88

[leon]

Comments on all streets appreciated.

15/30 party. I open raise with 88 in MP. Folded to sb who calls, bb 3 bets. I cap. Both call. 12 sb's.

Flop- A 8 9, two clubs. SB checks, bb bets, I raise. Sb folds BB calls. 8 BB's to the turn.

Turn- off suit 6. BB checks, I bet. BB calls.

River- 10 of clubs. BB bets, I raise.

Leon

[GemiNiveK]

With the lack of specific player reads, I like all of it so far and would have done the same. If he re-raises, I call to see his flush.

[Nate tha' Great]

Is the board Ax 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] or A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 8x 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]? If it's the former, I think raising is a fairly bad mistake.

[oscark]

Does no one else not like the preflop cap?

[Nate tha' Great]

[ QUOTE ]
Does no one else not like the preflop cap?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think it's horrible if used sparingly and you time it right in terms of game flow considerations.

[leon]

I was actually the bb this hand. I made a number of mistakes here, partly b/c I was thrown off by the PF cap.

The capper was a 2+2er who as far as I know is solid. There were several elements of play that I questioned, hence I took the other side when posting this.

Preflop- I don't really like the cap, but hey. I tend to give people who 3 bet out of a blind when it's unlikely they are responding to a steal some credit.

Flop- I (with AK suited) considered 3 betting, but figured I would get a worse A to bet the whole way if I just check-called. My plan on the flop was to bet the river no matter what came. Obviously his flop raise is reasonable with a set.

Turn- I check call as planned.

River- I bet as planned. I'm not putting him on either a 7 for the str8, nor a made flush. This river might too easily go check/check. Once I bet and he raises, I feel I have to call. There's too much of a chance he could be putting a move on me. Quite frankly I expected to see a worse ace that I let catch up with 2 pair.

Once I saw the flopped set, I wondered how he can raise that river. It's so much more likely that the river hurt him given my action to this point. And, there's no way I'm folding a better hand than his here.

If I was playing his hand I wouldn't have capped it PF, and probably just called the river. In retrospect I also would have won at least 1.5 BB less.

Leon

[Crafty Veteran]

I think your opponent played it well.

Preflop cap can accomplish two things. First it is deceptive and second the 3rd player will likely fold for two more bets at least some of the time. SB doesn't need to fold very often to make capping by far the right play. Having position helps here too.

The flop and turn were played well by the winner. On the river, I think the raise is good. Given that you 3-bet preflop from the BB, the flush is unlikely. Maybe you had a pair that made a straight on the river but really it smells exactly like what you have, AK or maybe AQs rope-a-doping.

Unfortunately for you, this is just a hand where you are destined to lose money and your opponent happened to maximize the amount lost in this case. If nothing else this hand and how you view this opponent on future hands shows the value of well-placed deception.