A Hand, In and Out of Phase

[uuDevil]

Ok, first hand post:

This hand was routine, but stuck in my mind because of my emotional response.

It's a kill game, with this hand being played at the higher limit ($5/$10). It has been a moderately passive game w/ occasional outbursts of mania. The villian is a happy-go-lucky player who has played nearly every hand-- betting, calling, and occasionally raising with marginal hands. He folded occasionally, but it clearly pained him. It's 10 handed, with only 2 (other) players who I think can play. I'm by far the tightest player at the table. I've been here 2 hours and am a little frustrated. Still, I'm a little ahead, despite having won only 1 hand. In that hand I won a decent pot when I flopped a set of Queens and rivered a FH while players were betting into me [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Anyway, I'm in the SB w/ AQo. UTG (horrible player), UTG+1 (good player), villian, a MP player, and the CO (good player) all limp. I just call because I don't like my position, no one will fold, and my hand is not great multiway. BB checks.

7 players, 7 SB, flop QT4 rainbow.

TPTK. I ignore the voice in my head that says it won't hold up and think about going for a check raise, but there have been a few multiway hands that got checked through on the flop already, and if on the other hand an early player does bet, a raise from me isn't going to knock out many players. But my hand is vulnerable, so I bet. The 2 good players fold.

5 players, 12 SB, turn is an 8.

I bet again. BB calls, UTG folds, villian gleefully raises, MP folds. I put villian on 2 pr. He could have had the straight or a set, but I wasn't giving this bozo much credit. There are now 10 BB in the pot.

Normally I would just call, thinking "I have outs and odds." But I'm irritated so I reraise. This knocks out the BB and villian's smirk (the extra $10 was worth it just for that [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. He just calls.

Pot is 13 BB, river is a blank.

I think there's no way this guy is folding to a bet, and I could get raised, so I pause, then check, planning to make the crying call. To my surprise, he checks too!

Thoughts: My turn raise made the BB fold when he might have outdrawn me at the river. Villian may have recalled my big hand earlier in the session, so maybe that's why the raise didn't cost me extra to showdown my pair. Since he just called, it was more likely my outs were good. If he had reraised, I could have safely folded.

Questions: Despite having made my turn play without really thinking, did I accidentally make the best play? And did I follow that up with a bad play by not betting the river?


Result in white:

<font color="white">He turned 2 pr, holding T8o </font>