Would you play this any different?

[onegymrat]

$6-$12 at Bicycle. Typical full low limit table. I'm UTG+1 and find 7 /images/graemlins/spade.gif7 /images/graemlins/club.gif. I'm about to raise when UTG folds to me and I see the rest of the table grabbing chips. I didn't want to have to see the flop with more than one bet and am concerned with a 3-bet, so I limp. MP (average player who's into his fourth rack) raises anyway. All fold to button. Button (new to table but looks stupid) calls as do both blinds. I call. Five to the flop for two bets.

Flop: A /images/graemlins/diamond.gif7 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif2 /images/graemlins/club.gif

I check. MP bets and button calls. SB folds and BB calls. I raise. MP and button call without any reservations. BB folds. Three players to the turn.

Turn: 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

Sweet! I check again. MP bets again. Button calls and I raise again. MP and button both call.

River: J /images/graemlins/heart.gif

This time I bet. MP raises me while button calls quickly. I call time and think a bit. I decide to reraise him. MP goes into a huddle, and then caps it! Button calls. I call.

Any guesses to the outcome?
How would anyone play it different?

[onegymrat]

Middle position player had A /images/graemlins/spade.gifA /images/graemlins/heart.gif

Button had 9 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif6 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

Enough said...

[jujujaja34]

onegymrat,

I think you played the hand pretty well. I would have bet out on the turn though, hoping to get raised so I could 3-bet. Not to say that's a better play, but just personal preference. Well played though.

jujujaja34

[Ed Miller]

MP's got AA. Sucks to be you. Who knows what the button has, but I bet it doesn't beat 7's full.

[JoeU]

onegymrat,

I think you played this hand well. It's tough to put this player on either JJ or AA in the end. By your description, he sounds like he's stuck and possibly on tilt to get his money back. I like to see this played aggressively by you on the turn. Getting the chance to check-raise on the flop and turn must have been fun. I've only seen it once. This looks like good aggressive play to me, just unlucky in the end /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

Joe

[Rick Nebiolo]

onegymrat,

BTF you are going to play but once the game becomes this loose generally just limp and find our where the big cards are.

Good checkraise on the flop. The MP player is likely to bet and you get some players tied on now. Note that you can make this checkraise with king high suited diamonds, as you will be getting an overlay with three opponents as long as your raise doesn't knock anyone out (and it usually won't).

On the turn you might have wanted to bet. At this point the more likely flush is on the button and you like to bet through what should be the medium strong hand held by an average player. Now if the button raises and you will still see many average players call two more cold with a good ace. That being said, you got a lot of value with your checkraise.

Going into the river you have no reason to believe you are behiind and you showed strength the previous round so you must bet for value. Once the MP player raises my initial reaction is that he has KdQd and didn't want to shut out a weaker diamond on the turn. But AA or even A2s is possible. Both these hands might have slowed down back on the turn to keep the button in. The button appears to have a flush, so he isn't going anywhere after calling two big bets cold. I would also reraise and expect both flushes to pay me off.

When MP put in the final raise, I wouldn't panic. At this level he could play A2 this way or is just putting in the final raise out of fustration with the big diamond flush. I would estimate you are ahead at least 40% of the time and with two opponents you have value.

OK - I just checked out the result and saw you lost to AA. Note that it was never easy to put your opponent on this hand and your decision to make it three bets on the river is not much of a mistake at all, To be a mistake, you would have to believe you would win less than a third of the time at the time of your reraise. Note that once it is capped, you no longer feel you win a third of the time but you certainly win often enough to justify the call.

Regards,

Rick