Bay 101 20-40: The Good, the Bad, and Ray Zee

[DanS]

Here's a couple of hands from my Saturday afternoon 20-40 session at Bay 101. I have the bankroll to selectively play this game, but it was generated from 6-12 to 10-20 HE and 10/20 O/8. I thought I played one of these hands fairly well and the other kinda sucked.

I'm perceived somewhere between tight-aggressive and weak tight kid by the bulk of the table, methinks.

Hand #1:

8-handed. CO posts. CO-2, who raises with dreck too early positionwise (from what I can tell), raises. CO calls. I three-bet A /images/graemlins/heart.gifJ /images/graemlins/heart.gif on the button. Thoughts? CO-1 and his buddy start mumbling "Aces?" and other stuff; I believe that they are sincere in their comments. CO-1, CO, and me to the flop, which is:

Q /images/graemlins/diamond.gif3 /images/graemlins/spade.gif3 /images/graemlins/heart.gif. Initial raiser bets, poster folds, I call.

Turn is the 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif. He bets, I raise. Comments? More later.


Hand #2:

Raiser from hand #1 limps UTG+1, CO limps. The raiser's friend from the first hand, who's a weird somewhat drunk middle-aged Asian guy, says "Rayzee rayzee" whenever he comes into the pot with a... oh, never mind. So I look at K /images/graemlins/club.gifQ /images/graemlins/spade.gif and decide that for various reasons a little rayzee rayzee is appropriate, so that's what I do.

Two limpers and two blinds and me to the flop, 5-handed:

K /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 8 /images/graemlins/club.gif 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. Checked to me, I bet, SB raises, UTG+1 gets a deer in the headlights look and calls, CO folds what he later says was AJ, I internally ponder whether to bust it here or on the turn, then I 3-bet. Both call.

Turn is the A /images/graemlins/club.gif, for a board of A /images/graemlins/club.gif K /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 8 /images/graemlins/club.gif 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif, so the board's somewhat draw heavy. While I'm deciding what I'm going to do if checkraised, the SB bets out. Ick. UTG+1 calls. I call. Thoughts?

River is a medium non-flush completing card. Checked to me. I bet. SB calls, UTG+1 folds. More later.

I think that hand #2 is very relevant to the typical mid-limit game, and would especially appreciate comments on that.

Dan

[haakee]

Given no info on the SB other than the fact that he's sitting in a Bay 101 20-40 game (which is actually quite a bit of info) I would play the hand the same way you did.

BTW, I wouldn't hesitate to 3-bet it on the flop.

[Bartholow]

Hand #1 is the sort of thing that is hard to judge if you aren't at the table. Assuming this isn't your usual play in this spot, the bluff is fine. (Also assuming the opponent seems to be capable of laying a hand down; plenty even at this level can't.)

Hand #2 I think you played well, although I would lean towards raising the turn. The SB's raise clearly says he has a king; no way he raises into the field with a set or flush draw. You almost certainly have him beat. UTG+1's "deer in headlights" look means he either has a weak king or a flush draw. So neither opponent is going anywhere, neither rates to have you beat - this is perfect for charging them more on the turn. And if a diamond comes down, you can see how UTG+1 reacts before putting in more money.

Your river bet is good, only thing scary is a passively played nut-diamond draw but that seems unlikely enough that a bet for value is highly +EV.

[DiamondDave]

Why did you overcall on the turn in Hand #2?

If you thought there was a good chance that you had the best hand at that point, it would have been much better to raise the turn, check the river, and make them muck or show down before revealing your hole cards.

If you thought you were drawing on the turn, the 12.5-to-1 odds offered by the pot weren't all that attractive. Some of your outs were probably tainted, and you may have been drawing completely dead already.

[haakee]

Come to think of it, yeah, I prefer a raise on the turn.

[DiamondDave]

Call all me a folder, but I think someone probably had an ace.

I recently completed the SB with QJo after 5 limpers. I flopped top pair of queens on a safe board, and check-raised after the button autobet. UTG called the raise cold. The button folded. UTG had AK and caught an ace on the turn. It happens all the time.

I wonder when DanS will post the results...