10/20 - 2 hands to discuss

[JKratzer]

I've been on autopilot too much of the time while playing poker this summer. It's been hurting my bottom line so I've decided to cut back on the # of tables I play and post at least one hand from every session I play. I will post the hand(s) I feel that I misplayed the most. I'm hoping this will be motivation to always play my best and at the same time improve my game. I won't post hands where I feel the answer is obvious, because I really do want to generate discussion. Anyway, to start my new quest I will post two hands today, in the future I will try to make it only one hand at a time.

Thanks in advance everyone, I value all input, especially critiques.


$2000 NL Texas Hold'em
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 2: ( $961.50 )
Seat 3: ( $274 )
Seat 5: Villian ( $1834.50 )
Seat 7: ( $1763.50 )
Seat 8: ( $1015 )
Seat 6: ( $570 )
Seat 9: Hero ( $2360.50 )
Seat 10: ( $2172.50 )
Seat 1: ( $1980 )
Seat 4: ( $380 )

** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Ah As ]
Hero raises [$80].
5 folds
Villian calls [$80].
3 folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 3d, Tc, 7c ]
Hero [$150].
Villian calls [$150].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 7d ]
Hero bets [$200].
Villian calls [$200].
** Dealing River ** [ 3s ]
Hero ???

In this hand villian is slightly loose, not overly aggressive. He seems to like to showdown cheap. Since he didn't raise the flop or turn I figured my hand was most likely good, but I wasn't sure what to bet on the river or what I should in case he raises me.



$2000 NL Texas Hold'em
Seat 9 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 5: Hero ( $2800 )
Seat 10: ( $2294.50 )
Seat 1: ( $2566.50 )
Seat 9: ( $2054 )
Seat 7: ( $3019.50 )
Seat 2: ( $2088 )
Seat 4: ( $3274.50 )
Seat 3: ( $808 )
Seat 6: Villian ( $1442.48 )
Seat 8: ( $2000 )

Dealt to Hero [ Jh Jd ]
1 fold.
Seat 3 raises [$70].
1 fold.
Hero calls [$70].
Villian calls [$70].
4 folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7d, Tc, 4s ]
Seat 3 checks.
Hero bets [$100].
Villian calls [$100].
Seat 3 folds.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Kh ]
Hero bets [$150].
Villian calls [$150].
** Dealing River ** [ 4c ]
Hero checks.
Villian bets [$400].
Hero ???

Haven't seen villian get out of line too much, I really don't see him having a King given the action. Thoughts?

JKratzer

[DOTTT]

Hand 1: Push all in.

Hand 2: I wouldn't like it but I call, oh and BTW I bet the river say $250 and fold to a raise.

[9cao]

Hand 1 push? Is that because clubs got there?

[chuddo]

hand 1 i bet 500 if i don't think the villain is capable of raising me with a missed draw.

if he is tricky and pretty solid, i would consider check-calling what will likely be that same size bet, trying to elicit the bluff from a missed draw.

hand two is a bit tricky, as villain was not the pfr and board is completely uncoordinated.

on the flop, pfr checks, you lead out, and he flat calls on a drawless board. either he is hoping for pfr to come along, or that he may even raise you both.

i have the feeling he probably has the hand in a hammerlock and was looking to trap. i would not be surprised at all to see TT for top set, or even a kind of odd KTs.

[JKratzer]

Hand 1 - I bet $250, Villian called w/ TQo.
Hand 2 - I called and lost to TT.

JKratzer

[creedofhubris]

[ QUOTE ]
Hand 1 - I bet $250, Villian called w/ TQo.
Hand 2 - I called and lost to TT.

JKratzer

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think either of these were played poorly. Since in hand #1, you say villain likes to show down hands cheap, then a bet is preferable to a check, since he's likely to check behind rather than bet a medium hand for value. And he's unlikely to bluff raise. Your bet is rather small, and a tricky villain might blast you right out of that pot; you can only bet that small if you're going to CALL a raise.

In hand #2, the key decision is on the river, and I don't mind check/calling. Check/calling would be better IMO if the flop were suited and the flush missed, since you want to give the missed flush a chance to bluff.

On this board, bet/fold to raise is decent.

hand 1
250 to 300 on the river is the perfect price because he's most likely to have a draw or top pair looking to showdown. the 250 bet allows him to call top pair, but also could look like a blocking bet and induce a reraise with a busted draw. Also in the rare occasion that you are beat and being slowplayed, 250 keeps his reraise reasonable so that you're getting odds to call the raise since he is bluffing a good percent of the time.

this is my first post as you can tell, ive been readin here for a while, but ive decided to post because i think it will help my game... was this why you bet 250? is this thought process elementary or correct for that matter?

[JKratzer]

The reason I bet 250 is because I was thought that was the most I could get from a worse hand. Much more than that and only a hand that beats me calls (or raises). I wasn't sure of his calling tendencies, but once I saw his hand I realized he probably would have called a fair amount more.