Casino San Pablo, KTs T-high flop

[jmark]

I decided to give live NL poker a shot because it sounded like fun. My hands don't shake in limit anymore but here it felt like the first time I'd ever played. Anyway...

1-2-2 $100 buyin, $4 to go, I think we were ~8 handed

I have about $140, everyone else has either $100 or more.

Everyone is pretty loose (calling $20 pf raises with 56o then calling down with a gutshot). There wasn't very much bluffing, just alot of min-raising, under betting the pot with bottom pair, and calling small bets but folding to big bets. It was nice because when someone made a large bet it usually meant they had it.

I get K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] in MP. (I'm not sure what I should do with this, but I'd only played 1 hand in the 40 minutes I'd been there, and that was in the big blind, so I decided to limp.)

UTG limps ($4), 1 fold, I limp, guy to my left raises to $10 , 3 callers, I call.

The guy to my left would raise to $10 with a big Ace or JJ and higher. I figured he had me beat, but with so much money in the pot I decide to throw another $6 in.

(~$50) Flop T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

UTG bets $10. He could likely have 98 here. With something bigger he would bet big. I glance to the guy on my left who doesn't look happy with the flop. (He's raised to $10 with AK twice already and both times missed the flop and called down with A-high).

I think I have the best hand, so I raise $40. I probably raised too much here -- it was hard to think with these big stacks (for me).

Everyone folds to UTG who immediately raises all-in for $25 more. I'm worried about a set now, but the pot's already $135 so I call.

Comments?

[Wayfare]

Hi Jmark,

This hand was really decided at two points: calling the raise preflop and choosing to raise on the flop. I probably would not have open-limped with this hand as it has a great potential to make second-best hands, but when you are raised by someone it makes it even less profitable.

I would say that the shortness of the stacks in this game makes this holding particularly unsuitable. However, other than that, I see nothing particularly wrong with the way this hand played out. Once you make the raise he was pot-committed, yet your hand is vulnerable and you should raise on the flop to get out all the people who hold overcards in case one should spike. Granted, you would like him to fold, but once this raise has been made the rest of the hand is automatic.

I assume since you posted this hand you lost it. I would say that on such short stacks high card value and non-domination become much more important than suitedness and connectedness. Suited, non ace, easily dominated hands are death traps in this game because the money is so short you have to get all in when you flop reasonably big (as you did).

[RydenStoompala]

Given what you said about the game, I like your flop move. UTG had only $35 to start with, so he could be gambling with anything, not just a set. At 6:1 pot odds on the $25 bet, you have top pair and a K kicker, so you call and play it out. The $40 was not way too much, just a smidge high for that position with that hand, but not horrible.

[jmark]

Ryden,

Sorry if my post was confusing. UTG had about $95 to start with. He bet out $10 on the flop, I raised to $50 and he re-raised $25 more to $75.

[jmark]

Thanks for the replies. For anyone interested, my opponent had QJo for the straight draw and I was a slight favorite.

A Jack came on the turn, but another Ten landed on the river so everything was right in the world and I took down the pot.