4 hands for analysis

[Gronk]

.50/1 table. No good read on the table as I recently sat down.

Hand 1:

Preflop: A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]10 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in Mp. Folded to me and I raise. Folded to SB who calls.

Flop: 10 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]10 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]6 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. Check, I bet. SB calls.

Turn: 6 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. Check, my action.

Hand 2:

Preflop: A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]10 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in MP. 2 EP limpers to me. (This may have been a big mistake). I raise to try and limit the field to us 3. 2 cold callers behind me, SB calls and the 2 EP limpers call.

Flop: 4 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]J [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. Bet call fold, I raise. Call, fold, call call.

Turn: 10 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. Check, check, I bet. Button raises. Call, fold. My action.

Hand 3:

Preflop: K [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] in BB. 2 EP limpers and SB completes. I raise, all call.

Flop: 6 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]6 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. Check, I bet, fold, fold, SB calls.

Turn: 3 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. SB bets. My action.

Hand 4:

Preflop: A [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]J [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] on the button. UTG+1 open raises. One cold caller to me and I reraise. SB calls, as do the other 2 players.

Flop: 7 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]8 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]2 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. Bet, call, call and I raise. I wanted to get a free river here. Original bettor(the SB) calls, EP reraises, call, I call, SB calls. At this point I put EP on a big overpair(so I should have folded given my read but maybe I'd be blessed with a runner runner flush...not sure if I had the odds for it though).

Turn: J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. Bet, raise, Call. My action.

Results of all 4 hands to follow. All comments are greatly appreciated.

[Ian M.]

Hand 1: I like the preflop raise. I would bet out again on the turn.

Hand 2: I dont like the preflop raise here. I would probably fold this. I would just call this down on the turn. You have shown a lot of strength in the hand and now the button is raising you. I would call the turn and check-call the river if you dont improve.

Hand 3: I would fold this turn.

Hand 4: This is a tricky hand, I think your actions preflop depend on what you know about the players raising standards. Its definitely a raise or fold situation, if he is a tight raiser I may fold here, if not I would reraise like you did.
On the flop, I dont think the raise for a free card is profitable here. Too often you will be 3 bet by the original better, or they wont check to you on the turn anyways. I would just call on the flop to see the turn cheaply.

[Homer]

Hand 1 - In general, I would bet here, hoping to be called down by an Ace or middle pocket pair, or called/raised by a 6. I would only check against a loose-aggressive player who would likely fold to a turn bet, but would bluff bet into me on the river since I checked the turn.

Hand 2 - Preflop, I don't like the raise. ATo isn't a very strong hand, and in MP you still have a couple of players left to act behind you meaning your raise isn't very likely to buy the button. I usually only raise ATo after 0-1 limpers from no more than 2 off the button, and 2 limpers from no more than 1 off the button (whether or not this is sound is another story). After being raised on the turn, I would call and check-call the river.

Hand 3 - Fold

Hand 4 - I am confused as to who is doing the betting/raising on the flop and turn. In any event, three-betting preflop is not good unless UTG+1 is a LAG. Maybe you have a coldcall if you expect both blinds to come along for the ride. The raise on the flop is not good. You have odds to call for the backdoor flush and overcards, but I see no point in raising. With such a large field the chances of not being three-bet on the flop AND getting checked to on the turn are slim. Did UTG+1 call-reraise the flop? Once the action comes back to you on the flop and you have to call one more bet to see the turn, you should do so as you are getting huge odds. However, you shouldn't be pleased if a Jack comes since it seems likely that UTG+1 has a big pocket pair. Also, an Ace may not be good since it might give one of the other players two-pair (however, I'd rather spike an Ace than a Jack). Who bet out on the turn, SB? It looks like he either made two-pair or a straight. After UTG+1 raises you're getting 8:1 on a call if SB does not reraise, which is not enough for your 5-outer (8.2:1) since you might be drawing dead if UTG+1 has JJ or AA or if SB has a straight. Also, SB might reraise, further decreasing your pot odds.

-- Homer

[ajizzle]

Here's my analysis of the four hands.

1)An newcomer's inclination is to check the flop to induce a bluff on the turn by the SB. This is however the wrong situation to do so, because there are two hearts on the board and you do not want to give your opponent a free draw to a flush. On the turn, you may want to check, and here's why. You have the second nuts and SB will only call you if he has a 10 or 6. If he has a ten, he'll most definitely raise. If he has a 6 he will check-call the turn and the river. However, if he doesn't have either, the board is too scary to call on the turn. By checking the turn, two things may happen. First, you may induce a bet by him on the river, in which case, you raise and force him to call back. If he checks, you bet, and he is more inclined to call because you showed weakness by checking the turn. Either way, you don't miss out on any bets, and are more inclined to win a few extra bets.

2) On the turn, you reraise right back at the button to find out where you stand. My inclination is that he just called the flop and raised the turn with either AK or 44. If he caps the turn, you are probably up against trip 4s. If he calls, he probably has AK. Either way, it is unclear from the earlier action whether you are ahead or behind, and you must raise back to find out where you stand. If you just call, you may lose a lot more on the river. If you fold, you may be laying down the best hand.

3)You call him down on the turn and the river. I would think you two chop that hand. I don't think he has a higher pair or a 6 or 3.

4)If UTG+1 had anything better than JJ, he would have capped, pre-flop. I think he has 77, and you are way behind on the flop. You either need to fold on the turn when it is 2BB to you, or re-raise with top pair. Re-raising may put you in the driver's seat for the river and it may be checked to you, where you need to bet and drive the others out.