Awkward blind steal with T8s and loose image

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My first manually transcribed post. I read somewhere that posting this way makes you think through the hand more, so, here we go.



All fold to Hero on the button in a 5/10 full game with T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].

SB is a touch loose generally preflop but seems very reluctant to defend from the small blind. BB is tight and aggressive postflop over a small sample. I've been able to steal with impunity the whole session and have been raising all kinds of crap in this position for a while. I get the feeling they are tiring of my relentless, obvious thievery and will soon loosen their defending requirements and play back more postflop.


I raise. SB folds, BB calls.


Flop: T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 8[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] - 4.4 SB


BB checks, I bet, BB calls.


Turn: J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] - 3.2 BB


BB checks, I bet. BB raises. I call, planning to call or check behind a river blank.


River: A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] - 7.2 BB


F?ck.


BB bets, I fold.


Questions:

- Is checking behind if checked to on the river lame? One of my weaknesses is that come the river, I turn into a big girl in a flowery skirt with pink ribbons in her hair, and miss value bets and raises left right and centre unless I hold the nuts or close to it, and I am trying to rectify this. However I think the times he calls with a hand that beats me or more likely checkraises me again vastly outweigh the times he pays off with with Ax one pair (A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] x[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] maybe), and I'd feel obliged to pay a checkraise off as 1. my hand does have some showdown value and 2. I hate folding there and basically announcing to the table that I am a pussy.

- Does the possibility that BB puts me on two random cards and is floating influence your play? I only know of BB what I've seen so far this session so I have no idea if he is capable of this.

- Is the river fold okay? I'm getting 8-1 but figured there was now basically nothing I could beat, and a call is going to be donating an extra BB while at the same time revealing to him that I'm raising his blind with ten high (though he has probably already figured this out for himself). Right? Am I right? I think I'm not.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any advice, and apologies for the lengthy jumbled mess of a post, especially if this is basic to most - my shorthanded play is not g00t at all and I'm currently doing time in the 6max for my sins.

[brettbrettr]

3 bet turn?

[MoreWineII]

I think it's a fine post. For me, T8s just doesn't have enough high card strengf to steal with although I'm sure there are those who will disagree. I want some showdown value.

I think there's an argument (albeit maybe a weak one) for 3-betting the turn. I think AJ 3-bets your obvious steal preflop given your read on BB. Probably AT too. Especially given that you've been picking on his blind all session with cheese. And your hand is still pretty strong.

As for the river, I think you might be able to make an argument there for raising and folding to a 3-bet, maybe? I think this works even better against a TAG who's capable of making folds. Against a thinking TAG who's in blind-defense-mode, his range of hands could be rather large.

I need to get better in situations like this too, so I'm interested in hearing comments.

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I think AJ 3-bets your obvious steal preflop given your read on BB. Probably AT too. Especially given that you've been picking on his blind all session with cheese. And your hand is still pretty strong.

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This is exactly what I was thinking at the time. Aces up is unlikely unless he holds A8 as I would expect AJ/AT to three-bet preflop. I think that he thinks that his Ace is most likely ahead on the turn, though he might have JT.


[ QUOTE ]
As for the river, I think you might be able to make an argument there for raising and folding to a 3-bet, maybe?

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I did actually contemplate this, but I think I'm getting 3-bet by a better hand a lot and folding out any hand I beat most all the time. The only benefit that I can see is that he might fold JT and I wasn't sure this happens enough for the raise to be worthwhile, and a raise-fold line will probably do horrible things to my future steal equity and general image should he 3-bet. If my thinking is wrong here, pick me up on it.


[ QUOTE ]
I need to get better in situations like this too, so I'm interested in hearing comments.

[/ QUOTE ]

God knows I do. I shudder to think how many BBs I lose misplaying hands in these situations. I frequently donk HU / shorthanded and do something really stupid, and it must stop.

[MoreWineII]

As far as the river, you might fold hands like QJ, KT, QT or KJ, which are certainly possible, maybe even likely.

I think I'd take the chance knowing that you have a super-easy fold to a 3-bet. I mean you played it exactly like you have an ace + medium kicker.

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As far as the river, you might fold hands like QJ, KT, QT or KJ, which are certainly possible, maybe even likely.

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That's a point. I didn't really think enough about the vast array of semibluffing opportunities the board provides on the turn, or that he could have a non-Ace one-pair hand with a draw that he thinks could be ahead.

I'm thinking I should have three-bet the turn now.