preflop question

[Heimdal]

I had a feeling i made a bad fold and that's why I posted. But I would rather reraise here with 72o than with JJ.

I hadn't played with this player in a couple of months but last time I played with him, he rarely raised preflop and when he raised 5BB+ it meant big pair. This time he was more aggressive and it was a mistake of me to think that he only would raise with big pairs + AK/AQ. I still think he had a big pair though.

What should I do if the flop is J73? And what if the flop is T53? Should I do the same on these two flops(bet 3/4 pot)?

Obviously I dont want to become too predictable and if I play sets one way and unimproved PP another way, it will be easy to put me on a hand. But it's just strange to play the hand the same way when I want a action on one flop but not on another.

[swolfe]

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What should I do if the flop is J73? And what if the flop is T53? Should I do the same on these two flops(bet 3/4 pot)?

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yes, lead out in both cases. what changes is how you respond to his actions. if he calls, definitely fire another bet with the set, but not necessarily with the overpair. he could call the flop to trap you with his big pair, so you're going to have to make some sort of read.

if he raises, drop it on the T high flop, but you have lots of options with a set. if you think he'll follow up with another bet on the turn, then call and go for a check-raise. if you think he'll call a push, shove it in on the flop.

so, you need to take a shot in either case, but if he continues in the hand, play it cautiously when you only have the overpair.

[emil3000]

Sklansky wrote a great article about raising out of the blinds in this months internet mag.

Reraising with JJ is horrible most of the time. Don't listen to the machine. It's basically a waste of a good hand, that you can win lots of money with postflop.

[Zag]

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What should I do if the flop is J73? And what if the flop is T53? Should I do the same on these two flops(bet 3/4 pot)?

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yes, lead out in both cases. what changes is how you respond to his actions. if he calls, definitely fire another bet with the set, but not necessarily with the overpair. ...

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Wow, do I disagree with your second point.

Yes, make the same bet with both, about 2/3 pot. Also with your Axs that flopped a flush draw.

If you are raised on the flop:
Flush draw: call or fold, based on pots odds
Smallish overpair: Probably fold
Top set: Depending on stack either reraise all in or call then check-raise

If you are merely called, then on the turn:

Flush draw (misses): check and call/fold depending on pots odds

Flush draw (hits): A smallish bet as if you have an overpair and are now scared of flush. Alternatively, check-raise (or even check-call, then check-raise river) if opponent is the type to bluff the flush without it

Overpair: If it is now an underpair, check-fold. If it is still overpair, either a medium bet or check-fold, depending on how passive the opponent is.

Set: Check! Note how this looks just like the flush draw that missed. Of course, in this case, you are going to check-raise. If he has an overpair, or even two overcards and some sort of draw, he is almost guaranteed to bet out here, since it looks so much like you were just bluffing or semi-bluffing the flop and are ready to give it up. This works especially well if the flop was two-suited and the flush did NOT get there.

[swolfe]

not sure where your flush draw stuff is coming from since OP was asking about JJ on those two flops.

and obviously there are as many different ways to play them as there are styles, and a lot of the ways are thrown out the window with specific reads anyway.

i think you were disagreeing about firing another bet on the turn with a set? that's just my preference. i play a lot of things fast specifically to get action on my big hands, and if they haven't shown any aggression i'm going to continue trying to build the pot instead of inducing them to take initiative.

if you were disagreeing with a check on the turn with an unimproved JJ after being called on the flop by a tight preflop raiser, well...i guess that's a preference thing too. i'm not going to continue to spew chips when most of his likely hands have me beat. i took a shot on the flop to knock out his unimproved AK and i'm done with it.

[fuzzbox]

If you know for certain that he only raises those hands and wont pay off a set, then call with any two cards and check raise any turn that doesnt have an A/K/Q in it.

If he lays down all the time, beat him down.

[emil3000]

Your idea of checkraising the turn is el diablos biggest leak, see mid, high stakes forum. I am guilty of it too. I think it's a bad play if it let's him off an overpair, ie if there's still decent money to bet after he bets. If his bet totally commits him, a checkraise works.

[TakeMeToTheRiver]

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Also what difference does it make whether I have 22 or JJ if I put him on AA-QQ?
Perhaps my read was wrong here but that was what I thought he had when he raised.


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There is no way you can put a player raising from CO with one limper on such a narrow range of hands. You are giving the player far too much respect. I think any good, tight, aggressive player would raise from the CO here with a pair as low as 99 (possibly lower). It is also likely that a good player in CO will raise with AK, AQ, AJ, AT and even suited connectors. Whatever the range of hands is, you are ahead far more often than you are behind. Folding JJ to a single raise here shows fear of the player -- which could be a good enough reason sometimes.