AJs, Top Pair

Farrquaad · #1 10-31-2004, 03:55 AM

Party Poker 0.5/1 Hold'em (8 handed)

Preflop: Hero is Button with J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, CO folds, Hero raises, SB calls, BB calls.

Flop: (6 SB) 8[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets, SB calls, BB folds.

Turn: (4 BB) 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (2 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, SB calls.

River: (8 BB) 7[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.

Final Pot: 8 BB

JDErickson · #2 10-31-2004, 03:57 AM

Looks ok. I probably would have bet the river though.

Shufflbord · #3 10-31-2004, 03:59 AM

Why did you call on the river? Was he the type to C/R

Farrquaad · #4 10-31-2004, 04:31 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Why did you call on the river? Was he the type to C/R

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought he wouldn't fold a hand that could beat me and I'd lose one more bet.

fairness · #5 10-31-2004, 04:56 AM

??? you mean why didnt you bet the river? and you mean you didn't think he would call with a hand you could beat? and he would only raise you? i think you're giving your opponents way too much credit for their hands. you checked it through b/c you were afraid of the flush? THEY'LL CALL WITH LOTS OF HANDS YOU CAN BEAT.

Nick C · #6 10-31-2004, 05:49 AM

If SB hadn't bet the turn, I'd say bet the river and call a raise. Since he did bet the turn, you have hands to worry about besides (even more than, actually) a flush. Was SB a passive player? If so, I'd check behind on the river too. You're not going to push him off of a hand that beats yours, so the question becomes: What worse hand would he bet the turn with that he'd also call with on the river? Something like Jh8h, maybe, or perhaps he was taking a shot on the turn with a weak ace.

I see what the others are saying, but I can see the case for checking behind, too. I think it sort of depends on what you've seen your opponent do up until this point.

Edit: The turn raise (which was good because there was a reasonable chance you were ahead) bought you a free showdown. This can be very advantageous when, for instance, the river card improves your hand and you can go ahead and bet again. But the river card didn't help you. So I think the river check is reasonable. It does, however, depend on what you've seen your opponent do.

Nick C · #7 10-31-2004, 06:55 AM

I should clarify, because I'm still working this concept out for myself. Anyway, I think the best time to raise the turn and take a free showdown is when, for whatever reason, you're not too concerned about a turn 3-bet, but the river card could improve your hand greatly and would scare your opponent into checking to you if you did improve. So you gain an extra turn bet when you do improve on the river.

One thing that makes it a volatile strategy is that you might get 3-bet on the turn.

In any case, I think your turn raise in this hand is good, not so much as a free-showdown strategy, but because there's a good chance you're ahead. But after the river card doesn't help you (and in fact is somewhat scary), the chances you're still ahead (if you were before) do decrease, and I think checking behind is reasonable, though it does depend on what you've seen your opponent do.