Wierd 50-100 hand

[Diplomat]

50-100. The game has gotten progressively better as it has gotten short, as a couple strong players have left the game. We currently are 6-handed.

I have 94o in the big blind. Folded to the small blind who plays quite terribly who completes. I consider raising but check. (any thoughts here?)

The flop comes down 39Q rainbow. Check/bet/call.

The turn is another 3. Check/bet/call.

The river is an ace. Check/check.

Comments? Did I miss a bet on the river? Is a raise pre-flop a bad idea, or is there merrit to it?

-Diplomat

[Paluka]

I think you played it great. I think a raise preflop is a bad idea. I've been surprised by the strength of my opponent's small blind limping hand on many occasions. I think you are better off betting any flop if checked to than raising preflop.

[Clarkmeister]

I would DEFINITELY bet the river. Even terrible players raise an ace preflop when folded to them in the SB. He doesn't have an ace, and a queen or 3 would have let you know.

I know, I know, what worse hands can he call with? I'll let the terrible player in the SB decide - they seem to come up with all sorts of answers to that question on a regular basis.

[Coilean]

Does terrible mean the SB might call the river here with K or J high? Might he check raise the river with a worse (or equal) hand than yours? If the answers are yes and no with sufficient certainty, then I'd bet the river.

[Diplomat]

Yes, he would call with quite a few hands here that I can beat. And there is an off-chance he might fold a nine, having not improved. (but if he calls with a nine, that's fine, because we would chop)

-Diplomat

[Diplomat]

Yes he would call the river with any pair, king-high, jack-high. No I don't think he's capable of checkraising the river with a worse hand.

When I say bad, I mean a typical pedestrian player who bets/raises his good hands, calls with crap and everything else, and does not checkraise. He's a 20-40 player taking a shot at the 50 game; yet he is not playing any differently. (in other words the stakes have not made him weak tight)

-Diplomat

[Tommy Angelo]

I starting chopping a couple years ago and your post brought back some memories. From the big blind, I've raised a limping SB lots of times with bad hands, sometimes in the dark. But not unless I've seen him limp-fold before the flop before, and also seen him check-fold a lot on the flop after a miss.

Some guys make the muck decision at the last second. When they limp headsup from the SB, they don't much anticipate a raise, but probably figure on playing if the BB does raise, and then, after the raise -- when it comes from someone they don't necessarily look forward to playing against headsup out of position against after a raise -- with an oh-why-bother sigh, they muck. (I used to do that same thing a bunch before I figured out that my best play is to routinely muck the SB vs the BB, even when I don't expect a raise.)



Tommy

[SossMan]

[ QUOTE ]
I know, I know, what worse hands can he call with? I'll let the terrible player in the SB decide - they seem to come up with all sorts of answers to that question on a regular basis.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL...I'm finding this to be more and more true of late. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[budman]

I think if you are going to play a bad hand based only on the small blind's poor play and lack of aggression, you've got to pump it preflop.

After that I think you played it fine. If the small blind had gone that far with a bad ace, he probably would throw in one more bet on the river. I agree with you he was probably not going for a checkraise.

[Georgia Peach]

Yeah, a bet on the river.