Jekyll and Hyde with top set

StikyIcky · #1 08-10-2004, 09:59 PM

So, here's a hand I was involved in last night. I'll ask questions at the end and share results later. I didn't have any notes or any read on the opponent, so I considered him the average; that is, a fairly tight 'stars $1/$2 NL player (by the way, the converter, which I am using for the first time, said it was $1 BB. I guess it misread the $1/$2 at the top of the hand history).

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (9 handed)

saw flop|saw showdown

MP2 ($281.40)
MP3 ($86.25)
CO ($37.30)
Hero ($201.10)
SB ($222)
BB ($181.90)
UTG ($805.15)
UTG+1 ($145.05)
MP1 ($242.25)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $2, 1 fold, MP2 raises to $6, 2 folds, Hero raises to $20, 2 folds, UTG+1 folds, MP2 calls $14.

Flop: ($45) 6[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)
MP2 checks, Hero bets $22, MP2 calls $22.

Turn: ($89) J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (2 players)
MP2 checks, Hero bets $48, MP2 raises to $96, Hero raises to $159.1, MP2 calls $63.10.

River: ($407.20) 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)

Final Pot: $407.20
Main Pot: $407.20, between MP2 and Hero.

My thought process was basically this:

Preflop: Reraise to get the limper out and find out what the raiser really has. And also because I have KK, and I figure to be best. If he has aces, then he'll pop me back, and if he just calls, he probably doesn't have aces.

Flop: Now I really hope he has aces. But since he only called the preflop raise, I put him on a decent size pocket pair like QQ, JJ, TT, 99. Or also AK, AQ, or KQ, especially with two spades in his hand. So after he checks, I bet small (1/2 the pot) hoping that he'd try to push me off the pot with a raise, or hoping he'd call with top pair.

In retrospect, I don't think this was the right play. Should I have bet bigger to make it more wrong for him to draw to a flush?

Turn: My first thought is "it's not a spade!" So I happily put another 1/2 pot size bet out there; if he has two spades, he's not getting odds to draw to one (less than 3:1 pot odds, 4.15:1 against hitting on the river, if memory serves), but it may be tempting enough for him to think he's getting the right odds. Should I have bet bigger here?

To my surprise, he checkraises me. "Sweet," I think, "he just hit a set of jacks, or he was slowplaying a set of 9s, and now's my time to bust him." So I go into Mr. Hyde mode and push all in.

My question: do you think a mere call is more appropriate? If he had the one made hand that had me beat (i.e. a straight with QT), a call would've allowed me to conserve chips and then only bet (or call a large raise) on the river if I filled up.

In my mind, a call is just too weak of a play there, and out of the hands I put him on, he would certainly call a huge reraise with a lot of weaker ones (lower sets, TPTK) or fold (or perhaps call even call with) bad drawing hands (straight or flush draws). Even though a checkraise screams strength, I can't put him on the only hand that has me beat, QT. He wouldn't call a $20 preflop raise with that, nor would he call with a gutshot. So at this point, I had him on JJ, 99, or a checkraise semibluff with a spade draw.

River: no thoughts except "damn, a nonpairing spade."

Final questions: What do you think he had? How would you have played top set here? Thanks.