[play2win]

I have been pondering my call on this hand for a while. I would appreciate some others takes on this.

Situation:
I play in a home NL tournament style game every Thursday night. There are about 12-18 players that show mostly with 1-year or less experience. I have been playing cards in some form or another for most of my conscious life. Unfortunately I won the first two gatherings we had, after that the word was out and everyone played their “A-game” against me. Regardless I have only missed the last table two times over the past year, and had many money finishes. I wish my online skills were half of my live play skills, but with the human element gone I loose most of my skills (that is a completely different issue/ potential post).
This hand happened towards the end of the game last week. I was two out of the money and we paid out the top three.

Hand:

I was in the BB with Qh3h

The button limped in:

This guy is fairly new to our group and is a beginner that plays very loose. He has had incredible luck and has been pulling miracles out after he goes all-in way behind on the river. This guy is great, I know he is now hooked on poker and I hope he keeps having fun and coming back. He has no idea how to bet, he is one of the “all-in” masters (you know the type), it is really his only move. I have trapped him a few times and I know he takes it personal, last week I trapped him with a full house and knocked him out.


The SB called:

This guy is a very loose player; he either has lots of chips or busts out early. He plays any paint card from any position and does it aggressively. He has been playing conservatively this night and is now almost out of chips.

I was second low man and the SB was the short stack the other 3 are about equal in chips.

FLOP:

9s10hJc

The SB moves all-in

It costs me a little more than half my stack to call, but I still have the button to act after me. I think about what I have to deal with, open-ended straight and 3 to my flush with the over card. I know the SB is desperate (he loves to steal scary flops too) and could even be on a bluff. My real concern is the button. I ask him jokingly “what are you going to do? Are you going to take care of him?” His reply (timidly) “Don’t worry about me”. It wasn’t so much what he said but how he said it (he also was no longer protecting his hand). I made the call. Much to my surprise the button quickly flat called it. I was pretty unhappy about having the call needless to say.

THE TURN:

Ks

This is my card, I knew I had the hand and I was looking for value. I checked and the button immediately checked.

THE RIVER:

9h


This card was not too much of a scare card in my mind. Being that he limped in preflop on the button when I know he normally raises even out of position with any PP, so if he hit a set it was unusual play for him. The only other hand he could have was AQ but again I thought he would have raised it.

I bet half of what I have left hoping for a call. The button tells me he is going to raise (not looking at my chips he bets more than I have). Now I am worried, I figure he has me beat, or at best we are going to split, or really good he had the idiot end of the straight. At this point I will not have enough to make it through one more round of blinds if I fold. The pot is huge. I felt as if I had to make the call. If I folded I would be so short stacked and my chances of even waiting out one player are slim-to-none.

My question is: Should I have folded and hoped to get lucky before or in the blinds the next round?

Oh yea……the button had J9o. I think he was trapping in his mind with the two pair even though there was a straight draw on the board.

Thanks for any thoughts……we will see how it goes tonight.
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