Top set - how's my play

[nicky g]

I don't like how I played this one:

In the BB, it's folded round to the CO. He raises the pot, I flat call with junky aces (unsuited, unrelated sidecards). The flop comes
A /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 8 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 2 /images/graemlins/club.gif
Gives me trips, no redraws or anything else. I check, he bets the pot, I checkraise the pot which is gets me most of the way all-in.
I started with a stack of around 40 BBs, he had me covered.
Comments?

[Zag]

Hmmm. I assume you were playing PLO. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

It looks fine to me (though I think there might have been a better approach). You got as good a flop as you had any right to hope for, and you got most of your money behind it.

Depending on the player, I likely would have raised preflop. After all, he was in a steal position, and very likely had substandard values for his raise. Heads up, any AA hand is a favorite over almost all hands, even over most hands that an aggressive player would try to steal with.

If he is not an aggressive player, then you might have been taking a risk in checking to him on the flop. You would not have felt happy about the attempt if he had checked behind and then another diamond fell on the turn. But it would take a real milktoast not to bet that flop after a preflop raise, so I think the risk was warranted.

So, I assume he hit the diamond draw to win, or you wouldn't be posting here. Did he have AKKx, with Kx in diamonds? No matter, you were ahead on the flop, when most of the money went in. Be happy with it.

[Guy McSucker]

Preflop I think the call is fine since a reraise will leave you out of position with over a pot bet left.

A82 is a great flop. You have the nuts and will still have it on the turn unless a 3, 4, 5 or diamond falls (excluding quads from consideration). The 3s, 4s and 5s are most likely safe, and there's nothing to make us believe he has diamonds either. You want to get the money in, and your check-raise nearly does it. If you have a good read that he will bet the flop, I like the check-raise.

You could just call and hope he goes at it again on the turn, but I imagine that's unlikely. If he's flopped a real hand he'll come with your check-raise anyway. Similarly, if you bet out you'll get all-in if he has a hand and only get what's in the pot if not.

This way you get at least one bet out of him, and all of it if he has a hand. What's not to like?

Guy.

[nicky g]

Thanks for the swift responses.

"What's not to like?"

Basically, I was pretty sure he had very little and would fold, but I didn't really have the guts to just call and risk him outdrawing me or checking behind me on the turn. I don't like checkraising the flop with a big hand in hold'em and sort of feel the same way here. Also I was a bit dubious about just calling preflop. Though the jist of it is that he was probably stealing both times and that's the most I would have got out of him.

[nicky g]

"So, I assume he hit the diamond draw to win, or you wouldn't be posting here. Did he have AKKx, with Kx in diamonds? No matter, you were ahead on the flop, when most of the money went in. Be happy with it. "

Nah, he folded, so it didn't work out too badly. I don't like how I play it because: a I played it a bit meekly preflop, headsup agaisnt a likely stealer and b - despite getting lucky on the flop allowing me to carry on with the hand (which, because of my preflop play, I might have had to throw away on the flop, despite almost certainly leading preflop), I didn't win much out of it. Basically I worry that the way I played it threw away my preflop advantage, and ensured that if I did hit a big hand on the flop I probably wouldn't be paid off - but I'm not sure if there was a superior alternative, because of the reasons Guy gives.

[tewall]

Given your stack size, I think you played it as well as can be played. The only other comment would be that you would want to play some other hands in that situation in the same way where your opponent would be making a mistake by folding to your check-raise.

[crockpot]

i think it's impossible to tell whether you made the correct play preflop unless you describe what your plan on the flop was. obviously you are not getting correct implied odds to call just to hit your set unless you expected to get his whole stack by doing so, which is unlikely. so you have to be prepared to make this same check raise or a bet out on a lot of raggedy flops, for the call to be profitable.

i think against the right opponent, either a call, raise or fold is defensible. each one has its problems. i would only raise if i think there is a decent chance the opponent will lay it down right there, since with more than one thrust left to be bet, he has correct odds to call you with almost anything, and it is not hard to put you on aces. so against the typical online opponent, i would either fold or call with the plan of betting out into raggedy flops.