10/20 .. Missed an opportunity.

[ALL1N]

The game is an online 10/20 game with 6 players. The table is generally pretty loose but pretty straight (no trickiness).

I limp Ac6c after 2 limpers on the button. SB completes and BB checks.

Flop is JcTd4c. BB bets, UTG calls and other folds. I raise, SB folds, and they both call.

Turn is the Tc. Checked to me, I bet, BB calls, and UTG checkraises. I go 3 bets, BB folds and UTG calls me down.

I think I misplayed the turn by making it 3 bets. Thoughts?

[ALL1N]

Is this too basic or too advanced for you guys?? Please give me some (any) feedback.

[vkotlyar]

you played the hand very well. You dont want BB to call now that the board is paired. Its obvious that he doesnt have a 10, but if he pairs his other pair, you are beat. You must do everything you can NOT to let players draw to a full house when you have a flush or str8 w a pair on board.
well played.
vitaly

[DcifrThs]

what opportunity did you miss? you raised every time it came to you except before the flop.

I agree, well played, your other option as i see it was the call? the c-r? now that doesn't make sense when you have people who will play with their 2nd best hands and even might outdraw you. if you get reraised then you know you're likely looking at a boat since you said its a straightforward/nontricky table and you hold the nut flush. the only thorn here is WHICH card paired...a jt is now a boat. BUT that is probably unlikely b/c TWO PAIR would have reraised your late raise on the flop! either way you want to raise here b/c your raise on the flop might mean something other than flush draw to them and the c-r'er thinks his tens are good. silly wabbit, trips are for kids! its the flush (frush-if you get that nice vietnamese dealer at the bellagio)that takes it ;-)

nice hand

in terms of the level of this question it is pretty basic when compared with some of the other questions here but it doesn't mean you shouldn't ask it. you should ask anything and everything you want to know!

questions? comments?
-Barron

[ALL1N]

Well these are the responses that I thought I'd get, but I really wanted somebody to look deeper.

As you ascertained, the UTG raiser most likely has trip tens. A smaller flush is an outside chance and a full house a remote possibility. We will assume that the BB flopped a pair of jacks that turned into two pair.

Lets deal with each case:

UTG raiser has trip tens. Now the BB is drawing to 2 outs which are irrelevant to us, as any improvement will also improve UTG to a hand that would beat our flush. Hence, if we call and BB overcalls, we have achieved the same turn profit that we would have from 3 betting and UTG calling, with no loss in expectation of the pot.

Now, if the river now comes unpaired, UTG will still surely bet, and we can put in the raise at the end. Assuming BB folds and UTG now calls, we have made an extra bet at NO COST. Also, if the river does pair, we can again call for one bet, saving a bet when we're beat. Hence, when the UTG raiser has trip tens, calling on the turn is clearly the superior play.

UTG raiser has a small flush. In this case the BB is drawing live to 4 outs. The 10-1 pot odds are almost exactly what is required for this call (4 outs in 42 unknowns). Since with the nut flush we are winning the whole pot all the times the BB misses his draw and his call has negligible immediate value, we are only losing here to the reverse implied odds on BB's call. Since UTG will probably also shut down if the river pairs the board again, we will only have to pay off one bet, or perhaps none if BB goes for the checkraise.

So in this case, we are losing less than an eleventh of a bet by letting the BB draw live.

UTG raiser has a full house. This is an unlikely prospect but again calling clearly best against a full house. We will lose 5 bets on the turn and river if the river doesn't double pair. However, we actually save 2 bets if the river does double pair, since we will now not raise. So in this remote case, calling is again superior on the turn.

In summary, since we gain a whole bet when UTG has trip tens, save a fraction of a bet when he has a boat, and lose only a smidgeon of a bet when he has the less likely flush, calling on the turn is in fact a better play than 3 betting.