Big Hand - Crazy Game

[Zoe's Echo]

I was playing at the $10/$20 NLHE game at the Bellagio last Thursday and had an interesting hand come up.

My play in the hand was significantly influenced by prior plays at the table.

Stacks when I sat ranged from $1.4K to $18K. During the course of the session I had seen one player (Target) make some outlandish calls.

The first hand I sat down to was a raised pot with a flop of JT2 (rainbow) there was a bet and a call on the flop and the pot had roughly $3K in it. The turn was a 4 and the SB checked and the Target bet $1.5K the SB checkraised all in and the target called with his last $2.8K. River was a T and the Target scooped a nice pot with trips - SB had AJ. So my read was lots of action in a big limit game - very nice combination.

In a later hand the cutoff raised to $180 (with about $3K behind) the Target flat called ($11,000 behind) and the SB made it $600 to go (couldn't tell how deep because he played with cash and had taken the tilted AJ's seat). Both players called.

Flop was 8 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]4 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] the SB bet $600 and both players called again. Flop 8 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] the SB checked, Cutoff pushed for his last $1.8K and the Target thought for 5 minutes and called. SB folded.

Winning hand - Cutoff A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] - Target 55.

I was drooling to get a hand against him. Hour later when the hand came up my stack size was $2,200 and the Target as at $17,000. I limped in a 7 way pot in Cutoff with 66. Flop 669 - [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]!

Checked to me and I check behind. Turn Q. Target in BB led out for $300 and folded to me. My decision was to min raise to represent a Q as well since I had seen him bet big with several KQ's and thought he had it again. He had played top pair with KQ like a hammer all night and had won each time. I fully expected him to raise and with 100% certainty thought that he would call getting 2:1. Folded to him and he thinks for 1 min and folds. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

To my knowledge I gave no tell and just stared at the board unflinching. I had also only been sitting for a short time in the game (2 hours) but had only played only about 6 pots.

He later admitted that he had a Queen and mucked it.

How bad was my play seeing that this guy had given $5-$7K in action when behind in the past 2 hours and even more with top pair K or Q?

Against any other player I would have smooth called and hoped for another bet. In retrospect I think that I might have gotten some more action on the turn if I made a small bet on the flop but I was hoping someone had/would have connected with something on the flop or turn. With the limped pot I was really hoping for 99 somewhere.

I also pondered calling his bet but based on his prior play and his monster stack (near $17K at this point) I hadn't expected him to fold top pair when the pot was offering him 2:1.

Thoughts appreciated.

Good Luck