Correct laydown?

[kingstalker]

Party Poker 25NL
Blinds .25/.50 I have 25 dollars in front of me
I have /images/graemlins/spade.gif9 /images/graemlins/heart.gif9 in the BB,4 limpers
Flop is /images/graemlins/diamond.gif2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif8 /images/graemlins/club.gif9
I raise to 3 get two callers.
Turn /images/graemlins/heart.gif10
I raise to 3 but now MP reraises me to 10 and Lp calls.
Here I thought for a long time and finally folded, My main worry was that I could be up against a made straight and would have to hit the boat on the river in order to be able to win, but even if I had the best hand on the turn and say MP has only two pairs I could still get outdrawn by LP who I think was on a flush draw, because as it turns out a blank came on the river and he folded when MP set him all in.Should I just pushed in and hoped to hit the boat or was my fold correct considering the circumstances?

[LivingLegend58]

I would have pushed in, but sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling.

[muzungu]

kingstalker-
Ahh... another poker/chessplayer... good times...

As for the hand- I play weak-tight at times, but there's no way I'm laying this down here. True, he could have 67 or JQ, but there are lots of other possibilities, and at Party 25, people put their money in the pot with all kinds of garbage hands. He could have a flush draw, a str8 draw, top pair, 2 pair, even a smaller set- there are so many hands you are way ahead of here. In this situation (once MP raises), I'd push all-in and hope for the best.

More things to consider:

1. Your turn bet ($3 into a $10 pot) showed weakness and asked to be raised. True, the turn card is a bit of a scare card, but most of the time you'll still be ahead and you want to make str8/flush draws pay to see the river. If MP hadn't raised, they'd still be seeing cards for cheap, which is bad for you. Bet the pot here, unless you're pretty sure you'll get raised if you bet weak, in which case you can bet weak and reraise all-in.

2. With the str8 and flush draws on the flop, another way to play the hand might be to try to checkraise the flop, making a big enough pot to move all-in on the turn. This depends on the table texture and what you think the odds are of the flop being checked around (which would be bad news).

Final thought- at these stakes, with people pushing their chips around, you can't live in fear of someone having the absolute nuts. Next time you hit a run of cold cards, maybe spend some time focusing on what kind of hands are winning pots- i.e how often someone has the nuts, what kind of betting action corresponds to what strength of hand, etc.

-muz

[bunky9590]

I may be in the minority but I smooth call here. I need to see that river. Granted I probably have to get my money in on the river as well. But I my be able to get away from it with 9.00 or so in my stack if the flush card comes and the board doesn't pair.

If the flush card doesn't come or the fourth str8 card whiffs, I have to check call the river. I may have the best hand. A bit non passive I know but the raiser may have as little as JT.

[luckycharms]

With a 2, 8, or T giving you a boat and a 9 giving you quads, you have 10 outs with one card to come - a 22% chance of what will obviously be the winning hand. At the point of your decision, there were 39 in the pot with $10 coming at you - 26% (if you can think of it that way).

Even if they already had the straight or flush at this point, it'd still be worth the smooth call because of the implied odds. Scare card hits, you fold. Boat or quads hit, you raise and almost definitely get at least one of them to call, giving you $11 more in the pot, pushing the odds to 50 to 10 - 20%. This 20% investment has positive expectation against the 22% chance that you'll hit your hand.

Therefore, even if they do already have the flush/straight, it's still worth a call.