$2/$5 Straddle Defense
 

Good $2/$5 game at the MGM this last weekend.

Relevant Players:
EP ($600): Loose/Donkish redneck guy. Will limp in with a lot of hands, but gets out of the way when facing resistance.

BB: ($750) Been playing fairly weak/tight from the looks of things, but I have only seen him show down one hand, which was a horrifically played overpair. (Called PF raise from loose player on button with QQ, and gave a bunch of free cards on coordinated board.)

Me: (Covers): I have been trying to get a loose/crazy image going. It's only my 4th or 5th orbit at the table. I have been abusing my button, and have won a few good sized pots with PF garbage that connected. I have also won several pots without showdown. I have straddled every time so far, and have only defended it once.

I post $10 live straddle. EP (UTG+2) limps. Folds to BB who completes. I decide I'm going to steal this pot regardless of what I have.

I look down at J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] and make it $60 to go. EP folds. BB calls $50.

Flop (~$130): 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 7[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]
BB leads for $30. <font color="red">Hero raises to $130</font>. BB calls $100.

Turn (~$390): [9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 7[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]] T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]
BB checks. Hero checks.

River: (~$390):[9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 7[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]] J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
BB bets $250. Hero quickly calls.

Final Pot: ~$890

This hand is probably boring, but I thought that I needed to post a hand for my 1000th post, and I couldn't find a good one.

Re: $2/$5 Straddle Defense
 

Apparently I have no idea what makes a hand interesting.

I sure hope that my 2000th post gets a little more attention.

Re: $2/$5 Straddle Defense
 

so did you crack his over pair?

(sorry, dont really have a constructive comment here!)

Re: $2/$5 Straddle Defense
 

If you have a good enough read that he's got one pair, and you've truly been abusing the table, you can raise the river for value. In villain's mind you "either got the 8 or you got nothing". So he'll make a big call with one pair.

Going for full value would have made this hand interesting.

Re: $2/$5 Straddle Defense
 

i think calling the flop is the best play

Re: $2/$5 Straddle Defense
 

I disagree.

Re: $2/$5 Straddle Defense
 

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I disagree.

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ok, why?

Re: $2/$5 Straddle Defense
 

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I post $10 live straddle. EP (UTG+2) limps. Folds to BB who completes. I decide I'm going to steal this pot regardless of what I have.


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i don't think this is a great plan, but i like your aggressiveness

Re: $2/$5 Straddle Defense
 

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I disagree.

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ok, why?

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1. We might have the best hand. I don't want to call this bet, and then be faced with a half-pot bet when the turn is a king. That would be no fun.

2. We will occasionally fold a better hand despite our image. A tight player can talk himself into a fold with a hand as good as TT, reasoning that the maniac hero has been setting us up by showing down all that junk.

3. We reserve the right to bomb the turn when checked to (almost 100% guarantee). This is live poker where it's pretty easy to get a read on weak players. Some people need two barrels fired at them before they'll fold the worst or second worst overpair. I'm not saying this is the proper play, but we do reserve the right.

4. We reserve the right to take a free card (again 100% that we are being checked to). The benefit of this is obvious.

Re: $2/$5 Straddle Defense
 

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I disagree.

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ok, why?

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For the most part these points are good but I dont think they all hold true -
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1. We might have the best hand. I don't want to call this bet, and then call half-pot, half-pot when a queen hits on the turn and be shown AQ.

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Cost of protection vs a 6 outer is too high; sure, some times he will be bluffing with a ~6out draw; sometimes he hits; and sometimes we pay it off. That parlay is very small compared to raw 100$ risked on the flop to prevent this.
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2. We will occasionally fold a better hand despite our image. A tight player can talk himself into a fold with a hand as good as TT, reasoning that the maniac hero has been setting us up by showing down all that junk.


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I dont agree with this at all. TT never folds, esp live, esp.considering image and straddle scenario. A weak 9 that is somehow in there may fold, or 88. Really this is my biggets problem with a flo praise, it's technically a bluff but only folds out like 98 or 88 routinely, if even that.

Also, saying because of Jim's image you'd expect him to do the opposite is actually backwards logic; the term 1st level fool- assumption holds true in most small to mid level games. That is, once someone sees something, they assume you'll do it next time. Thus, if Jim is a bluffer, he'll always be a bluffer to most of these opponents.
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3. We reserve the right to bomb the turn when checked to (almost 100% guarantee). This is live poker where it's pretty easy to get a read on weak players. Some people need two barrels fired at them before they'll fold the worst or second worst overpair. I'm not saying this is the proper play, but we do reserve the right.

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This is the one advantage bigtime of raising hte flop; forcing opponent to play a big pot when they dont have a hand to warrant it. Problem is, they're not deep stacked enough to really put this into effect. (Ie, a flop raise if they each had 2k shows that potting the turn may mean he's calling his stack on the river; that way, TT would be more apt to fold)
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4. We reserve the right to take a free card (again 100% that we are being checked to). The benefit of this is obvious.

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Benefit is obvious, but if opponent bets 30 on the flop, he'll probably charge us less then the 100 it cost to buy the free card anyway, so this value is lessened.

Way I see it, you're building the pot with little folding equity, cutting off any bluff, and really protecting against a small range of hands (those AQ) type which dont have tremendous pot equity. (Or implied odds; if a Q lands, are we really calling down too much?)

I call here on the flop because I may have best hand, if not, I have OK odds to draw (not good, but good enough). We have enough behind to get a better read on the turn, we well.