cardplayer hand of the day

[lighterjobs]

how would you play this hand? the same? if differently, how so?

A $15-$30 game in Las Vegas . You have the A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] in the big blind. A solid fellow opens with a raise in early position and everyone else folds. You call. The flop is a good one; J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 7[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], giving you the nut flush-draw with two overcards. You bet (a check-raise is also to be considered). He raises, and you call. There is $130 in the pot. The turn is the 4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. You check, he bets, and you call. There is $190 in the pot. The river is the disappointing J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], so you have zero. Do you give up or bluff a bet?

the "answer" in white:
<font color="white"> Bet. The top board-card pairing on the turn or river presents a bluffing opportunity to someone who is not the preflop raiser and has shown some strength on the flop. His hand is apt to be tied in with the board-cards. Despite your opponent's preflop and flop raises, he may not have an overpair. He could easily have only A-K or an intermediate pair. Maybe he should call with either of these hands, because there was a flush-draw on the flop, but if he thinks you are a real tight player, he may fold. (Frankly, this type of bluff works better if there was a rainbow flop and you have busted out on a straight-draw.)

On the actual hand, the opponent thought for quite a while, but finally mucked his hand. Penny wise, pound foolish. This is an example of a type of bluff that will not work against certain players, so it helps to know your opponents. It also shows that having a tight image has an upside; bluffs work more often. </font>

The flop play looks Ok, in this spot I usually like to mix it up between 3 lines: checkraising, betting, and check/calling and donking the turn. The line I probably use most often is checkraising the flop.
Given the way the hand played out, it looks like the hero has a wonderful bluffing opportunity since his play is very consistent with holding a jack. Unfortunately this alone does not make this bluff profitable. I would almost never bluff in this spot, becuz most people will never fold a better hand in this spot, solid players or weak players. The time I will bluff this river given the way the hand played out is against those weak tight players that like to make big laydowns, but this breed is so rare nowadays.

[shant]

The author of this hand of the day article has probably never played online.