Top pair, top kicker - 4 bet on the flop.

[JTG51]

Here's another 4/8 hand. The last one started some great discussion, I hope this will do the same.

I walked to the table 3 seconds before this hand occured, so fortunately I can't give a description of the tightness/looseness of the game. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

I post behind the button and get A [img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img] K [img]/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif[/img] . UTG limps, MP limps, LP limps and I raise. Button folds, blinds fold and limpers call. All opponents are unknowns. Four of us see the flop for 2 SBs each.

Flop: A [img]/forums/images/icons/club.gif[/img] Q [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] 7 [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img]

Checked to me, I bet, UTG check raises and everyone else folds. I 3-bet, he 4-bets, I call.

Turn: [A [img]/forums/images/icons/club.gif[/img] Q [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] 7 [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] ] A [img]/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif[/img]

He bets, I call.

River: [A [img]/forums/images/icons/club.gif[/img] Q [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] 7 [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] A [img]/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif[/img] ] 4 [img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img]

He bets, I call.

Thoughts on each street? Maybe more importantly, how does the A on the turn change your play if at all?

[Ed Miller]

Once it is headsup, I just call the flop checkraise looking for a spot to raise on a big bet street. This checkraise is often a flush draw where I play, and I want to wait until the turn to pop it.

[lil']

Well, If I was at the Foxwoods 4-8 (don't know where you were), the cap means I would be behind 99.9% of the time. Either it's 2 pair or a set. You are looking at A-Q, A-7, Q-7, 7-7, or Q-Q. The ace on the turn only helps if you are against Q-7, so you may be screwed.

Having said all that, I would call him down anyway, as I would have a hard time folding this hand.

If the player didn't have one of the aforementioned hands, then he is very different from the average 4-8 B&M player I have come across.

[marbles]

The key to this hand, IMO, is that you just sat down. If anyone is going to screw with me, I generally find that they do it right away in my first one or two hands I play. Maybe he thinks you're a maniac, maybe he thinks he can ram you off your hand, and just maybe he has a hand better than yours. Combine all these factors, and the fact that the whole table is watching, and you absolutely have to call this guy down.

P.S. I would be extremely pleased to see the Ace on the turn, but it still wouldn't change my actions on this hand for reasons mentioned above.

[davidross]

This is a tough read when you don’t know the guy. There are quite a few hands he could have. I like your play and I think that’s what I’d do 50% of the time. My other play would be to just call the raise on the flop and then raise the turn on him.

When you 3 bet the flop he has to know you have an A, yet he 4 bets anyway. He is either a) on a flush draw(how about Kh Jh, or Ah xh), b) already ahead of you, (A7, Q7 and 77 seem to be the only hands he could have given the betting previously), c) just a bad player. The 2nd A coming on the turn probably changes nothing unless he had Q7. It will make him more likely to think his Ax is good though. If he’s on hearts you’d want to raise him here and make him pay.

You can’t fold so calling him down keeps your loss to a minimum and you still get one bet per street when you win. I think it’s a solid play and probably what I’d do in the heat of the battle. With time to reflect, I would raise the turn believing he has Ah 8h.

[Homer]

Preflop: Fine

Flop: When UTG checkraises, I would put him on a weak A, but really it could mean anything since some players would checkraise with a flush draw since they don't really grasp the purpose of a checkraise. You can either three-bet here, or jack the turn if a non-heart comes. After you are four-bet, you have to think that your opponent has at least two-pair, or has top pair with a four-flush (Axs), or maybe even with just the Ah is he is a frisky bettor.

Turn: The A on the turn can only be good for you. It probably doesn't change anything, though, because your opponent most likely doesn't have exactly Q7. I would be very tempted to raise here to charge a flush draw the maximum, but you could just as easily be hurting yourself, as a boat could three-bet you. You'd still have to call it down after the three-bet (because he could be three-betting you with Axs), so you'd be putting in two additional bets to find out if your hand is good. I'm fairly certain I would call just as you did.

River: Fine

-- Homer

[techsan]

From his preflop limp I would doubt he had a better Ace than you do.

His checkraise on the flop indicates a good hand. From my experience Q7 is not a common UTG limping hands suited or not. AQo and 77 are more likely or maybe even something like AhTh. I would suspect a typical player would raise most of the time with AQo preflop so this decreases the odds a bit for that holding. Also his lack of a preflop raise pretty much eliminates QQ, AA, AK. Therefore from his aggressiveness on the flop I would put him on 77, AhXh (with X being a card 9 or higher), or possibly AQo, in that order.

His check-raise could be to protect his set of 7's against any flush draws. I like your flop play. When the Ace show up on the turn, the decreases the likliehood slightly of him having AQo or AhXh (although it is still quite possible for him to have one of those hands), so this sorta makes me think his holding is probably 77 and he has now filled up and you are drawing to 3 kings, 3 queens, or an Ace-7 outs.

With the amount of money in the pot I would go to check call mode on the turn and hope to fill up on the river. Of course I'm probably way off, but that's my read.

[JTG51]

I like that play and would often use it. I guess my mental coin toss landed on 3-bet this time.

[JTG51]

Well, If I was at the Foxwoods 4-8 (don't know where you were), the cap means I would be behind 99.9% of the time.

It was Foxwoods. I thought the same thing, even though I didn't know the opponent. I thought A7 was his most likely hand.

[JTG51]

With time to reflect, I would raise the turn believing he has Ah 8h.

It turns out you are pretty darn close. I don't see many people 4-bet that type of hand heads up though, so I still think A7 is more likely.