trying not to hate poker
 

been gone for a while on a roadtrip, and the poker i have been playing hasnt been great, as I have been racking up a good number of 2nd best hands against lag's on the river.

its been hurting my confidence a little, and I may be playing a little timid....



party 2k nl game

i have 3400 and villian has me covered. i dont have any stats on him, but he seems rather agg., but not sure how much yet.

he opens in sb to 80, i call with 97 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

flop: Q [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]7 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

he checks, i smell a checkraise and bet the pot 160.

he oblidges and CR min raises. i call.

turn: 2 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

he bets 400, i call.

river: J [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

he checks quick.

i bet 800, planning on folding to a check-raise.


thanks,

fsuplayer

Re: trying not to hate poker
 

How about sticking it all in on the turn? A less than pot sized raise gets you all in with what almost certainly has to be the best hand.

Eliminates some difficult river situations. The question is whether you'll get called by any worse hands here, like AA.

Re: trying not to hate poker
 

Hey fsu,

Looks pretty good, though I would've raised the turn. Calling might be better, as long as he is quite aggressive. Then, you'd make more by letting him continue to bet a hand without much chance against you. Otherwise, he'll shut down unless he has a hand that's a threat to you (or is beating you outright). So, since he only "seems pretty agg", I'd probably just make it 1200 or so on the turn, and expect to win. If he stays in, whether by calling or re-raising, you'd have to reevaluate.

The river is obviously not good for you at all; I like your line pretty well, since I think you'd know if he was the super-aggressive type that was likely to raise that bet as a bluff.

Re: trying not to hate poker
 

i never play the 1k or 2k games, but after all that goofy stuff by him i would check behind, and that river isnt great. the other streets look fine to me. youve played it showing enough strength so he probably assumes you will bet the river. i cant see him calling with many worse hands, though i could be wrong. would he really turn around on the river and say "one pair is good here!"?

Re: trying not to hate poker
 

Whats so bad about the J? You think he has QJ? I think there are other worse cards.

Re: trying not to hate poker
 

i apologize in advance for a hijack, but what does a min check raise or even a min raise mean in the upper limits???

it screams SET! in SSNL, i was really wondering if it meant the same in the higher stakes.

Re: trying not to hate poker
 

so you are calling an all in if i make the turn 1200 i imagine?

Re: trying not to hate poker
 

Quick uninformative answer-- depends on the player (some use it small stakes style others, others do it with draws or ugly bluffs, and still others do it to confuse an opponent and to force them to check not nut hands on the river.) P.S. (Double check min raise is ridiculously confusing and will get you called by any top pair type hand in my experience)

Re: trying not to hate poker
 

Raise the turn Mikey. Any broadway card will definitely make you think twice about having the best hand. Easier said than done while playing and having to make quick decisions. My guess is he had AQ or KK.