$22 - Small suited one-gapper from the SB

[SoCalPat]

$20+$2 at Paradise.

It's level 5 (50/100 blinds) and I'm the chip leader with 2,600 and I'm dealt 3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 5 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Folded to me in the SB and I raise 200. I'm just hoping to steal. BB is 3rd with 1,700 and puts in a miniraise to 300 and I call the 100.

Flop comes 5 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

What's your line?

[junkmail3]

Raise to 300 preflop. Fold to a reraise in that case.

On the flop in this situation thought, I'd check/call a small bet. And just let it go to a big enough bet. You don't need to get involved in this hand for a lot of your chips.

[playtitleist]

[ QUOTE ]

Folded to me in the SB and I raise 200. I'm just hoping to steal. BB is 3rd with 1,700

[/ QUOTE ]

I re-read your post before I hit submit, and glad I did. I thought you raised to t200, but you seem to have raised it by t200 and he came back with a t100 raise. Odd.

Any way, I gotta figure BB missed this flop with the pre-flop raise. I'd bet half the pot and fold to any raise.

[45suited]

Depends on your read of BB and if you're feelin' lucky.

FWIW, you're a slight favorite over two black aces on that flop.

BTW, making a substantial flop bet and folding to a raise is horrible. Pushing the flop would be better than this line. Anything would be better than betting half pot and folding to a raise. You have very strong hand and the chip lead.

[bennies]

I'm not letting go of a flush draw (+ a possible gut shot) and a pair. So, I see two options.

1) push

2) checkpush

A 3-bet would be an option if your opponent had more chips.

[playtitleist]

Bet/fold feels horrible when you do it. But I don't think a push is needed to take down the pot with this flop and if Villain says he's got it, he's probably got it. I'll puke if he raises, but I'll fold and be in good chip position to play on.

Major leak in my play here? If so, I want to know.

First off, I would have just limped in or given up my sb. There's no reason to build a big pot out of position with crappy cards. However, since you raised, you have to call the minraise. Now, Questions. How many players left? Are there short stacks? Reads on the min-reraiser? I really don't know what to think when people do this minraise. It could have meant that he was spite raising you for minraising his bb, or he could have a high pair and not want to lose you. Anyway, I guess I would suggest two possible lines. The first, which I would probably go with would be to check and hope to hit a free or cheap flush, two pair, or trips, and then pray he was getting trappy with Aces. Or, if you read his bet for weakness you could checkraise and try to take the pot away from him, with a potentially strong hand. The other option would be to bet out half to two thirds of the pot and hope that he either goes away or just calls and you flush him out. I think the best play would be to check this flop and then proceed according to his actions, your pot odds, and your read of the player. By the way, I'd be much more likely to checkraise all in if he made a pot size bet then if he bet just 1/2 the pot. A lot of the players on the 11's and 22's will overbet a hand like Ace Face no pair on this flop, in which case you would be aheand

[45suited]

[ QUOTE ]
Bet/fold feels horrible when you do it. But I don't think a push is needed to take down the pot with this flop and if Villain says he's got it, he's probably got it. I'll puke if he raises, but I'll fold and be in good chip position to play on.

Major leak in my play here? If so, I want to know.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, let's look at the numbers. There's 600 in the pot on the flop. If you bet half the pot, now it's 900. Say he raises all-in. Now there's 2300 in the pot, and you would have to call 1100. You'd be getting over 2:1 odds and as I said, you're just over even money against two black aces.

You have a very strong hand here. Against alot of opponents (given that he is in 2nd, I have the chiplead, AND if I lose, I still have 9 BBs), I'd just open push this flop. You certainly can't make a substantial bet and fold to a push getting over 2:1.

[durron597]

I check-raise this flop 100% of the time. You don't really mind a free card and you almost certainly have the best hand. If the pot was bigger I would just open push.

[45suited]

The only thing that I don't like about the C/R is that I don't really want to encourage villain to call. I have a strong hand / strong draw, but I'd just as soon take the pot now. I mean, it's possible that you could scare an overpair into folding if you push (I don't know how often this would happen, but he might be someone who just wants to ITM), but if you C/R, you're encouraging action when you really don't want it.

I can live with getting all my chips in, but I'd prefer to just take the pot now. Durron, what do you think of this logic?