Drawing horribly dead? Is it really short-handed?

[mosta]

JTo in SB. Folded to button who limps. You complete. Three to flop.

7c 9c Ks. BB opens, button raises. Time to release the hand? Or does this raise only mean, I have the button and a face card. You call. BB 3-bets. Scared? Or does it only mean that he has at least a 9? Both call.

Kh. BB bets, both call. How much credit did you give BB for two-pair (or a set?!) after the flop action?

8h. what's your action? bet, check call, check raise?

Results:

<font color="white"> I don't want to talk about how I played the river. Suffice it to say, SB had a King and a Seven. </font>

Viewed from a short-handed perspective, I think my play was not too terrible. But after I lose one of these I ask myself, why do I even want to play the high-variance game when it's only for a single hand and I'm not going to get to make the money back, against this guy, playing short handed? So maybe I shouldn't entirely say, when it's folded to me on the button: Three-person table, three-person game. (also considering that I don't know whether they know how to play three-handed.)

[gonores]

Hey mosta,

I would bet this flop every time. Lots of ways to win the hand.

Doug

[Bob T.]

3 handed, you probably should bet the flop, you might win the hand right there.

Did the button call on the turn? Was it still three handed?

Unless you capped it on the river, I think your river play was reasonable, just unfortunate.

With a coordinated board, I would threebet the flop from the BB with almost any top pair, just so I wasn't giving up a free card.

Good luck,
play well,

Bob T.

[Ulysses]

Flop the double-gutter. I'd often bet it and see what happens, but sometimes I check. If it's bet and raised as it was, I'll sometimes call but oftentimes will fold because there's that annoying flush draw out there as well.

OK, let's jump straight to your river decision. I'd checkraise here every time and depending on the opponent either make a sickening call of the 3-bet or gleefully cap it.

[mosta]

I said in results what SB had when I meant to say BB--I was SB--obviously. I check raised the river and called the three-bet. What I kicked myself over, again, was how much credit I should have given him for possible two-pair/set when the board paired, and then backed off. It's pretty hard to make a read in this situation when you don't have any information on how the players adjust to short-handed. Betting the flop seems reasonble. But what if then BB raises button out? I like having two people paying me to draw to the big hand after I see that a J or T is probably not enough. And of course we worry a lot less about the flush draw three-handed, though it does, I agree, obviously make the draw more marginal. This hand capped off, so to speak, a session of big hands losing to bigger hands.

[BaronVonCP]

[ QUOTE ]
3 handed, you probably should bet the flop, you might win the hand right there.


...

With a coordinated board, I would threebet the flop from the BB with almost any top pair, just so I wasn't giving up a free card.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'm definately betting the flop.

However if its 2 more back to me I'm gonna credit them for a stong holding. Didn't mention the site or the stakes, but the majority (maybe %75) of lower limit party players are fairly weak loose. I'll see someone raise top pair, or a strong draw, but when its 3 bets, someone usually has at least 2 pair. I don't think I'd fold the turn when the K pairs, but I'm pretty sure I'm not getting fancy on the river if I hit.

Definately dependant on the aggressiveness(?) of the opponents. But in most of the games I play in, the typical player is fairly weak.

[Bob T.]

I didn't mean I would three bet the flop with my draw here, what I meant to say, is if I was the BB on this hand, and flopped top pair, I would bet out, and with a coordinated board, I would threebet the flop, and lead the turn, instead of calling the raise. What I was trying to say, is the threebet that happened on this hand, doesn't mean that the threebettor has to have better than top pair.

Good luck,
play well,

Bob T.