JTo completes in the SB then overvalues flopped top two

[belloc]

See if you think I made mistakes on *every* street, or just on most of them. I'll try to give you my thinking at the time, but I think this just went horribly the whole way. UTG is LAG.

Party Poker 2/4 Hold'em (9 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is SB with J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. CO posts a blind of $2.
UTG calls, <font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, CO (poster) checks, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, Hero completes, BB checks.

Hm. I don't like being out of position with JTo, but I'll usually complete with little broadway cards and quickly abandon them if they miss.

Flop: (4 SB) 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(4 players)</font>
Hero checks, BB checks, <font color="#CC3333">UTG bets</font>, CO folds, Hero calls, BB folds.

I never slowplay top two. I checked intending to raise, but who was I going to count on to raise with no aggression PF? When it was one bet back to me I abandoned the c/r and decided to just call, planning to c/r the turn if a safe card comes. Terrible.

Turn: (3 BB) 8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="#CC3333">UTG bets</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises</font>, UTG calls.

Not the safest card, making some redraws possible, maybe even making a straight. I figured UTG would bet again, and I could get in a raise there for value, hoping I wasn't betting his hand for him. Is this a horrible mistake, or just awful?

River: (7 BB) 8[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets</font>...

The color is right, and doesn't help straight draws so I'm pretty happy here. What could he have that beats me? He'd have raised PF with an overpair, he'd have 3-bet me on the turn with Q9 or 97 or even a flopped set. Maybe he tripped 8s, but I can't see bogeymen around every corner. So I figured it was more likely that he had AT-QT or KJ-QJ, or maybe even just some random naked J or T.

Final Pot: 8 BB

[Gravy (Gravy Smoothie)]

Preflop: good
Flop: bet, if this gets checked through it's going to suck. If someone raises your flop bet THEN you can smoothcall and checkraise the turn.

[Tosh]

I'd normally just bet the flop here but if UTG is a real LAG who will happily fire on flop and turn regardless I don't see a great problem.

[Chris Daddy Cool]

nice handm, though i generally fire away on the flop.

[JinX11]

If UTG is indeed a LAG (where you can expect a flop raise), you gotta bet this flop and get it into a "I can raise more than you can" kinda situation. However, if UTG is a LAG that just likes to bet out anytime it's checked to him, but prefers to call others' bets, I like a flop check-raise.

[cpk]

In this case I would bet out with top two, as I don't know who's going to bet it. JT is dangerous because of its maximum straight range--anything above a 6 can complete a straight, and then lots of subsequent cards can put a 4-straight on board. On this board, anything below a 7 sets up a low straight draw. Nothing but trouble here.

On the other hand, with AK, I would probably c/r with top two because there are fewer cards that can wreck my hand.

[belloc]

[ QUOTE ]
In this case I would bet out with top two, as I don't know who's going to bet it. JT is dangerous because of its maximum straight range--anything above a 6 can complete a straight, and then lots of subsequent cards can put a 4-straight on board. On this board, anything below a 7 sets up a low straight draw. Nothing but trouble here.

On the other hand, with AK, I would probably c/r with top two because there are fewer cards that can wreck my hand.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, this is very well said. I guess during the course of the hand I went back and forth in my mind as to whether I was way ahead (and should be extracting maximum value) or behind to a made straight or some strong draw. I kept changing my mind, and therefore didn't have a set approach to the hand.

I don't think the bettor was aggressive enough postflop to have counted on a raise on my flop bet, but I was fairly sure he'd bet it if checked to him. I probably should have just come out firing on all streets and taken what I could get.

In any event, UTG folded to my fifth street bet, so I don't know what he held. My guess is that he had maybe second pair and some backdoor draws that kept him in until the turn, but made him sure he was beat when they didn't come in. I think the result was about as good as it could have been, but my thinking during play was all screwed up since I didn't have a set way of approaching the situation. Thanks for your thoughts.

[Mike Gallo]

Bet the flop, or check raise. I do like like check calling.

Turn check raise.It works for me, you set it up from the flop play.

River, you have to bet. That second eight did nothing to hurt your hand unless someone hit a running set.