Playing the opponents hand and not yours.

[McMelchior]

[ QUOTE ]
I called a raise of 6k the other day with 89s thinking the guy had AK-AJ. I was on the button and had a 71k stack to do this. I hit TP with the 8 and pushed

[/ QUOTE ]Nobody stops you from thinking your opponent has a big Ace, but backing that read - made preflop obviously - with a stack more than 10 times the original bet might be overly cocky.

The idea of calling raises with unlikely hands is a) only to spend a small fraction of your deep stack on it (and I'd say like 8% of your stack is a bit high for 87s, where as I make the call with a small pp most days), and b) to surprice your opponent when you hit the flop hard.

Hitting TP on an 8 high board is not hitting the flop hard. Try for 2 pair, a str8, a flush, a opended str8/flush draw, and then we're talking.

And ... the idea is NOT to push, when you hit ... the idea is to entice your opponent to commit a big part of his stack, and pushing rarely accomplishes that.

But I guess you knew this already.

I liked a very simple play I made in the PStars $5 re-buy Monday:

Sitting in MP with t20k and blinds/antes of t100/t200/t25 I call a min-raise in MP from an EP player with t18k. I hold Ts 8s. Notice I'm investing a mere 2% of my stack in this very marginal hand - it basically have no impact on my chances even if I have to throw it away after the flop.

We take a flop of 8d 5s 2s heads-up. The guy bets t1,000. I consider raising to t3,000 to get him off a strong Ace, but luckily realize how stupid that would be with my excellent draw - if he re-pushes I'll be forced to fold what easily could be the best hand.

I flat call, turn is a charming Qs, and the guy pushes his remaining t16k into the pot. Thank you very much, Sir! I don't think there's any clearer way for him to communicate that he does not have a made flush here.

I call, and he flips Ah As, and fails to hit his 7-outer on the river. Easy money!

Unfortunately opponents are not always that donkastic, but the general idea still holds up - see flops for cheaps with deep stacks, and let your opponent outplay himself.

Best,

McMelchior (Johan)