Time for a bluff?
 

Playing in a live PLO omaha (high) game. Blinds 10$ 10$
Game is 9 handed. I have about 2900 $ in front of me.

I'm on the button and find 9h 9s Js Kh in the hole.
Four people limp in and so do I. SB makes it 70 to go.
Utg+2, MP1 and MP2 calls in front of me. I decide to call as well.

Flop: Qd 9d 4h

SB and utg+2 checks, MP1 bets 380$ and MP2 calls.
MP1 is a solid player, but not that tight. I figured he
prolly had trips. I decided just to call with my middle set and gut shot draw, fearing the top set. The Utg+2 called as well.

The turn brought a 5h

MP1 bets $1500. MP2 folds. I'm thinking about calling. If MP1 has the top set I have 12 outs, with the runner flush draw I picked up. Besides, MP had more chips than I.

I saw UTG2 putting his chips forward, as he always does when he is about to call. As I was certain that UTG2 would call ( since he only had 1600 left he couldn't make a raise) I called. UTG2 called as I knew he would.

The river Kc

Both UTG and MP checked to me. I sat with 1000$ left and was tempted to push in...

I checked, however, and MP2 took down the pot with three ladies.

Comments on my play, plz.
Would you have bluffed, representing the str8?

Re: Time for a bluff?
 

I play 1/2 so take this with a grain of salt. I'd raise the turn or the flop as it makes the hand much easier to play. I don't know why you think he only has QQ? a good player would bet lots of hands in this spot like bottom trips + a flsh draw + top two and a str8 draw(QJT9) or a big wrap like 8TJK + or top pair + nut flsh drw.

after calling the flop i'd probably raise the turn hoping he has a draw and I'm now a big favorite to win the pot. if he does have the dreaded QQxx you have 12 good outs as Ax hearts is probably unlikely.

maybe some of the higher limit player will disagree with me on this one but that's how i'd play it. as far as bluffing the river it probably depends on your player reads and the pot size vs your bet amount. $1000 into an over 3k pot seems like it's destined to get called by better hands and folded to by worse hands.

Why bluff as well when you have trip 99's and there's a decent chance you could take it down. if you're going to bluff do so with hands that have no chance to win by checking. I'd much rather bluff as well if the river was a diamond as people are more likely to believe you have the flush than anything else. I'd be hesitant to do so here as UTG was probalby on the flush draw. just my thoughts on the hand. BTW where do you play 10/10 PLO?

Re: Time for a bluff?
 

fwiw, I agree with LA.

Re: Time for a bluff?
 

If MP is capable of folding a set on that river, then I would take a shot. However, I've never gotten this to work in practice.

One thing I would mention, though, is with that kind of action preflop and then someone potting it after the PF raiser checks, I'd muck. You're generally looking at top set or top 2, and with the caller in between you're seeing a lot of tained outs as far as the gutter goes. Once you hit that turn, though, you're stuck.

Re: Time for a bluff?
 

At a 1/2 online table, I would have played the hand as suggested.

The live game in question is more passive than most online games, specially lower limit. I had a fairly good read on MP
which suggested that he had trips, probably top set. That's
why I didn't push.

In the end, what hand could MP put me on? Since he checked
at the end, he obviously was afraid that I had made my str8. What other reasonable hands could I have? Busted flush draw / lower trips?

By the way, the game was in Stockholm, Sweden.

Re: Time for a bluff?
 

I dont know it would be a clear push if you had money left to make a potsized river bet I would probably push with 1k left too after all you check call all the way and this is VERY much a scarecard for him.. + bluffing him out might drive him on tilt. As for calling with middle set + gut shot i would go with my feel. Difficult for us to say wheters it is wrong or right.

Re: Time for a bluff?
 

That's a tough one. Your only chance to win is if you push, and it seems almost certain one of the two of you would be in there with the JT. With 6K in the pot and only 1K to fire, your gun isn't very big, tho. If I were in his position, and I saw the K, I'd figure I was beat, but I'd probably make a crying call given the size of the pot. (Easy for me to say since I'm a low limit player). On the other hand, if you make this play 6 times, and it works once, you make money, so maybe that makes it worthwhile.

Re: Time for a bluff?
 

Too little to bluff on the river...getting 6 to 1 he is almost certain to call. Sometimes in PLO you just have to take your beats.

Gl

Dave
http://internetpokerpro.blogspot.com/

Re: Time for a bluff?
 

[ QUOTE ]

Too little to bluff on the river...getting 6 to 1 he is almost certain to call


[/ QUOTE ]

What if you have enough for a pot-size bet?

If you think a bluff might be worthwhile in that case, what if you have four times the pot left? Does that change anything?

Guy.

Re: Time for a bluff?
 

Great question. I don't see how he could call a pot-sized bet on the end, especially multi-way. He has to put you on the nuts at this point. Either way, it puts him in a helluva spot on the end. He's obviously already worried about it by checking. Is it possible he plans to check-call? I just don't see that.