Stealing the blinds

[DeeJ]

I am convinced I need to improve in this area. Here is a hand (Paradise 8/16) for comment. Who plays this differently? What did BB have? Only read is that BB is tight and slightly tricky. I hadn't been stealing much previously as I had lousy hands. Shoot me down nicely please /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hero has A /images/graemlins/diamond.gif T /images/graemlins/spade.gif and is on the Button.

Preflop : Fold to Hero. Hero raises, SB folds, BB calls

Flop (4.5 SB) 9 /images/graemlins/club.gif 3 /images/graemlins/heart.gif 3 /images/graemlins/spade.gif
BB checks, Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls.

Turn (4.25 BB) : A /images/graemlins/club.gif
BB bets, Hero calls.

River (6.25 BB) : J /images/graemlins/club.gif
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

Final Pot : 8.25 BB

My thinking - Preflop, easy raise. Flop I want to see the turn cheaply but figure he's likely to have missed and will fold to a bet. When I'm checkraised I'm thinking resteal so I put in 1 more small bet, I've got 2 overcards. But I'm not liking it.

Turn (an Ace. Hurrah!) I'm now beating a 9, pairs and anything except a 3 or higher Ax, but he bets so should I lay down here? Raise for information? Indecision leads me to call as I may well be ahead and want to get to showdown. River he checks (is he c-r a flush? Or has his resteal run out of steam?) so I bet and he only calls.

Analysis anyone? I think he probably had put me on an Ace at the turn. Has he got a poor Ace, or a mid/high pair, or am I betting for him? Calling station...?

[7Dave]

I suck at hu-play but I'd have played it exactly the same but maybe raised the turn (and if not only with the intention to raise the river).

/d

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
but he bets so should I lay down here?

[/ QUOTE ]

So, you called the flop with overcards, hit your best possible card, and consider folding?

No way in the world do you fold your hand here.

Smooth calling is acceptable, if you think he will muck to a raise with an inferior hand.

But I'm raising, generally, as most of the players against whom I play will have to consider the fact that I could be simply trying to push them off a pair of nines, which isn't the most far-fetched thing in the world.

[steveyz]

I'd raise the turn here, and part of the reason for that is to setup situations where I play KQ/KJ/QJ/etc in the same way, i.e. using the A to bluff raise.

Your opponent likely has a pocket pair 88 or less. Some hand containing a 9 is likely as well. It is also possible that he was on a stone cold bluff till the river when he paired up. I say this because many opponents will check-call an Ace turn against the pf raiser when they have a lesser pair for fear of a raise. Heads up, an ace low kicker will bet this river so that's an unlikely holding.

No way should you be folding the turn or checking through on the river.

[DeeJ]

I (briefly) considered a lay-down on the turn because he check-raised the flop and bet into an Ace. My thought was that either he had a high Ax hand or a 3. Raising is either going to win the pot right there, or cost me more. So yes, I just called.

I might argue (kind of Sklansky-style?) that a 10 would be a nicer card to see than an Ace (like 44 is better than 77) but probably better not to open that can of worms.

[steveyz]

I understand your thinking, and it's probably why you're not as proficient at blind stealing as you want to be. You are still thinking as if you are playing in a multi-way pot. Heads-up (which is what most blind steals result in) requires you to be much more aggressive. AT high is actually a pretty strong hand heads up, even if you are check-raised on a 933 flop. Why? Just because your opponent check-raises you doesn't mean he necessarily has a pair or trips. It just means that he didn't think you hit your high unpaired cards. It's true that some opponents will not check-raise pf raiser (even a steal raiser) without at least a pair, but most opponents are much more aggressive. In fact, on this hand, depending on my read on my opponent on previous hands, I might even call it down unimproved depending on what the board ends up looking like. I'd also raise the turn a fair percentage of the time no matter what the card, as you can get some opponents to lay down a small pair, fearing that you must have a big overpair. If this sounds like LAGish play to you, that's because it is, and it's what's required for heads-up play.

[DeeJ]

All very possible, which is why I bet the river. I was surprised when he only called because I expected to be raised or folded to, which maybe was because he was afraid of a flush hitting or whether I had AJ....

[DcifrThs]

this is just my take:

when he just calls he probably has a pair and wants to see if overs fall or has some connecting suited hand he thinks plays well there, otherwise he'd reraise as you say he's tight (but he may be passive). when he c-r's you on the flop i think he has a pair for sure as there are no draws out there. the turn is a bet to see if you have an ace and you'll raise it so he can fold...you want him to be conditioned to fold to your turn raises when a scare card hits so when he bets you should raise...if he folds fine. thats step 1. keep it up. sometimes i find people in the vicinity to my left that just give up to raises on the turn. these are great folks to have there! sometimes they need some conditioning though. the way to do that is aggression on later streets. so raise it up on the turn.

another line is that if you're sure he has a pair and is going to call down with it (likely in this case as even if you raise the turn he MAY NOT fold) you should 3 bet his c-r. then check behind on the turn so you get 2 cards for .5 extra bbs. since both your T and A are overs thats six outs and you should play on. also it saves you from giving your hand away when you plan on inducing a bluff with a hand he won't call with on the river when you check behind the turn (usually AA or KK). but there is a lot more to heads up play than this...just a short intro...

i guess the bb had 55 or 66 or something of that nature...

-Barron

[DeeJ]

BB had A /images/graemlins/spade.gif K /images/graemlins/heart.gif and HHIG.

Quite tricky, really, as he didn't 3 bet preflop - or bet the river. As it turned out he would almost certainly have called a 3-bet on the turn, but then had he checked on the river so would I. If he capped a 3-bet I was gonna be folding anyway.

Thanks for the replies, they did help! I posted this seemingly innocent hand because it did raise some interesting dilemmas. Maybe BB was familiar with the Theorem about disguising hands to make the opponent play wrong ...