Another 25-50 shorthanded online hand.

[all_aces]

I go in fits and spurts posting here. I'm not sure if this is a fit or a spurt but it sure is one of them.

I'm in BB with 5h5d. Folded to the button. The button is a player I respect, but he will raise with any 2 marginal calling hands in this spot, which is kind of why I respect him. He raises, SB folds, I just call with a plan.

Flop comes KdQc3d. I check, he bets, I raise (that was the plan part lol), and he calls.

Turn is the Jd. I bet, he pauses dramatically, and calls.

River is the 2d for a board of Kd Qc 3d Jd 2d.

Do you bet out, check-call, check-raise or check-fold?

[Paluka]

I think you aren't going to be willing to fold if he bets. I also believe he will bet a decent diamond. I think he will call you without having the flush sometimes. I don't think he will raise your bet with a worse hand. If you bet and he calls and you lose, he was going to bet and you were going to call anyway. Consequently, you should bet and fold to a raise.

[ajizzle]

I think you have to bet here. I highly doubt he has a diamond, just because he paused dramatically when the third diamond came. However, he may have a low diamond like yours. If you check and he bets, you'er going to call anyway, so it's better to bet, and hope he calls with worse hands, or bet and fold to his raise. The worst thing possible here is to have it be checked through on the river. Thus, betting is the best option.

[all_aces]

"so it's better to bet, and hope he calls with worse hands, or bet and fold to his raise"

Thanks for the feedback so far. I should point out that this player, while not a maniac, is completely capable of raising a river bet without a diamond if he thinks it's the only way he'll win the hand. Results to follow.

BTW, I know the hand is unorthodox, but I think it improved my table image. Particularly with this player, who probably thinks I'm pretty tight, who I play with very often, and who is smart enough to pay attention to all this stuff. I know the whole "I'll teach him not to steal my blinds..." thinking is pointless if it forces you to play bad, but I believed it had to happen eventually.

[skp]

I agree. I might play it differently if my opponent was capable of bluff raising or if my opponent was capable of only betting the nut or second nut flush if I check.

[J.A.Sucker]

I'm going to dissent with the others and say to check-call, especially if this guy is a good player. What is he calling you down with? You have an OK hand to showdown, but hardly a monster, with the mini flush. If it goes check-check, fine. If he decides to stab at the pot with a missed draw of some sort, fine.

[all_aces]

I went with J.A.Sucker's play, which is to check and call. So, I checked, he bet, I called, and I took it down with my 5d for the flush.

He had 9cTs for a turned str8, which I guess explains the dramatic pause.

We laughed at my suckout of his suckout for a while...