99 hand - comments appreciated

[Brian]

Party 3/6. Dealt 9 /images/graemlins/club.gif 9 /images/graemlins/heart.gif in the cutoff. Folded to me and I raise, Button folds, unknown SB 3-bets, BB folds, I call.

Flop: J /images/graemlins/diamond.gif T /images/graemlins/heart.gif 8 /images/graemlins/heart.gif

SB bets, I call.

Turn: 6 /images/graemlins/club.gif

SB bets, I raise, SB calls.

River: A /images/graemlins/club.gif

SB checks, I check.

-Brian

[AviD]

I think you have to raise on the flop, both for value (on the OESD) and to feel out his hand and see if he has a piece of the flop.

If he re-raises, I'd call and if unimproved on the turn...fold to a bet.

The way its played, you don't know anything about his hand after the flop...he could have AA, KK, QQ or a small PP...or some mixed AK, AQ, AJ, KQ. Your raise could be interpretted as a blind steal, so he re-raised...need to raise that flop to find out how serious he is on the bet.

Raising the turn I think is a late, but interesting (maybe even good), move to find out what he has. His call of your turn re-raise indicates either nut straight draw or big PP fearing your made straight. Likely why he checked the river...

I'd put him on AQ, AK, KQ, KK, or QQ...per his check on the river...he feared the made straight. The more I think about it the turn raise was a good move that forced him to weaken up and if nothing else gives you information on his hand (and how/why he played it the way he did) come showdown.

I don't think you know enough about the player to make the river bet, and with the A dropping...he may be checking to you for the raise. Safe play is checking too at this point.

[JDErickson]

Raise the flop and see what happens. If you get 3 bet than I would consider I'm beat. If just called, bet out on the turn. You may be able to knock him off a hand like AK.

Jim

[Brian]

Hi JD,

Clearly, a raise on the Flop will not knock out AK. A raise on the Turn might, however.

-Brian

[Brian]

Hi Avid,

There is no "value" in raising an OESD heads-up. For every bet that I put in drawing to an OESD, I need more than 2 other bets to go into the pot for value. Heads-up, I will get only 1. Folding if I don't hit on the Turn is equally terrible, especially if I raise the Flop and he re-raises.

Raising the Flop is not likely to do very much for me in terms of semi-bluffing or letting me know where I am at. It won't get him off any remotely reasonable 3-betting hand that hasn't paired, and I am likely to be 3-bet if he did pair or if he started with an overpair.

-Brian

[JDErickson]

[ QUOTE ]
Clearly, a raise on the Flop will not knock out AK. A raise on the Turn might, however.

[/ QUOTE ]

No but a raise on the flop and betting out on the turn may. Sorry, thats what I thought I said but I understand how it could be misunderstood.

[Rico Suave]

Hey Brian:

I think that the turn raise worked out for you here. You got the chance to make him fold his overcards, and you got to see a showdown without a bet on the river. Is this what you were shooting for? Or would you have bet if the river was a rag and not an A. Were you pretty confident that the sb wouldn't 3-bet you with an overpair? Because you really do not want him to 3-bet cause you gotta call him.

River sucks. I think you lost here b/c I cannot think of a hand that sb would 3 bet pf that you can beat.

--Rico

[Brian]

*NM*.

[Brian]

Hi Rico,

This is exactly what I was shooting for. I intended on my 99 seeing a showdown from the moment he re-raised me. It looks like I am on a steal and unless the board gets EXTREMELY scary, I was not planning on folding my 99. I would not have bet the River, though, even if it were a rag instead of an Ace. That is another point I was hoping someone would bring up and ask me.

My raise on the Turn was a semi-bluff that was also designed to get me a free showdown. I did not think there were many hands he would 3 bet me here with. However, that is not the case on the Flop, where I think he would 3-bet with many hands.

-Brian

[bunky9590]

I think this play worked nicely. I think the A on the river killed you though. Probably sitting on a Big A. I thought he might fold to the CR on the turn. Bad card came on the river, nothing you can do about that.

[AliasMrJones]

[ QUOTE ]
My raise on the Turn was a semi-bluff that was also designed to get me a free showdown.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just for clarification, how did it get you a free showdown? A check/call turn and river cost the same. You paid up-front rather than on the installment plan, but how did it save you money?

Semi-bluff I'll buy, but free showdown I don't see.

[Brian]

Hi Mr. Jones,

The word "free" is used loosely here. Raising the Flop for a free card isn't exactly "free", just cheaper. While this does not save me any bets, it doesn't cost me anything, either. As I said in my other post, I already know that I want my hand to see the showdown. So if I raise here and hit my straight, I have gained a bet. If I don't hit, I take the free showdown.

-Brian

[J.R.]

You also may get him to fold a hand he should call with, however remote that possibility may be.

[AliasMrJones]

[ QUOTE ]
So if I raise here and hit my straight, I have gained a bet. If I don't hit, I take the free showdown.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah -- sorry, my confusion. Don't know what to call that. Plus the added benefit of the possible fold to the semi-bluff. Nice.

[Brian]

SB has K /images/graemlins/heart.gif K /images/graemlins/spade.gif, a hand that I was obviously not going to be able to force him off of.

-Brian