88 late

[Quercus]

Pokerroom low-limit tourny. 600 started, now in the money with 40ish left. Hero has 20BB in MP and finds a pair of red 8s.

Table has been seeing a lot of limpers and min-raisers. Not a lot of aggression. No specific read on villain.

Action folds to hero who raises to 4BB. Villain with 15BB immediately to heros left calls, remainder of field folds. Two go to the flop, pot is nearly 9.5BB.

Flop comes 774 rainbow.

What size bet does hero make here?

[Isura]

Push. Any smaller bet gives villain good odds, and don't feel great when he comes over the top. Push and maximize your folding equity, and also maximize the size of his error when he calls with a worse hand. It's a low buyin, so he's got 2 overcards way more often than a higher pair. He'll surely call with AK-AQ and some other junk too.

[McMelchior]

Do you have any specific reason not to believe your hand is good?

The problem is, I see no realistic way of figuring it out; at low limit buy-in you'll meet players willing to call a PF raise for 25% of their stack with a wide scope of hands, and there are too many of your joint chips in the pot already to narrow it more down.

Checking is out of the question - to many overcards can show up on the turn. A standard continuation bet of approximately 5 BB will challenge Villain for close to half his remaining stack. If he comes over the top you pretty much have to call because of the pot odds.

I would go with my gut feelings, and unless they signal danger I would most like just move in. If he holds a slightly higher pair you put the pressure back on him, and if he flat called PF with KK or AA you still have 2 outs plus the runner-runner straight.

This is not a bet that will only be called if you're beat - at this level, dont be surprised to see opponents call and turn over AK, 66 or 55.

Best,

McMelchior (Johan)

[Quercus]

I made a huge error and half-potted it, inducing an all-in with his AKo. He caught his K on the turn and crippled my stack. A few hands later I was out.

At the time, I wrote it off to the standard cruelty of poker, and it wasn't until about an hour later that the thought dawned on me that perhaps my 1/2 pot flop bet was the root cause of my demise (for the exact reasons posters here have listed). Hopefully the lesson will stick.

[betgo]

[ QUOTE ]
I made a huge error and half-potted it, inducing an all-in with his AKo. He caught his K on the turn and crippled my stack. A few hands later I was out.

At the time, I wrote it off to the standard cruelty of poker, and it wasn't until about an hour later that the thought dawned on me that perhaps my 1/2 pot flop bet was the root cause of my demise (for the exact reasons posters here have listed). Hopefully the lesson will stick.

[/ QUOTE ]

Pushing is good, but I think the half pot bet may be OK too. Inducing an allin bet from AK is a little more EV+ than getting him to fold. You are more than a 3-1 favorite on the flop. The reason for not making the half pot bet is not that you are worried about someone pushing with overcards. You are worried about them calling and catching a pair on the turn.

Villain should have pushed preflop with AK.