Flopped set, scary board

[hockey1]

Party Poker $55 SNG, blinds 15/30, still ten handed. I'm large stack with almost 2000. Both main opponents have just under 1000 chips. I think every street here could be played differently. Comments appreciated.

Hero has 8h, 8s and is Button

EP1 limps, MP1 limps, MP2 limps, CO limps, Hero limps, SB limps, BB checks

Flop: 8c, 9c, 7c

All check to CO, who bets 150. Hero calls as does EP1

Turn: 7h

EP1 checks, CO checks, Hero checks

River: 2c

EP1 checks, CO bets 200, Hero raises all in . . .

Results to folow.

[MercTec]

The board definately is pretty scary on the flop, but I would sigh with relief when that other 7 falls on the turn. You picked up the full house, and pretty much the only things that you could worry about would be quad 4s, the straight flush, or the full if he had pocket 9s.

I would guess that he was drawing on the nut flush...which i would welcome with open arms.

Well played I thought....maybe i would throw out a bet on the turn for some protection or to try to win it right there if your worried about any of the other hands.

[hockey1]

[ QUOTE ]
....maybe i would throw out a bet on the turn for some protection or to try to win it right there if your worried about any of the other hands.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the response. I wasn't worried on the turn, I was in a very, very happy place. At that point the question was how to milk the most out of the hand.

[Jason Strasser]

Hockey1,

Preflop is fine. But your flop call is not what I would do. If I'm in your shoes, I'm nearly certain I am ahead at this point, but that there are a fair amount of draws that can catch up. I'd definately raise the flop. The good thing about having a set in this spot is:

1) If they have a flush/straight, you have clean outs.
2) If they draw out, you can catch up.

I would probably raise the flop bet to 450.

You played it like a draw to a fullhouse, which isn't a bad idea. I tend to be more agressive. You are usually ahead on this flop. The way you played the turn is fine, given the way you played the flop. That club must've looked pretty on the river /images/graemlins/grin.gif.

[hockey1]

[ QUOTE ]
But your flop call is not what I would do. If I'm in your shoes, I'm nearly certain I am ahead at this point, but that there are a fair amount of draws that can catch up. I'd definately raise the flop. The good thing about having a set in this spot is:

1) If they have a flush/straight, you have clean outs.
2) If they draw out, you can catch up.

I would probably raise the flop bet to 450.

[/ QUOTE ]

I figured I was probably ahead on the flop too. But here's the problem -- I figured that NO raise would get rid of those draws. Raising to 450 gives them correct odds to call. Including the 150 flop bet in front of me, there were 360 chips in the pot already. 450 more = 810. That's almost 2:1 for anyone behind me and less than 2:1 for CO, who bet the 150. Add to that the fact that the loosies on Party call with just about anything and I figured that it was highly unlikely I'd be able to fold anyone with any flush draw and maybe even anyone with an OESD or even top pair.

What I did was essentially a stop and go. I waited to see what came on the turn, at which point there was a possibility that an all-in bet would fold some of those draws, or, even better, I'd hit the boat and cruise from there.

[ QUOTE ]
That club must've looked pretty on the river .

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Got that right.

[MercTec]

In regards to giving them the proper odds, by checking, you are giving them INFINITE odds...according to the Theory of Poker.

[hockey1]

[ QUOTE ]
In regards to giving them the proper odds, by checking, you are giving them INFINITE odds...according to the Theory of Poker.

[/ QUOTE ]

Fair point (not infinite, since they'll have to call the 150 anyway, but still . . .). But this is a NL tourney so the question becomes whether I want to risk half my stack at that point in the hand. Moving all in wouldn't be terrible, I think, but my decision was to wait and see. The decision may also be player dependent; i.e., some prefer to go for the huge stack early, whereas I in this instance decided I'd rather not lose a load of chips on what was probably only a little better than a coin flip (considering flush and straight draws).