Forced to bluff

[Clarkmeister]

With one of my best friends in town, I sat down in a great Mirage $10-20 game, had lots of beers and generally tried to keep him from losing his shirt since he's played like 10 hours of holdem in his life.

Well into the night, he's up a ton, I'm stuck a little due to one hand where I flopped a set and a LAG who decided to go 5 bets on the turn with a pair + flush draw got there on the river. In spite of that, image is pretty tight-predictable tonight since I haven't had many playable hands and the few pots I've won have been with stuff like KK and AQ.

The Hand:

I'm not open limping and I decide to use my newfound "tight predictable image powers" and open raise 3 off the button with 7h8h. My buddy folds, guy who likes to chase calls in the CO, the LAG mentioned above 3-bets, SB folds, BB who also likes to chase calls, I call, CO calls.

4 to the flop for 6BBs.

Flop: 6s Th Jd - Checked to the button LAG who bets, BB calls, I call with my gutshot-backdoor flush draw, CO calls. All 4 proceed to the turn with 8BBs in the pot.

Turn: [6s Th Jd] Qs - Checked around.

River: [6s Th Jd Qs] 4c - BB checks, I bet. I mean, I've got to have AK, right?

[mike l.]

not only is openraising 87s in a 10-20 game a waste of time and effort, but trying to bluff through 3 players on the river is also pointless. here's hoping you got lucky because that's pretty much what you needed to have happen. gamble, gamble.

[Gabe]

I don’t know, I don’t think I like this too much.

Open raising from your position with 78s with a couple of calling stations, a loose aggressive player, and your novice friend still to act is pretty questionable.

I’m not crazy about the gut-shot on the flop because it’s to the low end and there are quite possibly a draw or a draw to a draw to the high end out. I’m not saying the call is bad, but it’s close because you can lose some chips a lot of times when you hit.

The river may be also close, but I think the scales are tipped to the –EV side of the scale with three opponents. Were you planning on showing you bluff? Maybe that could add some value for later. You may have squandered you tight equity, maybe you’ll be able to put some loose equity to better use.

[SinCityGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
Open raising from your position with 78s with a couple of calling stations, a loose aggressive player, and your novice friend still to act is pretty questionable.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. Openraising with medium suited connectors in early position should only be done (rarely) when playing against good, observant players (to prove that you don't just raise with Group I to Group III hands). Against a field of calling stations, you'll want as many seeing the flop as possible (to get your implied odds).

[Tommy Angelo]

Thanks for a fun read. One little thing:

"I decide to use my newfound "tight predictable image powers""

That is a most delicate and mighty power that earns more by remaining a potentiality than by becoming an actuality. Or something.

[Coilean]

I like the river bluff. It's got to have a better than 11% chance to succeed after everyone checks the turn (I would guess more like 40%), and you for sure aren't winning a showdown /images/graemlins/wink.gif.

[Brian]

[Clarkmeister]

Whoops, sorry forgot to post it.

All 3 players folded and I took it down. /images/graemlins/smile.gif