[ReDeYES88]

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argh the more and more i think about it, them ore and more i feel i am behind.

I KNOW he doesn't have a 2, can i represent one? I know he is scared with his hand-- hence the overbet.

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Villan completes for t15 more from the SB with plenty of chips to take a minor gamble. He COULD be treating this similar to completing in the first round for only t5 more with anything reasonable(the "what the hell, it's only a few more chips" mentality).

I'm with you, I SERIOUSLY doubt that he has a 2. To easy to lead check from the SB if he flopped trips. So what DOES he have? Could he have connected with a 3 somehow? (playing 34s or A3s?) How low of a pocket pair would he need to just complete preflop instead of raising w/4 limpers? Would he limp TT? 99? 88? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] I think that JJ raises, and TT might raise, too.

I doubt that you can rep a deuce, so it comes down to if you think your 88 is bigger than a pair that he might have. I think that with his overbet that he stole the pot with a couple of overs, perhaps a mid A.

I suppose that the question is how much do you want to spend finding out if your hand is good, and when do you want to spend it. Say you decide to give yourself a t600 allowance to find out.

1. You reraise him on the flop to t600. I think that you'll have a pretty clear answer based on how he reacts.
2. You flat call his t200 bet on the flop, and wait to see how he acts on the turn. There aren't any obvious draws that you might be playing, so a flat call on the flop gives him an interesting decision. If he checks, you lead with t400 into a t580 pot (spending the rest of your allowance). If he leads, well you see what card came on the flop and how much he bets. I think that you might be able to push him off of a reasonable hand (if he does in fact have one) with a big reraise on the turn.

. . .or I fold when he bets the flop.