Pocket Aces Flops a Full House -- How Did I play It?

[colgin]

Ultimate Bet 3/6 Hold'em (9 handed)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A/images/graemlins/club.gif, A/images/graemlins/diamond.gif.
UTG+1 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, Hero raises, Button calls, SB folds, BB folds.

Flop: (5.33 SB) A/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 9/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, 9/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="blue">(3 players)</font>
Hero checks, Button bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (3.66 BB) Q/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="blue">(3 players)</font>
Hero bets, Button calls.

River: (5.66 BB) J/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="blue">(3 players)</font>
Hero bets, Button raises, Hero 3-bets, Button caps, Hero calls, UTG calls.

Final Pot: 14.66 BB

Any comments are appreciated.

Colgin

[Alobar]

I don't understand why you check call the flop only to bet out the turn.

[colgin]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't understand why you check call the flop only to bet out the turn.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. The easiest explanation is that I planned to check-raise the turn and wussed out.

The more complex explanation (er, rationalization) is as follows. I have a monster and don't want to bet the flop headsup which might well take down the pot. I check hoping my opponent will bet but not afraid of a free card if he doesn't. On the turn I think that maybe he is weak and will just take a free card, or that even if I get the checkraise in I will give away my hand and my opponent has an easy fold (unless of course he happens to have a real hand himself). I am hoping that I showed enough weakness on the flop that regardless of my turn bet I will at least get called down if he had a small piece of the flop (especially if he has Ax and thinks I may be betting a pair of Queens on the turn; recall that my pre-flop raise looks like a steal raise). Please feel free to flame away at this rationale.

Thanks again.

[el_grande]

Looks fine to me. Is there a bug in the converter? It said 3 players.

[PokerBob]

Looks good to me, but I think a brilliant player may have been scared of your flop check.

[colgin]

[ QUOTE ]
Is there a bug in the converter? It said 3 players.


[/ QUOTE ]

There must be. It was heads-up between me and the button. UTG folded pre-flop.

[Yeknom58]

You played this weird.
You check call the flop but bet the turn. I'm thinking you go for the CR on the turn.

In either case I prefer to bet this flop. The check call on this no draw flop will send out the alarms to even the deafest of players.

[Mike Gallo]

You flopped the nuts, those hands tend to play themselves for the most part /images/graemlins/crazy.gif You may have gotten a little too tricky on the turn and missed a bet by not check raising.

Heres your thought process. If you bet the flop you could lose him. You decide to check call. That looks very dubious to most players. The fact that he bet into your preflop raise means the flop hit him also. He will bet the turn. Your thought of "If I check the turn he may not bet" I disagree with. He might even overcall the turn bet but reraise a check raise. Does this make any sense to you?

I think he had a 9 or a AQ or AK and he thought he had you beat.
Ni han Sir /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[me454555]

Why not just bet out the flop? Its heads up so you'll probobly get called down by any Ax and you might even get raised. A free card isnt going to make anyone a 2nd best hand that they would have folded for 1 bet on the flop.

[Mike Gallo]

I have a monster and don't want to bet the flop headsup which might well take down the pot.

Checking here looks more dubious. Betting could mean you have Jacks or Queens. You raised preflop the check looks suspicious.

On the turn I think that maybe he is weak and will just take a free card, or that even if I get the checkraise in I will give away my hand and my opponent has an easy fold (unless of course he happens to have a real hand himself).

Most players lack the discipline to fold to a turn check raise. He might even reraise you and you can cap. Especially if he has a hand like K 9 or 9 10 or AK AQ.

[colgin]

Nice analysis. I don't really disagree with any thing you say here. My check-call on the flop should look a little suspicious to a thinking player. My instinct was to play it the way you and others have suggested but I became so worried about losing my opponent that I became afraid to just bet out on the flop. On the turn I was afraid of missing an opportunity to bet so I did not go for the check-raise. On the other hand, putting aside the results, I don't think my approach was terrible and I don't absolutely hate the way I played this. Thanks again.

Colgin

[colgin]

Button had JJ and MHIG. I don't really love the way I played this but I got lucky that it worked out for me here.

Thanks everyone for your input on this.

Colgin

[nothumb]

[ QUOTE ]
You flopped the nuts,

[/ QUOTE ]

Tell that to him when he gets shown 99 /images/graemlins/blush.gif

But you more or less flopped the nuts, so I agree. I think betting or check/calling the flop is ok, but a check-raise on the turn is in order. In this case he hit his miracle card and thus the bet/call on the turn worked in your favor.

NH, not much that could go wrong here.

[lmcclean]

I have to disagree with the people who say your check on the flop is scary to a good player. Your pre-flop raise could be almost any large poket pair from late position. If anything I would see this check and call makeing me think that your on poket kings or queens. However your bet on the turn when the queen falls makes a good player think mabey you hit your queens. So your bet on the turn is scary to the guy with jacks, I'm surprised you didn't lose him their.
The Jack on the river was definatly a huge card, because with out I don't think that you get anymore than one bet out of him on the river.

All in all good hand, poker is a game of capitalizing off others mistakes and you did a great job.


Kinda an aside but if he was good he may come back at you on the turn (assuming he's trying to bluff you which seems obvious).In this case I would just call, that way you don't scare him off. So if he doesn't catch that Jack, you may still extract a couple more bets outa him on the river.

[Nick B.]

Almost any decent player will understand that you flopped a monster when you raise out of the blinds and then check the flop. About 95% of the time it means flopped set.