second guess costs me the pot

3-6


i'm in the cutoff and raise 1 limper with black 9's. the limper and i go heads up to the flop.

limper is total fish, could hold nearly anything.


[Qh 3d 7c]


he checks, i bet, he calls.


[8c]


he checks, i check behind him and immediately regret it.


river is an offsuit 5 and he bets into me. i call. he shows two pair 3's and 5's.


i'm not sure if this guy would have called the turn with a pair of 3's or not, i wouldn't put it past him the way he'd been playing. but the fact that i let him see the river for free really made me sick.


flame away.

Yes, this is a completely different situation than if the total rock called the raise and then called the flop bet: you would be in some serious trouble. Against the fish your hand is a big favorite and should be routinely bet on the turn.


It probably wouldn't have made any difference this time since the guy will and probably should call you heads up with any pair, so your bet is less "saving you the pot" and more "getting more money".


- Louie

I don't see him folding here...there are no obvious draws on the flop and the 8 on the turn can't look that scary to him. I've seen tons of weak players call preflop with a crap hand like this (even after the raise), and then stay to the river if they catch even a small part of the flop (especially if no big cards are present). He probably is holding out the hope that you raised with AK, AQ, or some other 2 overcards.


That being said, I would have bet the turn...in this case, you'd have lost 1 extra BB, but most times he will just be paying off a better hand.

My standarn operating procedure with low-middle Pocket Pairs is bet the flop, bet the turn, check the river, unless he'll call with AK for example. This of course is for heads-up play from either position. A raise is sometimes enough to cause me to fold.

Checking the turn here is really, really weak. If he is a fish, I not only suppose a loose player, but a fairly passive one too. Some fishes check-raise the turn, but few without three-of-a-kind of better. Some loosesy check-raise more, but those I call maniacs.


Assuming you fear the fish has got a Queen, but that you will go to showdown no matter what, it's far better to bet the turn and check the river.


If you will lose faith this quickly with pocket Nines heads-up (which of course is the best you can hope for besides stealing the blinds), my advice is to set your raising standards for pairs vs a limper to JJ. You are not giving up much in the long run by merely limping with 99 and TT against one limper.


lars

I like betting the turn. 3-6 fish don't always fold on the flop, but do so more often on turn. Fish had a pair, so he is probably calling anyway, checking saved you a BB.