Fun With 55

[The Dude]

Party Poker 5-10, 10 handed. LMP and CO are typical loosy goosy, MP seems to be the next most reasonable player at the table. Could just be getting crap starting hands, but he seems to be playing fairly tight. My read is that his postflop play is fine but fairly unimaginiative.

Preflop:
MP open-raises, LMP and CO coldcall, button dumps, SB dumps, The Dude calls in the BB w/ 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 5[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].

Flop: (8 SBs) Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 5[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 4[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(4 Players)</font>
The Dude checks, MP bets, LMP calls, CO calls, The Dude raises, MP 3-bets, CO folds, LMP calls, The Dude calls.

Turn: (9 BBs) 3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(3 Players)</font>
The Dude checks, MP bets, LMP calls, The Dude raises. MP calls, LMP calls.

River: (15 BBs) Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(3 Players)</font>
The Dude checks...

[sfer]

I love it.

[Nate tha' Great]

Your check on the river is pretty bad. Something like AA may well sniff out another check-raise attempt and just check it through. OTOH, a hand containing a Q might well raise, allowing you to get 3 bets in.

Earlier in the hand, I'm usually more inclined to 4-bet the flop rather than go for the double checkraise. Here your play seems okay, but you need to be careful on a board that is a little bit heavier on draws. You may even occasionally run into an opponent who thinks that it's odd that you'd check raise the entire field, and then just call rather than cap when it comes back around to you and you have an opportunity to put more money in the pot. There are exceptions, but I really think that in most of these cases that once you break the seal, you're usually best off pissing chips into the collective urinal as fast as humanly possible. When playing against aggressive, unthinking opponents, it can be dangerous to make unusual-looking plays that give them the chance to reflect on what you're doing.

[sthief09]

[ QUOTE ]
Your check on the river is pretty bad. Something like AA may well sniff out another check-raise attempt and just check it through. OTOH, a hand containing a Q might well raise, allowing you to get 3 bets in.

[/ QUOTE ]

this is exactly what I was thinking. if he doesn't have a Q, he's not betting. he might even put you on a straight (your postflop play is exactly the line someone would take with a straight), if not a boat after you've check-raised twice already. once you let the cat out of the bag, just play it straightforward.

I check-raise too much. I'm sure it costs me money. I assume whiff a lot more than you [The Dude], but even so, check-raising costs you many opportunities at a 3-bet.

[The Dude]

Hey Nate, how does the 3rd player in the hand effect your thinking if you are either me or MP?

[sthief09]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Nate, how does the 3rd player in the hand effect your thinking if you are either me or MP?

[/ QUOTE ]


I'll take a stab for s[/i]hits. the 2 callers makes your check-raise a lot more ambiguous, since it could easily be a draw or a big hand (on the flop), and look like a legitimate hand on the turn.

would you play 76s any differently preflop, on the flop, or on the turn?

[The Dude]

[ QUOTE ]
would you play 76s any differently preflop, on the flop, or on the turn?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, I would check-call the flop w/ 76s, because MP is either going to 3-bet or fold just about anything but AK. I would checkraise 76s the same on the turn.

My read on MP in this hand is very important to the line I took. No reasonable player is going to raise my river bet w/ AQ, especially not with someone to act behind him. But almost no-one can resist betting any Q here.

[Nate tha' Great]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Nate, how does the 3rd player in the hand effect your thinking if you are either me or MP?

[/ QUOTE ]

Once the third player calls two bets cold on the flop, I don't think your primary concern should be keeping him in the pot. I mean, you'd ordinarily like him to stay in the pot, but it's very likely that he's going to do that anyway, either with something like OESD or a medium-strength hand like top pair that simply refuses to believe that it's beat. My main concern is figuring out the number of bets that I'm going to put in against MP, on the assumption that the third wheel is usually going to come along for the ride whatever the betting sequence.

[Joe Tall]

I really think that in most of these cases that once you break the seal, you're usually best off pissing chips into the collective urinal as fast as humanly possible.

I nominate this for quote of the month.

Nice one, Nate,
Joe Tall

[The Dude]

[ QUOTE ]
Earlier in the hand, I'm usually more inclined to 4-bet the flop rather than go for the double checkraise. Here your play seems okay, but you need to be careful on a board that is a little bit heavier on draws.

[/ QUOTE ]
I think 4-betting pretty much announces that I have a set, and will kill my turn action. In the 15-30 game you play in MP is going to feel a lot better about AQ or AA going 4 bets on the flop than he will in this 5-10 game. Had there been a flush draw out there as well, I would have capped it, but capping this flop would scream set or 2 pair.

I'm still confused as to why so many of you think MP could raise this river. The Q can only help him if I have 2 pair. Certainly there are opponents that don't understand this and would raise anyway, but I don't think this guy would. Besides, if I bet and MP does in fact raise, LMP is dumping any hand that doesnt' have a Q in it. So when I re-raise I still only get 3 bets on the river. Whereas when I check-raise I'm going to get 4. (BTW, LMP had 99 and called both MP's river bet and my check-raise.)

[ QUOTE ]
When playing against aggressive, unthinking opponents, it can be dangerous to make unusual-looking plays that give them the chance to reflect on what you're doing.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't understand. Where did the "aggressive, unthinking opponents" come from?