Am I a sissy?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $.50 BB (10 handed) converter

No read on villain; he just showed up a few hands ago, but he has lost half his stack pretty quick.

SB ($24.65)
BB ($6.26)
UTG ($16.20)
UTG+1 ($92.95)
UTG+2 ($48.25)
MP1 ($25.24)
Hero ($87.34)
MP3 ($49.25)
CO ($81.25)
Button ($21.80)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. SB posts a blind of $0.25.
<font color="#666666">3 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">MP1 raises to $2</font>, Hero calls $2, <font color="#666666">5 folds</font>.

Flop: ($4.75) T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 6[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">MP1 bets $2</font>, Hero calls $2.

Turn: ($8.75) 8[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
MP1 checks, Hero checks.

River: ($8.75) 5[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
MP1 checks, Hero checks.

Final Pot: $8.75

Did I do anything right in this hand? I felt like an idiot when it was over.

[JaBlue]

I would raise the flop to 7 and give up. Or fold.

[Trainwreck]

Not after 2 overcards hit the flop, but with 2 checks, yeah a river VALUE BET looks to be in order. 8) BUT: If he decides to bluff raise you on the river $10, now what? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I think you played it fine, one (or two) missed bet is not the end of the world.

He showed AKo huh?

&gt;TW&lt;

yeah, he showed AK. I thought about raising after the flop when he bet 2 at 6, but, I couldn't decide whether his bet was to suck me in (with AQ, for instance) or a weak continuation bet with AK. So I chickened out and posted to take my beating. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

great read on his hand, trainwreck, and thanks for the comments.

[JaBlue]

A value bet is not in order. Unless he'll call with a missed AK or AJ, you're not being called by a worse hand. Check the river.

Like I said earlier, you need to decide on the flop if you think you're ahead. If so, raise. If not, fold.

Thanks. I was pretty comfortable checking the river. but a line: call, call, check, check just grated, I guess, like I had left my stones somewhere else. You were right earlier, I shoulda raised the flop.

[Macquarie]

Can't you argue that for the same reason a value bet is not in order on the river, a raise is not in order on the flop?

He can't have many outs if he's behind.

[imported_anacardo]

[ QUOTE ]
Can't you argue that for the same reason a value bet is not in order on the river, a raise is not in order on the flop?

He can't have many outs if he's behind.

[/ QUOTE ]

It does give you the advantage of finding out where you're at in a hurry, thus saving yourself from potential mistakes on the turn and river (though I can't imagine proceeding any further if an A or K hit the board.) This may not be purely +EV thinking, though. Then again, I do suck.

[Macquarie]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Can't you argue that for the same reason a value bet is not in order on the river, a raise is not in order on the flop?

He can't have many outs if he's behind.


[/ QUOTE ]
It does give you the advantage of finding out where you're at in a hurry, thus saving yourself from potential mistakes on the turn and river (though I can't imagine proceeding any further if an A or K hit the board.) This may not be purely +EV thinking, though. Then again, I do suck.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's true that raising the flop will prevent mistakes on later streets, but is it good play to prevent making mistakes on later streets by making a mistake on the flop?

This is a classic 'way ahead, way behind' where you have position. We can decide where we are on the turn and river just as well

- if he checks the turn, we bet out.

- If he fires again on the turn, you can decide to call or lay it down there depending on your read (calling though only costs about the same as raising the flop).

- If he fires on the river, you're losing, you fold. If he doesn't, you check behind, and you've got to showdown for the same price as raising the flop, but importantly you may now have won yourself a second continuation bet on the turn.

I've posted this line for similar hands before, and it always seems to split opinion. I've seen similar debates to this in MidHigh stakes http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...art=1&amp;vc=1 where AZK weighs in half way down advocating a flop call (in that hand admittedly the preflop raiser probably only has 3 outs when behind).