Read that hand

At the showdown right before I turned my hand over one of the players not in the hand stated my exact hand and that's what made me think to post this.


$40-80. One player limped and I raised from the middle and one blind called. Three-way flop. The flop was 7-6-2 with two diamonds. The blind bet out, the limper folded, I raised, and the blind called. Heads up now with me last.


The turn was an offsuit ten. The blind bet, I raised, and he called.


The river was the king of diamonds. The blind bet out again, I raised again, and he called again. I won.


What'd I have?


Tommy

On the flop, you could have a diamond draw or an overpair, or two overcards, perhaps with one diamond.


Turn seems to have hit you, because you raise again. Of course, if you suspect the BB suspects you of trying to take a free card, then your raise could be an overpair again.


But the river pretty much puts the "overpair" theory to rest. He's betting the third straight time. The king clobbers hands like QQ, JJ. The diamonds make raising difficult without the flush. You're clearly raising for value, expect to get called by a worse hand. So you must have a flush. Which means probably two diamonds involving the Td. You can't have Kd-Td. Probably don't raise with Qd-Td. Jd-Td you'd limp to attract customers.


Ad-Td. How'd I do?


Regards, Lee

Ad7d

I would have said either A7d or ATd, but given that you didn't mention in the post which two cards on the flop were diamonds I have to go with the AT. Raise on the flop with overs and flush draw, raise on the turn once improving to top pair top draw, and raising for value on the river. I would guess your opponent had 7-6 suited figuring he was betting the best hand OTF, bet again figuring you missed the flush draw you raised with, then betting to represent the flush after he reevaluated your hand when you again raised the turn. I'm just speculating here as he could have less with soemthing like A7 or even a smaller flush (less likely imo.) Did we see his hand too?

Ad 10d

I'd guess a flush too, but since everyone's guessing flush, I'll go out on a limb and say you had pocket tens, reading that your opponent didn't have a flush.

Tommy,


Told you I read some of your posts and would try posting. Well I didnt follow through on my first idea which was to rag you gently since you would have no idea who was responding.


Looks to me like 8d 9d. Surprised no one else saw this possibility unless they were confused by your pre-flop raise.


Ben

I was actually considering 8d9d for a second, but with just one limper in, why would you want to raise and drive out other limpers with a drawing hand like that? Basically that's why I ruled out 8d9d

i guessed JTs after the first sentence.


heck, ill stay with that.


brad

AQd? im more interested in what the big blind had. KT?

A,Q diamonds.

Ad-Td is my #1 choice; Td-9d #2.

Tommy,


I've only allowed myself two minutes to think about this since this is what the other guy had. I see a few hands that fit in with this betting pattern.


One hand you could have is Ad-Qd (or Ad-Jd). If you had this I put your opponent on the Td-9d. or Td-8d. Everything fits.


Another hand that fits is Ad-Td. In this case I like your opponent for the queen of diamonds with any smaller diamond that pairs the original non diamond on the flop (although he played this loose and aggressive some opponents would play it this way)


Since the guy guessed your exact hand I’m going with Ad-Qd but I still think he could have gotten lucky since some other hands might fit this betting profile.


Regards,


Rick

Funny,


I changed my mind at the last second and make Ad-Td my second choice. And for my first choice I put your second choice in his opponents hand!


But don't you agree that a few more hands would fit and the guy made a lucky guess?


Regards,


Rick

I've got to go with ATd or AQd as choice #1. TT is a likely holding for you as well though.


Rob

Rob,


What could Tommy's opponent have if Tommy had a pair of tens?


Regards,


Rick

Apparently this is pretty unoriginal, but I'm going with AdTd.

he has 8d9d and you have AdTd

I had A-10 of diamonds and the opponent did not show his hand. After I showed my hand, the guy who had guessed it right said, "I knew you had the 10 of diamonds." We could say the ace was a lucky guess, in that I could have had a different diamond along with the ten. But the preflop raise does makes the ace more likely than the others.


Let's say I had the queen or jack of diamonds along with the ten. Would I raise the river? Maybe not. If the opponent had flopped a pair and a flush draw, his betting would make some sense, even his turn bet, since I might have raised the flop with two overcards. I'd have to think he's a bit more likely to call a raise preflop with A-x of diamonds than with X-x of diamonds, and it would cost me two bets to find out that he did indeed have A-x, so maybe I would have flat called the river without the nuts. I don't know. I'm just saying that this is enough of a hint to suggest that A-10 would be the "right" answer if this were an official quiz.


Tommy

Hi Ben!


"Told you I read some of your posts and would try posting. Well I didnt follow through on my first idea which was to rag you gently since you would have no idea who was responding."


Gently? That's too funny. Did you know I refer to you as gentle Ben?


"Looks to me like 8d 9d. Surprised no one else saw this possibility unless they were confused by your pre-flop raise."


My raising hand/situations at limit are way different than at no-limit, in that they do have SOME limits. (Remember the 3-4 of spades from Wednesday night?)


Tommy

Tommy,


Ad-Td was my close second choice. What did you believe your opponent had (my guess is in my post)?


I picked Ad-Qd (with the similar hand Ad-Jd also possible. If you had this hand, do you think it is possible that you and your opponent could play the hand this way? If you had my choice (or Ad-Jd), I put your opponent on Td-9d (or Td-8d). The main question is would you raise the turn with a four flush and two big overcards?


Regards,


Rick

"The main question is would you raise the turn with a four flush and two big overcards?"


No. As close to never as never gets, against this particular opponent, but to explain that we'd be off into profiling him and how he plays against me. Basically he's not the type to launch a probe bet on the turn and then fold to a raise. I can't recall ever seeing him fold to a turn raise head up, and that's why I'd "never" raise him with just two overcards.


As to what he might have had, he's one of these guys who always acts like he got sucked out on if the river improved the opponent. Typically I interpret his act to mean that he was beaten on the turn and nearly drawing dead. lol Go figure. I don't think he flopped two pair or made two pair on the turn because more bets would have gone in somewhere before the river. I think he either flopped a pair and a flush draw and made the flush (less likely) or made two pair on the river. Either way, I think the river hit him.


Tommy

AdTd


The blind probably had two pair.

I think the more important clue as to your hand was the fact that you raised a limper pre-flop AND how you played it. How you played it suggests flush draw, with top pair on turn. But would you raise a limper with KTd, QTd, or JTd? My guess is in most cases, no. Therefore you could only have had AdTd. Raising one limper would be reasonable, as you would like to get the blinds out, and anyone else who hadn't already entered the pot, so you could play against the limper heads up.

>>"Told you I read some of your posts and would >>try posting. Well I didnt follow through on my >>first idea which was to rag you gently since >>you would have no idea who was responding."


>Gently? That's too funny. Did you know I refer >to you as gentle Ben?


Nope, although I have been exposed to this nickname over my years.


>>"Looks to me like 8d 9d. Surprised no one else >>saw this possibility unless they were confused >>by your pre-flop raise."


>My raising hand/situations at limit are way >different than at no-limit, in that they do have >SOME limits. (Remember the 3-4 of spades from >Wednesday night?)


I think watching you play that rag hand in the NL game was exactly why I thought of the 8-9d as a possibility. A-10d was the other possiblity I thought of (it didnt have any warts in explaining your play) but I didnt think it made nearly as good a story.


Too bad you left the NL game early. Would have enjoyed talking to you some more. The game even got pretty live for an hour after you left when a young guy came in.


Can you or any of your regular game mates, email me the days (and times) you guys play board games.


I hunted up my set of Cosmic Encounters and will introduce you to a wild board game some night.


Ben

"But would you raise a limper with KTd, QTd, or JTd? My guess is in most cases, no."


But from the button, yes, and from the cutoff, probably. This makes the raise coming from a middle seat the most significant 'clue' as to which card I had along with diamond ten.


Tommy