(25NL) Middle set, multi-way pot

[Daniel LeClaire]

Just sat down at table so no real reads.

Full Tilt Poker
$0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Ring Game
6 Players
LegoPoker Hand Converter (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

<font color="black">Stack Sizes</font>
Hero (CO): $25
BTN: $23.25
SB: $54.75
BB: $29.1
UTG: $32.40
MP: $28.50

<font color="black">Preflop:</font> T/images/graemlins/heart.gif T/images/graemlins/spade.gif ($0.35, 6 players)
UTG calls $0.25, MP folds, <font color="red">Hero raises to $1.10</font>, BTN folds, SB calls $1, BB calls $0.85, UTG calls $0.85

<font color="black">Flop:</font> 9/images/graemlins/heart.gif Q/images/graemlins/diamond.gif T/images/graemlins/diamond.gif ($4.4, 4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, <font color="red">Hero bets $3</font>, SB folds, <font color="red">BB raises to $6</font>, UTG folds, Hero ?

[Big Poppa Smurf]

3bet all in

[Pokey]

[ QUOTE ]
3bet all in

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds good to me.

BB's check-raise implies that he likes his hand, but that could be a hand as weak as AQ or KQ. Even against the flopped nuts (KJ = straight) you'll win the hand 1/3rd of the time. If villain has QT or T9 or 99 he's stacking off to us right here on the flop. If villain has a diamond draw or an OESD villain is either folding (and giving away a rather tasty pot uncontested) or calling without odds and paying us even more money in the long run. Against the range of hands that a villain would check-minraise here, we're looking rather healthy, and I like all the things that happen when we push.

There's always a temptation to make a smaller-than-allin raise here to try and "trap more dead money in the pot." Recognize that the pot has become fairly large relative to the size of the remaining stacks, and any smaller-than-allin raise will look VERY fishy: your opponent will know that you're strong, but won't be trapped for all his money. Any time you make a true power play where your hand's (overwhelming) strength will be revealed, you might as well make your opponent's decision the last one of the hand; don't give him a chance to wiggle out later, and don't trap yourself into making mistakes later on. Just put the money in the middle and see what happens.

[RAHZero]

Agree with the above, 3-bet all-in is the only way to go here. Your only behind three hands, but QQ and J8 are very unlikely. Against KJ, you've got outs, against a ton of other hands, like two pair, 99, draw, you're way ahead. There's plenty of money already in the pot, so a raise less than all-in commits us anyway and leaves a lot of possible awkward spots on the turn.

As an aside, I would raise to $1.25 PF, and bet more on that flop. That IS a drawy flop, and with 4 players in the hand I would bet at least the pot, or possibly overbet the pot slightly, to like $5. $3 is far too little IMO. You want to protect against draws and get value, and this multiway you'll almost certainly get a bigger bet paid off on a flop like this.

[Brian O'Nolan]

What happens when you flatcall BB's flop raise and an 8, J, K or diamond comes on the turn? The hand becomes difficult and you end up making a lot of incorrect decisions. Standard shove. This is a bit different than, say, a 3 flush flop, because there are a bunch of hands that can be c/r'ing you for value that you are way ahead of.

[Daniel LeClaire]

I actually think this is a pretty interesting hand. Considering that we have 4 players to the flop and we also have a check min-raise on a drawy board.

The problem with flat calling, as stated before, is that a lot of cards can come that will either: Kill your action; Beat you; Or have the potential to bluff you out.

Having said that, I actually decided just to call and see what happened on the turn. I felt like his most likely holding was KJ. If I were OOP or the flop was HU my standard play would be to push AI.

Results: Turn was a Q. Villain pushed. I called. He turned over J8o for the flopped straight.