. You need to cap it preflop and retake control. Given the way you played it, I would raise the flop if the BB is timid or sane but I would just call the flop against someone who is capable of 3 betting the flop with a hand Im ahead of. Given that you called the flop, raising turn is the best play if you are gonna call the river anyways since you might get the BB to fold an Ax hand so you can take down the whole pot instead of splitting it. The big blind may also fold a better hand if you raise the turn but this is a very small possibility. Given the way you played the turn, the river raise is debatable, there is such a high chance that the BB is betting a hand that cant call a river raise netting you no value on this raise, and the times the BB has a better hand you may get 3 bet. But I can see an argument for raising the river since all poket pairs below the Queen might call, and AA or KK probably wont reraise. Once you are reraised you must call, the pot is too big and your hand is too strong to consider folding in this heads up pot.

[Buccaneer]

Yes Wookie this was a true HU situation and not a steal. I stole the first hand and was trying to keep the heat on but not trying to steal again.

[POKhER]

He 3bet, AA/KK/QQ/JJ/AK

Flop: I think i fold due to being behind so much, if we spike an ace we may still be behind and the pots ok size... but domination. I'm gone.

Weak-Tight maybe.... But domination will cost us and the pot isn't massive.
Blind steal is apossibility but .50/1 i dont see many guys protecting. yeh i fold the flop and move on sorry /images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[numeri]

You should just call the river.

The flop call is OK, because you could be drawing to a full 6 outs here - probably discounted to 5 or so. In a heads-up situation, BB could 3-bet pocket pairs much lower than AA-QQ. (This is assuming, of course, that your opponent is reasonably aggressive. Against an unknown, I think that's a fair assumption.)

The turn should probably be a fold. We're only ahead of weaker A's and overcards. Against an unknown, should we really be paying 2BB to win 6BB? I'm not sure it's worth it.

Since you called, just call the river. You gain a bet from 88-JJ and AK, but lose to AA and KK. Also, most villains would not bet with the underpairs and AK.

88-JJ and AK = 44 ways
AA and KK = 16 ways

If we assume the 88-JJ and AK bet 1/2 the time, we can discount that to ~22 ways. So we're about even in terms of winning/losing. Even more importantly, very few of 88-JJ and AK call a raise, but AA and KK will 3-bet. A call is best.

Of course, this is all assuming we call the turn, which I don't think we should do without a read. It'd be an easy call vs. a very aggressive player who'd continue with hands like QJs or AT.

[jrz1972]

[ QUOTE ]
He 3bet, AA/KK/QQ/JJ/AK

[/ QUOTE ]

Dude, that is *way* too narrow a range for BB facing a possible steal.

If I'm BB, I'm 3-betting most aces, all suited paint, most pocket pairs, and high broadway. (Villain-dependent).

[jrz1972]

[ QUOTE ]
The turn should probably be a fold. We're only ahead of weaker A's and overcards.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're chopping with any ace. You're beating all other overcards. The only hands you're behind on the turn are larger pocket pairs.

I'm definitely at least calling this down when the board shows two pair on the turn.

[numeri]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The turn should probably be a fold. We're only ahead of weaker A's and overcards.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're chopping with any ace. You're beating all other overcards. The only hands you're behind on the turn are larger pocket pairs.

I'm definitely at least calling this down when the board shows two pair on the turn.

[/ QUOTE ]
Duh... I knew that, too. The problem is, how often are we ahead? Is it worth enough to spend the 2BB to get to showdown to battle for a split pot? It seems that the overpairs (of which there are plenty) will keep betting, knowing we'll keep calling with our overcards.

I don't think the split pot changes it enough to make calling down +EV. I guess it depends on how you classify your "unknowns". I tend to give mine credit for decent play until I know better.

Like I said, this would be an easy call down against an aggressive opponent, but it seems that whenever I assume my opponent is aggressive and then call down, I get burned. Selective memory, maybe.

[istewart]

Guys it's freaking heads-up and you're putting him on top four pairs and AK? WTF?

[numeri]

[ QUOTE ]
If I'm BB, I'm 3-betting most aces, all suited paint, most pocket pairs, and high broadway. (Villain-dependent).

[/ QUOTE ]
This is what I mean. Against you, I'm calling down for sure. I think you may be putting your own aggressive play and wider hand range in place of villains. Your hand range (and subsequent flop/turn play) are not standard at this level.

[jrz1972]

Yeah, that's true. But I still think AA-JJ and AK is way too narrow a range for villain, even at this level.

[numeri]

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, that's true. But I still think AA-JJ and AK is way too narrow a range for villain, even at this level.

[/ QUOTE ]
I agree. That's not the range I have in mind either.

[numeri]

[ QUOTE ]
Guys it's freaking heads-up and you're putting him on top four pairs and AK? WTF?

[/ QUOTE ]
Not me. Here's my thought process:

preflop: 88-AA, AT+, KJs+, QJs

flop: same

turn: 88-AA, AT+ and KQ

I may be off, but I think we can take KJ and QJ out of the range after the turn bet. Of those, we're only ahead of KQ, we're splitting with AT+, and behind 88-AA. I'm not sure how to do an EV calculation in this hand, but it's not a clear call down IMO.

[ QUOTE ]
Guys it's freaking heads-up and you're putting him over your knee and spanking him like the adorable little piece of meat that he is.

[/ QUOTE ]

FiP

Grunch,

Cap preflop
Raise flop
Call turn
Cap river, expect to win.

(each street assuming that its been played your way on previous streets)

[Buccaneer]

He was playing A /images/graemlins/spade.gif9 /images/graemlins/spade.gif Not that it matters.

I think that he was defending and Mr. Flop did not like me on this hand.

(grunch)
raise the flop
call the turn
cap the river

I think he has a big pair. Wait, fold the flop. Maybe raise/fold the flop.

[bozlax]

Buc, what have I told you about playing SH? *sigh*

Ok, hmmmm...cap preflop. Then, if he bets into you on the flop, call, and fold the turn UI. The way you played it, unless you have a read that Villan is chock full o' nuts, I'd just call his river bet (you've got no real read on what he's holding, and given that he's remained aggro I think you're only about even money, but I haven't done the math).

[silencio]

I think you guys missed the little prologue at the beginning. This could very well be a maniac that doesn't want to get stolen by the same guy twice in a row. His range is pretty big I believe, but I am not capping the river.

[Buccaneer]

[ QUOTE ]
Buc, what have I told you about playing SH? *sigh*

[/ QUOTE ]

I try Boz, honest I do.

I just noticed this was 2-handed. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif /images/graemlins/blush.gif I gotta read through these better before responding!