Should I bet the river?

Funny thing is, I usually remember hands really really well. But then there is this hand....I don't even remember what game I was playing...it was either 9-18 or 8-16.


The game is a little tighter than normal, usually about 4 people seeing the flop. I am the tightest player at the table.


I open in early-mid position with JJ with a raise.


All fold to BB who looks around the table, then looks at me with disgust, and calls. I couldn't figure out what this scanning meant.


Flop comes As Ts 4h.


BB is a player who goes to sleep at night, hoping that he gets to checkraise players tomorrow. He is probably the second tightest player at the table, but I think that this is the first time anybody raised his blind.


BB checks, I check. I don't remember why. I thinnk I checked because I wanted to give you guys another reason to flame me. I'd bet here 98/100 times against this opponent. Don't know why I didn't here. (maybe I was subscribing to the 'way ahead or way behind' philosophy, but that would be stupid with 2 broadway cards out there, a flush draw, 2 wheel cards, two overcards that could come, etc...)


Turn, 7c.


Board: As Ts 4h; 7c


BB bets, I call. His possible holdings are any ace, any ten, a flush draw, or any straight draw. Boy, that sure narrows it down!!


River pairs the 4, no flush out there.


BB checks, what to do?


I'm thinking that he wouldn't check an ace here, but he'd likely call with a Ten, which I can beat.


I bet, he called, and turned over pocket kings (sorta mostly purty much startled me to see dem cowboys looking at me like I was a Filet ready for grillin').


So, my title says "should I bet the river?", and I'm thinking that this is an obvious 'yes'. I really don't know the player at all, and I don't know if I would have been able to get him off of his hand with a flop bet or a turn raise. I played it like a passive toddler, didn't I?


Comments? Rip me to shreds, please. . .


Worm

Shoulda bet the flop instead...Then, if checked to on the turn you could take the free card.


For me, all kinds of red flags and alarm bells would have gone off when BB looked disgusted and called. It may have been genuine...maybe he was disgusted that your raise ran off all of his action. But, I tend to be wary of guys who do things like that.

Yeah, that was one thought that went through my head when I saw his look. The other thought was that maybe he had rags, and was upset he didn't get a free play. The table was a little passive, and maybe he was disgusted that his blind was the one that was raised.


But yeah, I shoulda bet the flop. . .

"So, my title says "should I bet the river?", and I'm thinking that this is an obvious 'yes'."


In bridge they call it "double dummy" when you talk about how you'd play or defend a hand if you could see all the cards. In poker, since not seeing the other hands is the whole point, double dummy problems aren't so interesting because if you can see all the hands, the best action is routinely unmistakable. Which makes your hand interesting because you'd still bet the river, a bad bet IMO, if you had seen KK in the opponent's hand.


Reverse the situation. You have KK and you slowplay preflop and an ace comes and the other guy looks skeered when he checks the flop. Are you going to throw your hand away later for one bet at a time heads up?


Tommy

Worm,


You must find it unusually hard to be a tight-aggressive player when you apparently don't have any aggression in you. You may be better served reading HPFAP before venturing out into a casino again.

I guess I shoulda mentioned that I frequently would check AK or AQ on this flop...but of course, if I had the KK, I would have called the river given the way of my play to that point.


And, of couse, I (as in the guy with JJ) would not have bet the river if I knew that blind had KK...if I said that I would do this in my original post, well then, tickle my tonsils and call me ralph.


Thanks for the reply (even though I think you called me a 'double dummy' somewhere there /images/smile.gif )


Worm