Did i get too frisky?

Please read through this hand i played and let me know how you would have played it on each street.


I am in the cuttoff with Ad6d.


It is folded to me, I raise.

Small blind who seems a little loose preflop but is ok post flop 3 bets. I call and we take the flop Heads Up.


Flop: Kd 4d 5h


He leads, I raise, He 3 bets, I 4 bet, he calls.


Turn: Ah


He bets, what's my play?


Rob

Preflop (i have Ad6d) I think my hand is too good to fold and I don't like open limping from the cutoff. I don't mind playing heads up with position but i'm hoping to steal the blinds.


flop: Kd 4d 5h

On the flop I have a 4 flush and some backdoor chances and raised to potentially take a free card on the turn. When He 3 bet I 4 bet with the intention of taking a free card on the turn.


When the ace came on the turn I figured I was going to the showdown with my hand. So when he bet into me I raised intending to check behind if I didn't make the nut flush and bet again if I did.


river: 3d

he checked, i bet, he called and I take down the pot. He mucks AKo face up.


In hindsight I think just calling the turn and folding the river if I didn't make the flush might be better. He 3 bet me preflop and went 4 bets on the flop. I think that he has to have a pair of kings or better on the flop. this could be consistent with KQo maybe but when the ace falls on the turn and he leads into me I have to figure i need the flush to win. a few people at the table (including the SB) commented that they thought I had trip kings when i raised the turn. I just hate laying down top pair on the river in a heads up situation and figured i was going to call. this might have been one of those situations where it would have been correct to fold if I hadn't hit on the end though. thoughts?


Rob

Preflop, your steal-raise from late position with ace-little suited is good poker. When 3-bet by the blind, I would put him on a medium or large pocket pair or two big cards perhaps headed by an ace.


On the flop you got a little frisky but I like your play. Reraised pots between a blind and a steal-raiser have their own special rules. He might check to you on the turn, giving you a free card.


On the turn, your only choice is between calling or raising. Your hand may be best but it may not be. You have nine flush outs, two outs to trips, and three outs to two pair. However, your non-flush outs are unclear. He may well have a bigger ace. I would not raise but just call at this point. Given the power sequence displayed by your opponent so far, he rates to have a bigger ace and is unlikely to fold here on the turn. I would call. I would call at the river if a blanks comes.

"Flop: Kd 4d 5h

He leads, I raise, He 3 bets, I 4 bet, he calls.

Turn: Ah

He bets, what's my play?"


just call. youve shown a lot of strength by 4 betting the flop

and then he still bets into you on the turn. either he is getting overaggressive with just a K or you are behind to an AK or a small set. either way you arent going to gain anything by raising here and you dont want to get 3 bet by him here. plus you want him to bet into you on the river when you make your flush. he'll call you almost for sure.

Rob,


I agree preflop. Your raise on the flop is ok, but when reraised I might only call, depends on your opponent. If he has a big hand and knows that you are capable of raising once or even twice to get a free card then you might be trying for a pretty expensive freecard. Couple months ago, I flop AAA on a flop of AQJ two hearts out of the small blind. My opponent's try for a free card cost him five sb's, I knew that he would not raise the flop w/ a straight and made damn sure that he would get no such free card. So, again, it depends on your opponent and how he perceives you. Having only called the third bet on the flop I might be tempted to raise the turn when the A comes but I'd probably resist most of the time as there seems to be a very good chance that you're beat; if you're not, then a raise might cost you a bet on the river while your opponents outs are probably very few. When your opp calls four bets on the flop and leads again on the turn, I think you best just call, a raise here could easily cost you two more bets with your only outs the flush draw.


Mike

I think it's OK to go after the blinds with this hand preflop but on the flop your hand shoots to your dick and pretty much stays there for the rest of the hand. (sic)

What is wrong with just calling on the flop, just calling on the turn and then raising on the river?

When you get 3 bet out of position he either has you slaughtered in which case why raise or you have him in which case it's great that he's betting - he's paying you off - don't discourage him to fold a worse hand by raising - just call, maybe he'll bet those Jacks or queens or KQ or something else you can beat all the way.

Through your attempts to get a free card and play this hand creatively you ended up charging yourself 2 and a half extra bets for a head up flush draw - I'm no mathematician but I think that's a losing play.

There is nothing wrong with playing it aggressively on the flop like you do. You might not always want to put in the 4th bet on the flop, in order to vary your heads up play and also depending on how likely your opponent is to give free cards if he has a pair.


I think just calling the turn is best. If he's pushing a king, you don't want to scare him off. If he has something better, you don't want to lose any more money and shouldn't be able to push him off it.


If you don't improve on the river, I think you might want to fold to a bet unless this guy is overaggressive in shorthanded situations. Normally, he should not want to bet the river with just a king after all your preflop and flop action, as he should instead hope to induce a bluff from a worse hand. If he has an ace it certainly has you beat. So against opponents who won't get out of line very often, you can't win on the end here with aces no kicker.

But consider future hands where you do have a monster and play aggressively. You will more likely get called down. Just a consideration.

Preflop, not even remotely marginal.


Flop, I really really like the fourth bet but ONLY if the potential info it provides is used. Namely, being able to fold on the river. Here's a guy who reraised from the blind, bet the flop, got raised, rereraised, got rerereraised, and STILL bets out on the turn. No way I'm calling the river with A-x.


But if you don't put in the fourth bet on the flop, now he retains the initiative and is more likely to bet the turn and the river with a hand you could beat (I can't imagine it what it would be on your hand. I'm talking generally.)


"In hindsight I think just calling the turn and folding the river..."


Definitely. As soon as he bets the turn I'm done thinking. It's sorta like opening in no-trump at bridge and your partner takes over the auction. You've had your say.


Tommy

"It's sorta like opening in no-trump at bridge and your partner takes over the auction."


I like this analogy! Very apt...