Why did I make this play??

[Johnny]

5-10 Hold'em home game. Im playing with people that I have played with for a very long time and I know very well how they play. After hands are over we even discuss them (we discuss them hours after all the fish have left with the select few). This may sound extremely stupid, but lemme give it a shot.

7 person game, mostly tight aggresive players and also a few weak players here and there. It's so tight that usually it's the blinds dukin it out.

Im on the button with A /images/graemlins/diamond.gif2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif I call after 3 limpers. SB calls, BB checks. (This doesn't happen often)

Flop comes 6 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif K /images/graemlins/heart.gif T /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. BB bets and UTG raises. Now they problem is this. I know the UTG raiser extremely well in how he plays (his tells etc)(plus he is one of the select few that I discuss hands with). Being that it is such a tight game to begin with I know a few certain things. UTG would have raised with TT. So I know that he has 66 and just made his set, Im alomost 80% sure that he did. Whether it is a set of 10's or 6's it really doesn't matter. I know he has a set.

The other players fold and I reraise. Now why would I reraise there knowing god damn well he has a set. Why did I get into this "bully people around mode."

Does this ever happed to you? It wasn't like I just got a bad beat or anything or I was steaming (which I rarely do, sometimes when I'm losin, I'll admit it, I'm man enough to admit it. It's a working progress and only lasts as far as the next hand). Im just trying to bully someone around.

This reraise is better that just calling (that I would never do). It was either reraise or fold. Is it that bad of a play even though I knew he was set (of 6's that is).

I know its not that bad of a play, but why would I bother to do this knowing he has a set? So I pay off the turn and fold on the river.

The main thing Im asking is, why do I sometimes get into this "bully people around mode?" Is it a bad thing?

All comments appreciated.

[Lawrence Ng]

You make the play for a bunch of reasons with hand.

1. You make it 3 bet hoping UTG will slowplay his set and give you a free card on the turn if no diamond comes.

2. You might want UTG to think you have KQ or KT. thus if the diamond comes on the turn and UTG bets still, you can raise and make more money.

3. You are ultimately trying to deceive your hand. Calling in this spot is a bad thing to do, especially if you have the nut flush draw.

[onegymrat]

Hi Johnny,

Interesting post. I have read Lawrence's post and respect his play but I must disagree with both of you. Your read tells you he has a set. If your opponent HAS a set, your only hope of winning the hand is to hit your flush without pairing the board. Calling is my option and there are a few reasons:

1)Three-betting may drive out the BB. You need him in the pot so you get paid off more when you hit. If BB calls the 3-bets, he's way ahead also.

2)Three-betting opens up for your opponent to cap. If I had a set, I would most certainly four-bet you and lead out on the turn. You would, of course, call all bets up to the river, which would total three BB. That's one more BB than you needed to pay if you just called him down.

3)The only time a reraise is correct is if he is also raising on a flush or straight draw AND he has Q-J or lower. Even his raise with A-J/A-Q gutshot would outkick you if you both missed.

4)Raising for deception is useless. If he has a set, he will not slow down unless a diamond hits without pairing the board. If YOU were in his shoes, what would you put you opponent on? Since you know each other well, he knows you would enter the pot with KK or TT with a pf raise, so he knows he is ahead of you.

Unless something scary shows on the turn, you will not get your free river card. Perhaps your reraise has to do with having a bad night. Were you down for the session? Ask yourself if you were up a rack or two, would you have made the same play. As I said before, I feel calling is a more sensible play. Good luck.

[Lawrence Ng]

You make good sense from a textbook point of view Onegymrat.

But the point is that if Johnny decides to play this hand he must play it aggressively to maximize profit should he make his flush. Otherwise, fold this hand now and wait for a better opportunity. If I were in his shoes I would have preferred the latter given a read of 66 in this situation.

Sometimes, it doesn't hurt to give off a "crazy" image once in a while in a game where your opponents read each other so well.

I have been critized (and stupidly so by other players) of playing too tight sometimes and getting too much respect when I raise. So I use it to my advantage by making more bluffs and then when I do the occasional UTG raise with 5-6 suited and flop some huge hand and crack some other guy who had AK, you should see the look on everyone's faces.

Bottom line is, it pays in the long run to keep your opponents guessing.

[Johnny]

Now that I think about it, I know that he was going to cap it. Plus I also knew that he knew that I would not limp in with KK or TT. I guess I was just tryin to juice the pot, and give him a good rattle.

He is a strong aggresive player. He plays very well when he is winning, and starts to draw a lot more when he is losing (flushes, straights, and gutshots when the pot odds dont offer much). He gets a little rattled when he gets a bad beat or just out drawn. When this hand occured he was winning. We are good friends, and I share this info with him, but I see him sometimes make these mistakes. We joke around at the table and we start singing a song we made up for him. "I play loose when im losing, tight when I'm winning, my name is Fran, Now im tight as clam."

As for me, I was also up about $200. I don't change my game when I start losing. But on occasion, do tend to make more mistakes and start gambling a little more (ever so slightly, that the average player wouldn't notice). But other times I tighten up when I'm losing. I guess it all depends on how I feel that day. I think I would have made the same play 33% of the time reguardless if I was losing, the only problem was that I knew he had a set. That and the fact that he was winning, I guess I was just tryin to loosin him up.

[bernie]

you call if you know he has a set here. you dont have the right # of players in to jam this. you're about a player or 2 off. against 4 this is an easy jam. or if you only read the opponent as a top pair and your Ace will be good if it hits. at this point, you're losing money with every additinal bet you put in.

there's no need for a deception play in this instance knowing what your opponent holds. not to mention he knows how you generally play anyways.

larry made some good points, but i also dont want to shut out the BB by 3 betting. if that's a possibility. let those guys get into a raising war.

b

[Johnny]

I think calling is weak. If im going to the river with this, Im going all the way.

[daryn]

let's say you knew for the sake of argument that he had a set 100%... i think you would like your hand. you can collect a lot of bets from him if your flush hits, and you can fold if the board pairs.. sounds good to me!

[Inthacup]

I'd 3-bet to disguise my hand, not to bully them around. If you cold call on the flop and he knows you never do that with anything but a draw, you've just given your hand away. By 3-betting you'll be able to get more action on the expensive streets if your flush hits.


Cup