3/6 Hand

So I was playing 3/6 Hold 'em on Paradise last night and I had a hand that stood out (of course it may have stood out because I played so few, couldn't hit the cards last night.)


I'm on the button, the table is a little short (8) as a couple people are sitting out while it started out somewhat loose, it has become tighter. I get dealt 9h9c.

The table folds to UTG who just limps. I've noticed he is a somewhat tight player and has read a book or two. He seems to play strait off the charts (maybe WLLH by Jones). He has a tendency to play cards based on what they are and not what table is like.

I raise, SB calls, BB folds, UTG calls. 3 see the flop, 7sb in the pot. Flop comes 7c2s4c and SB checks. UTG bets. He would bet a pair on a board like this and I'm thinking he may have limped in with AXs or KXs and X hit the board. I raise with my nines and the SB folds. UTG just calls.

The turn brings Qs and UTG bets into me again. At this point I'm thinking that he thinks I have high connectors and he's betting into me hoping that I'll fold if I still hadn't hit. I raise and again he just calls. This rules out a set in my mind and confirms that he perhaps is being aggressive with his pair, or maybe a flush draw.

The river brings Jh. UTG bets into me yet again. At this point I'm thinking I may have misread him. I debate whether I should raise again, and instead opt to just call as I find his continued passive aggression disturbing and I'm wary of a trap.


This is my first 2+2 had posting. All comments are welcome.

UTG shows 7sKs. I take down a $66 pot with a 6BB net gain.

UTG says "nice call."


This was a nice turning point for my night and with a few more good hands I changed my 16BB losing session into an 18BB winning session for the 4 hours I played.

OOPS.

Ok so trying to stay up all night playing poker and working an 8 hour day job makes thinking tough sometimes.

With only 4 hours of sleep I managed to repeatedly type "UTG" in my post when I was refering to the cutoff.

I'm quite sorry.

I'd just call the turn and river. It's headsup, I've got a hand I want to show-down, but I'm vulnerable and could easily be behind.


UTG is the first to act after the BB -- so it makes no sense to say "all fold to UTG".

Preflop: fine.


Flop: fine.


Turn: When he bets out I would be worried. Now, you may have him beat, but I don't like your raise. If I were him (I would not be playing K7 but lets just say), I would probably do the same thing so I didn't give a free card to two big cards (so he doesn't necessarily have queens). By raising, however, you drive out hands you beat while paying off hands you don't beat. He did call and a bet on the river so you got paid, but I think it is better just to let him bet unless you have no respect for him.


River: I would've been scared. You have to be careful not to get stuck to pocket pairs. It worked this time but there are a lot of ways for you to lose at this point. You should probably call, depending on your read of the player, as the pot odds are good. The key is not getting into this situation to begin with. As for raising, the pot is big, and he could be bluffing after missing a draw or something, but I think he turns over QJ very often. It would be a HUGE mistake. There is nothing I could imagine him calling with that you beat. Your call here is basically a crying call.


If you were playing 40-80 I would agree with your play much more, but I think at the low limits it is too hard to read his hand in this case to make such an aggressive raise on the turn. Since the games are usually loose/passive, his continued betting usually means something. He could have lots of things that would be out of the question at higher limits. If you think he doesn't have it, let him pay you. The problem with raising the turn is that now he (usually) only continues when he has it. Even though he was semibluffing, your raise is not hugely profitable because he has lots of outs (14/44), so you have less than a 70% chance of winning even if you KNOW exactly what he holds.

Preflop, your raise on the button with pocket nines is good poker when the cutoff open-limps. You want to drive out the blinds and get it heads-up with position over the cutoff.


On the flop, you must raise as you did with your overpair. You are vulnerable to overcards and should put pressure on the remaining player.


However, when your opponent leads at you on fourth when an overcard turns up you must slow down and just call. I think raising is reckless since you could be playing two outs. If your hand is good, you want your opponent to keep betting. If your hand is not good, you have very little chance of winning and you should minimize your loss.


To raise on the river when a second overcard to your pocket pair shows up would be very bad poker. You must call and hope your hand holds up.

Thanks! I appreaciate the insights.

Here's a bit more on my thinking, I figured it could have QJ. That's one of the reasons I raised on the turn and this very well could be wrong. I figured he thought I had high connectors and missed the flop. I saw his turn bet as probing. By raising I say, "yes, I did have AQ, you should fold." He calls though. His call gave me pause, but the fact that he didn't raise told me I was either right in the first place, or he did have JQ and was afraid I did have AQ.

His bet on the river was quite troubling. At this point I did contemplate folding (he's been showing consistant strength) or semi-bluff raising (I had a hand, but it very well could be a loser.) I figured though that the pot was large enough to warrant at least a call, so I shouldn't fold. The raise I figured would be a bad choice, because he's only going to call if he really does have me beat, and so I'm not gaining anything.


"Since the games are usually loose/passive, his continued betting usually means something."


I'd like to address this statement really quick. Yes, this is usually the case when I'm playing a 3-6. Last night though the table was fairly tight as I mentioned. I believe only 18-20% were seeing the flop. I hadn't been getting two cards worth anything for the past couple of hours so I had a very tight image. I was fairly confident he was trying to run me off my hand.

The Turn raise was the big question of my post. From the two resonses so far it sounds like I shouldn't have made it, and I wasn't sure about doing it at the time.

I think, in general I may be trying to out think the 3/6 players too much. And of course I could be trying to apply poker theory badly.