river decision

[DiamondDave]

Some players who are new to holdem are at the table, so the game is unusually good. The new players know the rules of the game but don't seem to know what constitutes a great hand as opposed to a good one or what information can be gleaned from the betting action.

MP in this hand is a solid player, BB is loose and tilting, SB is one of the newbies.

Folded to MP, who calls. Folded to SB, who calls. Tilting BB raises, all call.

Flop is T82 rainbow. SB checks, BB bets, MP raises, all call.

Turn is a 4. SB checks, BB checks, MP bets, all call.

River is a T. SB bets out, BB folds, MP raises, SB makes it three bets, MP makes it 4, SB makes it 5 (acting really confident, for what it's worth), MP makes it 6 (proclaiming "one last time"), SB makes it 7 (getting within a handful of bets of all-in), MP calls.

SB tables T3o for trips. MP shows 22 for deuces full and takes the pot. SB seems genuinely shocked that his hand is no good.

I wasn't involved in the hand, but I remember thinking that I would have been willing to make it, say, 10 or 12 bets against that particular opponent. (But that's just me, and I've been know to go a bit overboard.) I spoke with MP about the hand later, and he said he stopped raising because SB seemed so happy with his hand and there was really now way to narrow down his range of possible holdings.

So how far would you have pushed it with such a tiny canoe of a boat?