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M.B.E.
01-23-2004, 05:37 AM
One-table NLHE SNG, seven players remaining. Blinds are 75/150. UTG minraises to 300, one guy calls, and I call from the BB with Q/images/graemlins/heart.gif9/images/graemlins/heart.gif. Three of us in, 975 pot.

Flop comes Q/images/graemlins/diamond.gif 2/images/graemlins/club.gif 2/images/graemlins/heart.gif. I have 1780, the other two stacks are both around 2900. What's my play?

Stagemusic
01-23-2004, 10:09 AM
I am checking and am prepared to fold my hand if my opponents bet large, although I would probably call a minimum bet. My oppenent making the minimum bet here would show some weakness and I would be prepared to call and see the turn at that point. I would be cautious though, you have to think that your raiser could be on any number of hands up to and including slowplaying QQ KK or AA although that is the least likely. Your kicker is a problem as you could be up against AQ KQ or QJ as well. Too many hands beat you in this situation... /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

heyrocker
01-23-2004, 10:40 AM
Peronsally I can't not bet this one. I would probably push in around 500 and see where it went. My thought is that the only hand I'm really afraid of is AQ, 2x or possibly QQ/KK/AA. 2x seems pretty unlikely here, except for the slim possibility of 22 or A2. I think that the vast majority of the time you're facing Ax / small pairs. I would have a hard time letting this go without taking a shot at it. If I get reraised I bail, and there's (barely) enough left in my stack to work with. Admittedly, if I get called I've got a big problem.

PrayingMantis
01-23-2004, 12:19 PM
I think I'll base my play mainly on how I read the original raiser. If he's an aggressive-tricky player, a mini-raise can mean many times AA, KK, and then I probably wouldn't call to begin with with Q9. But if he mini-raises with a large range of hands, I think that that's the flop I'd like to see. 2 is not very possible here, IMO, so what is left is some AQ or KQ. I think I will tend to bet quite heavily on the flop, against certain opponents even all-in (it depends on my image and the previous play).
At short, I'd say you're probably ahead. If the problem is the kicker, well, you knew it PF already...

Hope someone will critisize me...


PrayingMantis

M.B.E.
01-23-2004, 03:27 PM
[ QUOTE ]
At short, I'd say you're probably ahead. If the problem is the kicker, well, you knew it PF already..

[/ QUOTE ]
My thinking with that flop was that I was probably ahead with my queen, but also being in the big blind I could credibly represent the deuce. So I thought about it and moved in. The preflop-raiser folded, but the other player called me with AQ. I lost the hand and was eliminated.

There is something wrong with my thinking here, but I can't quite put my finger on it. If I'm trying to represent the deuce, surely a checkraise would be better than just moving in (especially as my stack was almost double the pot). More importantly, if I thought I likely had the best hand, why was I trying to bluff? If anything I should be making a small bet hoping to get called, right? If I do have the best hand, someone who calls me probably has only two or three outs (but six with AK).

If my hand had been 87s, then my play of moving in from the big blind on the Q22 flop might have made sense: my opponents would have to think I could have a deuce, and fold lots of hands they could have which beat me (such as any pocket pair, any ace, maybe even a queen like QJs). Yet I don't think the play would even have occurred to me if my hand had been 87s. My question is, suppose that given these players and the circumstance, moving in with 87s as a pure bluff would have been correct. Does that necessarily mean that moving in with Q9s is also correct, or were there other options with greater EV?

PlayerA
01-23-2004, 03:55 PM
To me an all-in does not represent a duece given that the board is rainbow. I would read an all-in as "I don't want to be called". As you note, I would expect a duece to either check-raise, or to call (if there is a bet behind on the flop) and check-raise on the turn.

I agree with heyrocker. I would bet about 500 ready to dump to a re-raise. With 500, you might get called by medium PPs or AK and be ahead (although I would prefer to have AK fold and win it there). As heyrocker suggests, I would be in trouble if flat called because I'm probably moving in on the turn.

Prickly Pete
01-23-2004, 04:06 PM
I agree with Player A that an all in does not represent a 2, because I so rarely see that done.

I was raised the other day by EP with JJ, I called with AK. And the flop comes AJx. He bet allin and I quickly called and was stunned to see what he had. It's something I've got to consider doing myself at least some of the time, rather than checkraising or waiting til later in the hand.