Aggressive with 99 UTG

[MCS]

Hello,

This is my first hand post. Virginity: gone.

This is at a .50-1 online table. The game has like 35% seeing the flop, and I've only been there for about ten hands, but it seems to be moderately aggressive for the .50/1 game, though I don't really have a read on anyone in this hand. Anyway, here's the hand.

PREFLOP
I have 9 [img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img] 9 [img]/forums/images/icons/club.gif[/img] UTG. I didn't realize it at the time, but this is funny, because I had thought about making a post today about how Phil Hellmuth claims that two black 9's is known as Phil's Hand, but I've never heard anyone actually call it that. I raise. UTG+1 3-bets. MP cold-calls 3. Folded around, I call, so 3-handed.

FLOP
A [img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img] 9 [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] 5 [img]/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif[/img]
I check, figuring one of these guys will bet and I can checkraise. UTG+1 bets. MP raises. I check-reraise (Is that a word? I guess "checkraise" really isn't either.) MP caps, both I and UTG call.

TURN
6 [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img]
I check (again planning the checkraise), UTG+1 checks, MP bets, I raise, UTG+1 folds, MP 3-bets, I call.

RIVER
4 [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img]
I check, MP bets, I call.

Okay, so here are my thoughts.

I played this much more aggressively than I normally would. Is the raise with 99 a good one? Is there any point at which I should slow down? MP capped the flop, and then 3-bet the turn, and I got pretty nervous. At least calling the river seemed like a no-brainer though. I also wasn't sure whether the turn checkraise was a good play anyway, since MP could have (and did) 3-bet me. There was a straight with 78 after the turn, and a flush by the river, but I didn't think someone would cap with a gutshot draw or a shot at runner-runner flush.

Anybody have a guess at what UTG+1 has?

I'll post MP's hand after a couple of replies.

THANKS FOR THE HELP.

[morgan]

I'm sort of new to hold'em, but I want to take a guess. I'd say MP has 55. Maybe A9s, but that would be a bad call pre-flop, though I guess either is a bad call (aren't they?).

My guess for UTG+1 is AK, or maybe KK.

Curious to see,

Morgan

[morgan]

Forgot to give my opinion as to the play of the hand... Well, I'm not too experienced, but the way you played it seemed fine to me. I don't believe anyone has a flush or 3 aces or straight. So you have to be best... right?

[Clarkmeister]

You seem worried about AA and rightfully so. I'd be mildly surprised if MP *didn't* have AA.

[MCS]

On the flop, I forgot to mention that the UTG+1 guy called before MP capped. And UTG means UTG+1. I guess smart people assumed that correctly. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

As it turned out, MP had AKo. (Obviously, I don't know what UTG+1 had since he folded. I'd guess KK, since I don't know that he'd 3-bet with 55.) Morgan, I agree with you on kinda how I figured the other two guys. Clarkmeister, I was surprised too. I can't believe he played top pair so strongly.

Then again, I hammered the hell out of my hand too, but at least mine was only behind AA. Granted, I did suspect AA [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Did I indeed overplay this? I ask because usually I get too scared of a single raise, and I was making an effort this time not to be too paranoid. I also kinda wanted to drop the UTG+1 guy, but in retrospect, I don't know that that was a worthwhile goal or warranted all the checkraising stuff, since he's only folding hands that I beat.

And is 99 usually a legit raising hand UTG? I often have trouble playing medium pairs.

Thanks again for the replies.

[Bob T.]

In higher games, I think that 99 is definately an open raising hand. You may as well try it at .50/1.00 to learn how to play the hand under those conditions, but my default play at those limits would be to limp, and try and get a lot of players into the pot to give me the odds to flop a set.

I think you showed about the right amount of aggression with your hand. I think your opponent grossly overplayed his hand, so you need to keep that in mind against him in the future, and maybe go one more bet with him when you are headsup.

Good luck,
Play well,

Bob T.

[ZManODS]

I believe you played youre hand perfectly. You couldnt have asked for a better flop. By the turn there is no reason to believe someone was going for a str8 or flush there was just too much action preflop.
As for thinking youre up against AA, you cant always be afraid of the nuts.

[STOSH1]

Given 3 bets before the flop, if it's not a table of maniacs the range of hands to consider could be AA,KK,QQ,JJ,10-10,99,88,AK,AQ,AJs. MP sitting with AK has to be pretty happy with the flop also, AA,99 are the only hands he's behind. On the turn you check to him a second time, hmmm says he - weakness or fancy play syndrom me thinks, [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] but two hearts, I can charge the flush draws, Ax may have called to this point without odds. As much as you may have been afraid of AA, MP doesn't seem to be as afraid of AA or 99 which are the two non-maniac hands that can beat him. Yes, 7-3o got there but you can't read somebody for that.

[Duke]

Pre-flop: Fine.

On the flop: why check-raise? You're ahead about 99 percent of the time here, and there is no draw to fear. check-call, or just bet out. Pump the turn. AK or AQ at low limits is also a 3-bet hand, and the ace on the flop makes the AA less likely.

The turn: Well, right now I don't see why you check-raised. Who's going to call 2 cold in this situation? You know you're ahead of the guy in the middle. You want him putting money into the pot. But you know that the last guy is fairly strong (since you did check-raise the flop, and he did 3-bet). Why not just bet out? The middle guy probably won't dump to a single bet, unless he has a pair and hopes to turn a set and misses, and then if the last guy raises yet again, you just call again, and extract yet another bet out of the weak ace in the middle (if that's what he has).

The river: Either bet and call a raise, or check-raise and call a 3-bet.

I think you undervalued your hand the whole way. The only hands to worry about are AA, and AhXh. You're ahead much of the time. Save trickery and reading players for good hands for bigger games. In .5/1, you put everything you can in there. The late position player never had a chance to convince you that you didn't have the best hand anyhow.

A final note is that I like your reasoning the whole way, but you leaned toward the passive side a bit too much in my opinion.

~D

[tewall]

I like your play and thinking except for the pre-flop raise with 99. I don't know why you'd want to raise there.