Pathetic steal attempt -- J8s

[El Dukie]

I messed this one up pretty badly. Live 20-40, generally loose, with a couple of complete fish donating to the rest of us.

I pick up J [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]8 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in the hijack seat, and it's folded around to me. I've been playing pretty tight, and open-raise, hoping to pick up the blinds. (This turns out to have been mistake #1, as further play over the next couple of hours would reveal that the BB didn't once fold his blind to a mid/late raise. At the time, though, I had only been at the table about 45 mins, and while he seemed loose/semi-aggro, I thought I might pull off the steal.) Button cold-calls. Button is one of the fish, loose/weak. Just the kind I like. SB folds but BB calls. 3 players.

Flop is 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]4[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]3[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], giving me overcards and the flush draw. BB checks, I make a standard bet, button folds, and BB calls. Heads-up to the turn.

Here's where it gets ugly. Turn is Q [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. BB checks. I could take a free card, but since I've already folded the Button, I fire again with my draw, hoping to pick up the pot. BB, of course, raises. I immediately 3-bet, trying to muscle him off his hand. He thinks and calls.

River is 9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], leaving me with nada. He checks, I bet, he raises, I fold.

I'm kicking myself on the turn play, wishing I had just taken the free card, though heads-up I thought I could pick up the pot with a bet. Clearly jack-high isn't worth calling down with, so I needed to make some sort of hand or risk getting pushed out on the river. The 3-bet was also a clear mistake, given my opponent, though at the time I honestly thought I could push him off a smaller pair by representing a big pair. If my later assessments of BB's play were correct, he was likely going to call me down on a non-scary board with any pair, and he probably had 2 pair or a set when he check-raised the turn, meaning he wasn't going to lay it down to a 3-bet.

Thoughts on taking the free card when heads-up?

[Michael Davis]

"Thoughts on taking the free card when heads-up?"

Yeah, it's no good when the flop comes with three babies and the turn puts a big card out there, because your opponents are going to call the flop with a lot of stuff that they have to fold on the turn because you have a greater chance of having a pair. Betting the turn was great. Threebetting the turn doesn't make any sense unless you're against a guy who you know can fold, and even then the turn checkraise is usually a strong signal that he isn't folding. So just call the raise and fold the river when you miss.

-Michael

[Rick Nebiolo]

The turn bet was fine, but once checkraised three betting is insane. At this point it's hard to imagine your opponent on a draw, so betting again on the river after you blank out might be more fun than taking out a lighter and burning two $20 bills, but the EV is about the same.

BTW, you have to trust me that I haven't peeked yet but I suspect lmd also used the word "insane" in his response [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

~ Rick

[SA125]

[ QUOTE ]
Betting the turn was great. Threebetting the turn doesn't make any sense unless you're against a guy who you know can fold, and even then the turn checkraise is usually a strong signal that he isn't folding. So just call the raise and fold the river when you miss.

[/ QUOTE ]