QT in Big Blind

Easystreet · #1 08-06-2005, 07:06 PM

Player reads:- MP1 is a maniac pre flop, calms down post flop, usually drops hands on the flop or the turn if he has nothing and opponents play back at him. UTG+2 is loose passive.

PokerStars 1/2 Hold'em (10 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is BB with T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
2 folds, UTG+2 calls, MP1 raises, 5 folds, Hero calls, UTG+2 calls.

Flop: (6.50 SB) 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG+2 checks, MP1 bets, Hero raises, UTG+2 folds, MP1 3-bets, Hero calls.

First question, is the raise on the flop a good idea? Here is my thinking, MP1 is a maniac and will raise pf will all kinds of hands, he is also definately going to auto bet this flop, so I am raising for the following reasons.
1. I might currently have the best hand.
2. I want to put pressure on UTG+2 so that he is not getting the odds for a weak draw.
3. I want to see what manics reaction to my raise is, if he hasn't got a hand he may well fold at this point.

Turn: (6.25 BB) 2[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets, Hero calls.

Well his 3 bet on the flop almost certainly means I need to improve to win this hand, although villain is a maniac pre flop his post flop play is usually reasonable. I need to count my outs to see if I should carry on with this hand. I think I have a minium of 4 outs and a maximum of 9, I am getting just over 7 to 1, and I am sure to get one more bet out of villain if I improve on the river so I call.
Next question, is calling the correct play here?

River: (8.25 BB) T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (2 players)
Last question, what is my plan for the river now that I have improved. Do I bet, check/call or check/raise?

jmgurgeh · #2 08-06-2005, 07:17 PM

I like the flop raise. Since the guy is a maniac, second pair is often going to be good here. The three bet is not good, but I'm not folding either. On the river I would bet and call a raise. He may have you beaten already with a hand like K9 or any J, but you don't want to let two pair get checked through and he may be steaming or just picking a bad time to bluff if he raises.

Harv72b · #3 08-06-2005, 07:32 PM

The flop c/r is not only a good idea, it should be mandatory against these opponents. You have to call the 3-bet getting better than 10:1 & holding 2nd pair + gutshot.

The tricky part on the turn is that this guy will raise preflop with a much wider range of hands than you're used to. It's not outside the realm of possibility that he raised with JT, and you are now drawing to 3 outs to chop. He could also have K9, giving you only 6 outs to a win, he could have flopped a set with a real hand giving you just 4 outs...what I'm saying is, the outs are really tricky. You're getting only 7:1 to call here, and your implied odds aren't great (as you saw, some of your "outs" are still pretty scary). Since your read is that he wouldn't 3-bet the flop without a better hand than QT, you can't be sure of your outs, and it's very possible that you can get sucked into the realm of reverse implied odds on the river, I think this is a fold.

As far as the river, you say that MP1 calms down postflop--does this mean that he would not raise a bet here without a straight? Because that's the deciding factor between betting and check/calling, to me--if you can comfortably fold to a raise, bet out. If you can't, check/call is probably better.