How did I play?

[SoBeDude]

I played this hand against a friend of mine, and he gave me so much crap for the way I played it.

So I thought I'd toss it out for review here.

Online 15-30

He open-raises in MP. I'm a behind-the-button poster with A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. I choose to just call, hoping the blinds will come along with my hand that plays well multi-way. Oh well, the blinds fold so its Heads Up.

Flop comes: 5 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

MP bets out, I call.

Turn comes: 9 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

MP bets out, I raise, he thinks then calls.

River is: 3 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

He checks, I check behind, my hand is good.

He then proceeds to tell me how horrible my turn raise is.

Additionally, I don't think I should have bet the river, as I'll likely only get called by a better hand.

How did I play?

-Scott

[Barry]

Hi Scott -

3 bet preflop and then the play goes check, bet call; check bet fold.

Regarding the turn raise, if you've been playing relatively straight forwardly, this could be an appropriate time to bluff at the pot and represent a 7. If you have been caught a few times, it's probably a futile move. So if the turn raise is OK here, I think that you need to bet the river. While you will only be called by better hand, there could be many better hands that he will fold and he doesn't need to fold that often (perhaps 15% of the time) for that bet to be profitable.

[lockitup]

Flops like that are why you need to three bet preflop. You both whiff, but you've got position and he'll likely fold to your turn bet.

If I'm in his shoes, I'm calling down with an overpair after your turn raise. Even though your post on the button widens the range of hands you will play, it also makes it more likely you will bluff in this spot.

You must have played against this guy before... his call on the turn with overcards tells me definitively that he won't lay down an overpair in this spot, so why make this play here? You're beating all the hands that would fold to your turn raise, and your trailing the hands that would call. Unless you put him on precisely AK, in which case you can bet when checked to on the river. Which reminds me, why didn't you bet the river?

[DrSavage]

[ QUOTE ]
Additionally, I don't think I should have bet the river, as I'll likely only get called by a better hand.


[/ QUOTE ]
This argument doesn't apply here as you are not betting for value but as a semibluff. Reason why you might want to bet here is to make better hands like middle pair fold. You will only get called by better hands, but you will also make better hands to fold.
I like your play fine, as long as you would've folded your turn raise to a 3 bet.
Your opponent's bet/call on turn seems terrible though.

[Zele]

This bet is not a semi-bluff. By definition, he has no outs if called, and the only reason you've given for making this bet is to get a better hand to fold. So it would be a pure bluff. That said, I wouldn't make this bluff after the other guy had called on the turn (what would he call with on the turn and then lay down on the river that could beat AK?.) If he's got a hand already, calling on the turn pretty much commits him to calling on the river. If he's got a draw, a bet can only hurt.

The only reason to bet would be as a pure value bet against a habitual very loose caller, or a player that for some other might be very disrespectful of his action.

[Zele]

I would definitely make the semi-bluff raise on the flop, especially after you cold-called pre-flop and rags like that flopped. Other than that, I like the way you played it (although personally I would have 3-bet pre-flop, but I understand your reasoning. All depends on the blinds.)

[andyfox]

"3 bet preflop and then the play goes check, bet call; check bet fold."

Might it not also go check, bet, call; check, bet, check-raise?

[Barry]

If he had a different hand, yes.., but I was alluding to the hand that his opponent actually had. Unless of course his opponent would have tried the same move on him.

Perhaps I should have said "most likely".

[ML4L]

[ QUOTE ]

He then proceeds to tell me how horrible my turn raise is.


[/ QUOTE ]

If your raise was horrible, then what describes his turn call with a hand that couldn't beat AK... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

In all seriousness, I think that your play was fine preflop, on the flop, and on the turn. I think that one could make a case for betting the river, but I personally tend to check behind there as you did. Well played.

ML4L

[DrSavage]

I didn't mean semibluff as in bluff when you might improve to best hand, i meant semibluff as in bluff when it's not impossible that you have the best hand.
I also forgot to add that not only opponent's turn call, but his river check is also bad. If his hand loses to unimproved AK it's a mandatory river bet i think.