Weird positional idea

6 handed 20/40.


It's folded to the SB, who calls. The SB is a skilled player, but he is currently on tilt, stuck quite deeply on the night. I raise in the BB with As10s. The SB then raises and I call. This is our only head-up confrontation of this sort, so it's hard to intepret what exactly his limp-reraise means.


The flop comes Ah 7h 4h. The SB bets. My thinking at this point is the following...I'm either way ahead or behind, and only the SB knows which one. Raising will in no way protect the pot for me, since he certainly won't lay down any heart. And here's the weird positional idea: if I raise, I will usually bet the turn, and the SB knows this, so if he is ahead (and he knows if he is), then he will check-raise me on the turn. He will in some weird way have gained a positional advantage on the turn that he would not otherwise have because my raise on the flop has said a lot about how I plan to play the turn. Along the same lines, I think that calling will allow me to maintain my positional advantage through the turn, since I have give no indication of how I plan to play the turn. It is this thought process that I'm really looking for feedback on, but comments on any part of the hand are welcome.


As for what happened... I called. The turn was 10d. The SB bet, I raised, he said "nice try, kid" and called. The river was Qd, and the SB check-called, and my hand was good.


-Dan

Dan,


For what it's worth, I think that you played the hand well. Good thinking on the position thing; it's always important to consider your position and all the implications of it. While convention wisdom almost always points to later position having the greatest advantage, people sometimes neglect to mention the advantages of other positions(for instance: being in the blinds after the flop has been checked around or in a headsup situation as you described). What's most important to me is knowing how to best play my hand from my position, whatever it may be.


Keep thinkin',


Mike

Good reasoning and strategy, if you are ahead(and you probably are) checking induces your opponent to bluff again on turn and river. If your hand does not improve on the turn then check and call on turn and river .

When I'm heads up in position against a spunky player, and I have A-x and an ace comes on the flop, and he bets the flop, I routinely call down every street, and bet if checked to. In other words, no raising.


I've given this line much thought, and talked about it at length with the best poker mind I know, and I'm convinced that this is the best line.


And that led me to a more important aspect of this situation, which is, when I am the one out of position betting into the opponent when the flop comes A-x-x. The tricky street is the river. After I bet the flop and turn and get called, and then check the river and he bets, its all to easy to payoff with, say, KK, because I've shown weakness by checking the river, thereby inviting a bluff, but then, if he is employing my own method, I need to figure out that he has an ace, and fold on the river.


I tend to think of all situations in pairs. The profit is made when identical situations, with nothing but position reversed, earns/saves me a bet. This particular situation is (ideally)one of those, if he calls on the river with KK, and I don't.


Tommy

Tommy,


I like your thinking in pairs. There is on problem with that though. Your opponents are not going to play as disciplined as you and thus, if you muck your KK incorrectly against the odd opponent, it can cost you dearly.

How will you know if he is employing your method or just betting because you showed weakness? It could be either. It could be someone that employs your method but also will bet a lesser hand when checked to on the river because you showed weakness. As Effe points out it will cost you dearly if your wrong. You don't have to be wrong very often to make this play costly.

Pokerguy: "How will you know if he is employing your method or just betting because you showed weakness?"


Sometimes it's possible to know to a degree of certainty great enough to warrant a fold. For example, if the board on the turn is A-7-3,2 rainbow, and the opponent would not cold-call a preflop raise and call a turn bet without a hand that would beat KK.


Tommy

Yes, in that unusual occasion I would agree. If there was a draw out there with another bigger card like K or Q, and or your opponent is not as predictable as the one your describing then do agree a call is in order most of the time?