AA - How to Protect My Hand

[Jonny1723]

I’d appreciate your opinions on every street please, as I have great trouble playing hands like AA / KK etc.

Obviously I win with them a lot as you’d expect, but I’m not sure I fully understand the concepts of what to do to “protect my hand”.

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No reads as yet – but usually 3-4 to the flop.

Bet365 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (9 handed)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A /images/graemlins/diamond.gif, A /images/graemlins/spade.gif.
Hero Raises, 6 Folds, SB Calls, BB Calls.

<font color="green"> Pretty standard I would have thought. </font>

Flop: (6 SB) 3 /images/graemlins/spade.gif, 8 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif, J /images/graemlins/club.gif (3 players)
SB Checked, BB Checked, Hero Bet, SB Called, BB Called.

<font color="green"> Again standard I would have thought.

However, it is ever better to check this and let them think the flop has missed, so I may get some action on the turn ?</font>

Turn: (6 BB) 9 /images/graemlins/heart.gif (3 players)
SB Checked, BB Checked, Hero Bet, SB Called, BB Folded.

<font color="green"> I’m sure SB is on a draw of some sort to still be calling down, so I figure he’s got Tx. Although at these limits, they won’t let bottom/middle pair go, so this is also an option.

What hand would you put the villian on ?</font>

River: (8 BB) T /images/graemlins/club.gif (2 players)
SB Bets, Hero ?.

<font color="green"> This is the nightmare card for me as it puts 4 to the straight. With someone calling all this way, then suddenly betting out, I figure he must have it.

What is your action here - Fold / Call / Raise ? And why ?</font>

Final Pot: ?? BB

Results = I will post later.

J.

Hey Jonny-

Looks good all-around. Do not check this flop! Your bet is perfect. There is no indication that anyone else will bet into you on the turn if you check the flop, so all a check does is to cause to miss bets.

Again, good turn bet. Yes, there is concern over a str8 draw but a lack of a c/r by your villians is a good indicator that we are still best.

Yes, the river is a bad card esp when SB donks it but I'm not folding it. Just call the bet.

Flop - fine, I dont think checking here would get you any more action later.

Turn: SB can be on almost any hand, 8x, 55,44 whatever really.

River: SB wakes and you probably have lost. I would still call the river - I'm sure that enough players on this limit would be bettin with something smaller (TT maybe?) than straight here. You only have to be right occasionally for this call to be right.

Think u played correctly all the way. And call the river bet. He knows it´s a scary card for u and may attempt a bluff with Tx or something else. Raise is too dangerous, risking two bets to win one. There are many hands that beats u.

Think u should bet the flop. If u don´t they might get suspicious since a pf raiser typically raise a ragged board like this.

Impossible to put him on a hand I think. He doesn´t have the odds to draw to a gut-shot, but at this level, who cares?

[Jonny1723]

Thanks for all your replies.

As it happens Villian showed 6 of Spades / 7 of Clubs for the rivered straight !

It was frustrating at the time (as it always is I guess!), but at least I know there wasn't much I could have done to protect my hand in this scenario.

Cheers.

[Songwind]

Just make a note that he draws to backdoor straights in small pots and enjoy taking his money later. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

grunch

pre-flop : pretty standard, the alternative is secondhand low, in which you limp, then hope there's a raise behind, then you re-raise.

flop: I wouldn't check, you want to make them pay while you're ahead. also as you're the pre-flop raiser, your bet could just be a standard continuation bet after you've missed.

turn : standard, I've no idea what the sb has.

river : damn, you know he's just made it, but i'd probably call down here, for only one bet into this pot. there's an argument for folding too, but if you win in this situation about 1 time in nine (i think) it's plus ev. if he'd checked, then i'd check too. there's no way i'd raise him after a bet.

Grunch

preflop and flop play are good. Checking the flop is bad, you don't want to give a free card to any draws, especailly with all the passive play. Turn play is good too. River... well it happens, without a read, I call here expecting to see the straight, but if he's bluffing approx. 10% of the time you have to call.

I think you made the correct plays up to the river. I definitely wouldn't check the flop, as that gives a free card to players you have a good idea are on draws. This would defeat the purpose of your post, "How to protect my hand." I'd probably just call the river. You'll probably get whacked by a str8 fairly often, but you gotta call this for one bet just based upon the pot odds. Once you have a read on the villain(s), you could get cute and raise the river, or fold if your info gathered leads you that way. Good luck.

The str8 is not surprising. Remember, if the villian is going to hang around hoping to hit rivered str8s, you'll make money from him over time. Short term, it's irritating, but long haul it works out.

[Greg J]

Nice hand.

To answer yr main question, you can't really protect yr hand here. You just have to make value bet after value bet. Every now and then you get sucked out on (though it can often seem like everytime when you are running poorly). Such is poker and life.

I would rather fold this river than raise it. No way you raise it. I just call (which might well still be a neg EV move).

[Catsailor]

Grunch:
Preflop and flop are fine. You need to get some bets in on every street while you are ahead. If you wait until the turn you will miss much value.
Turn; Again you bet count is wrong. Learn to use the converter. Flop bets are sb so turn is 9sb or 4 1/2 bb. villian could have any pair but str. dr is likely on this board. A made str. would have most likely raised.
River; Bad card but I call this. He could be using WA/WB with top pair. You'll see a str. here alot but calling is correct IMO. Comments appreciated.
Cat

Anyone agree with this, or is this just plain wrong? The 9 on the turn lowers your pot equity. You have less of a hand to "protect". There are many cards, any 3,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K potentially helps your opponent, whereas the only card that helps you is an A. I don't see this as an autobet or a value bet situation, into 2 callers, with a scare card on the turn. Is it really worth that 1 turn bet here? Because if he misses the river, he check/folds, but if he hits, he gets you for at least 1 more bet. In other words, when he misses you win 1 bet, when he hits you lose 2. Keep the pot size in line with your pot equity. Your equity goes down, so don't put any more money in the pot. Check the turn, you'll be glad you did when you call the river and he shows you 9 10!

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone agree with this, or is this just plain wrong? The 9 on the turn lowers your pot equity. You have less of a hand to "protect". There are many cards, any 3,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K potentially helps your opponent, whereas the only card that helps you is an A. I don't see this as an autobet or a value bet situation, into 2 callers, with a scare card on the turn. Is it really worth that 1 turn bet here? Because if he misses the river, he check/folds, but if he hits, he gets you for at least 1 more bet. In other words, when he misses you win 1 bet, when he hits you lose 2. Keep the pot size in line with your pot equity. Your equity goes down, so don't put any more money in the pot. Check the turn, you'll be glad you did when you call the river and he shows you 9 10!

[/ QUOTE ]

If he has 9T you are still the favorite to win the hand on the turn.

[ QUOTE ]


If he has 9T you are still the favorite to win the hand on the turn.

[/ QUOTE ]

But you're giving him 8-1 odds to call. I'm not saying he has 9 10, my point is a lot of hands are getting odds to call here.

[Pedigree]

He's getting 5.5 to 1 odds to draw on the turn (pot size was calculated wrong) so if hero bets he could be protecting his hand against a lot of different potential drawing hands (any four or five outer). The turn is a must bet.

I'd probably fold the river. I'm rather shocked I'm the only one who would. I don't think you're good 1 out of 9 times. What would make me think twice about the fold is that it might encourage players to take shots at me later on the river. If a really similar hand came up a few hands after this one I'd call the river for that reason.