tricky hand....

[marbleman]

5/10 NL home game.
i have ~$1200 in front of me. i am utg+2 and i limp with K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]
utg+3 raises $35. button calls and i call.
raiser has ~$450 and button has me covered with about ~$2000

i have played with the raiser a ton. so my read on him is good.
the button is pretty maniacal and i have come over the top of him a few times this game. i get the feeling he has it in for me.

flop: A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

i check. utg+3 raises $50. button calls. i call.

turn: 9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]
checked all around.

river: something [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

i didn't think a check-raise would work. so i came out and bet $100. orginal bettor folds. button raises to $300.

i enter the tank. and take a good couple minutes to try and convinece myself to push. i put him on just the 9 or a lower flush. i just call. and the button shows 97o for the turned boat.

ignore the buttons terrible play. (he is a true pleasure to have around the table 90% of the time). but i would just like to know any general comments anybody would have on this hand. i could have lost my stack (he later told me he expected me to also come over the top of him again) and i didn't. was i just a victim of loose passive play?

anyways.
thanks
[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[nicky g]

What is wrong with the button's play?

[Macedon]

I agree with NickyG---the "maniac" played it well.

The $35 dollar pre-flop bet is less than 10% of his stack, so why the heck not play the 9-7o?

He then smooth-calls the UTG+3 bet on the flop in the hope that you come along for the ride....which you did.

He hit his full boat on the turn and decided to give you guys a free card to make the 2nd best hand.

And after you made the flush on the river, he throws you a small raise (relative to the pot), to entice you into pushing all your chips in.

The only bad play here was from UTG+3. His bet of $50 was weak---it was less than 1/2 the pot, and it gave you the proper odds to call with your flush draw when the button called in front of you.

[Matt Flynn]

button did reasonably, especially if he can steal from you. ok so he set a trap with bottom two. nothing says you have to raise with it every time as long as you can get away when you get beat by the straight as well as the flush. on the turn he would usually do better to bet medium, but he knows you don't have a big hand. he also knows utg+3's stack is small enough to get the money in on the river if need be, so the card doesn't cost him that much on average (in general, though, you will make more money betting the max that flush draw will call). normally he should raise more on the river, but looks like he wasn't getting the full monty no matter what.

matt

[marbleman]

in retrospect. nothing.
at least in that specific hand. i was outplayed and lost several hundred dollars because of it. no biggie.

but from playing with him a couple other times it becomes pretty evident that he is a pretty big fish and calling station. expensive preflop bets dosn't always lead into a turned boat, which is what makes him a joy to have at the table the other 90% of the time.

i underestimated his ability that hand and it cost me.