33 in the cutoff

[Schmed]

I just move to my 6-12 seat and I get dealt, 33 in the cutoff.

1 caller in front of me, I call, button calls, blinds complete and check.

Flop comes

K /images/graemlins/club.gif 3 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 5 /images/graemlins/club.gif

Blinds check, MP player bets, I raise, all fold to the MP player who calls.

turn

A /images/graemlins/spade.gif

MP checks, I bet, he calls

River

9 /images/graemlins/club.gif

He checks, I check and show him my trips, he shows KQo.

I missed my bet on the river but I really wasn't sure what he had. I had just sat down and really didn't have a read on anyone at the table that I hadn't played with in the past. He was someone I had never played with. I could have called the flop and raised the turn but there was a 2 flush out there and I wanted to charge the flush draw and any yahoo that decided that this was the time to see the river with their pocket 9's......

[Aces McGee]

I'm by no means an expert on this concept, but I think you have an easy value bet on the river.

EDIT: I also think you should raise your threes here, or muck them. You don't have your set odds, so I don't like the call.

McGee

[LetsRock]

Isn't it considered best to have as many players in vs. small pp? Raising here pf would only serve to thin an already slim table. While folding would not have been a bad move, raising seems much worse than calling?

[lil']

Small pocket pairs like a large field to try and flop a set (generally you look to get about 5:1 before calling with them.) They also could win a pot heads up unimproved. They do worst against 2 or 3 players, where you have little chance of winning unimproved and no odds to flop a set.

[LetsRock]

This is probably a weak pf call, but I don't have a huge issue with it.

I'm not sure the river check through was warranted. You don't have a read on the player and he hasn't at any time shown any aggression to appear to have anything more than top pair.

Without proof (ie previous action) that he's gonna stick around on an under pair and then slow play it when it hits a set, I can't justify not getting that last bet out of it. (and I'm the biggest monster-under-the-bed seer there is)

I certainly wouldn't get pushy if he bets out on the river, but here I need to bet.

[Aces McGee]

Hi LetsRock

[ QUOTE ]
Isn't it considered best to have as many players in vs. small pp?

[/ QUOTE ]

Um, sorta. You want a lot of players in so you are getting the proper odds to flop your set (something like 8.5:1, but because of implied odds, the conventional wisdom is that you can call with as few as five opponents).

But our hero doesn't have the odds for a call here. Folding is one option. A raise, however, could get it heads up, and while 33 is pretty much a coin flip against two overcards, a raise allows him to take control of the hand and often take it down with a bet on the flop. Even if someone cold calls or the BB defends and the action is three-way, it's not the worst thing in the world, because there are plenty of flops that he can bet and win the pot on, even if he's actually behind.

Of course, if there's no chance of knocking everyone behind him out, than a fold is the right play.

EDIT: Lil put it well. A small pocket pair plays best against a large field (5 or more opponents) or heads up.

McGee

[Schmed]

I gotta agree with you. This was my first hand, sitting there, ordering drinks, organizing my chips...yadda yadda....

I tend to look at position with small pairs along with odds. In a late position I will call one bet with them in hopes of flopping a set or having them check to me and then out play them.

The river check was a mistake but in the back of my mind I wanted to do it as an image thing. There were a lot of locals at the table, older locals, and they like to do the check down heads up thing. Checking a big hand here puts it in their mind that I will do it again. I dunno, bad check, bad read, but by winning the first pot I was happy to play on the house all night.... /images/graemlins/grin.gif