Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

I am mainly a cash game player, and when I play MTTs I have a cash game mentality. This is a $100+9 on pokerstars, and I am wondering if this was a great spot for me to semi-bluff and pick up some chips.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (8 handed) pokerhand.org hand converter

MP2 (t17340)
CO (t4135)
Button (t7693)
Hero (t3823)
BB (t2200)
UTG (t3996)
UTG+1 (t9190)
MP1 (t8093)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">MP1 raises to t400</font>, <font color="#666666">3 folds</font>, Hero calls t300, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>.

Flop: (t875) 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="#CC3333">MP1 bets t600</font>, Hero folds.

Final Pot: t1475


I went over this hand with a couple people I realized I missed on a great opportunity to check-raise all in on the flop.

What do you guys think about this?

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

I think fold pf...

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

Fold preflop. As played, check raise all in on the flop.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

I think a call isnt terrible Preflop. The guy minraised, you are getting 2.3-1 immediate odds.

Check raise the flop is good as well.


C-Dog

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

I agree with ansky. 10% of our stack is too much with 97s, even getting great odds.

Definitely c/r all in on the flop.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

i think i call pf, and i dont see how you can fold that flop.. thats a good flop.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

[ QUOTE ]
i think i call pf, and i dont see how you can fold that flop.. thats a good flop.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is what I was thinking as a cash game player....

"Hmm, I got some outs, but I'm not getting good odds and I'm out of position, so I gotta fold."

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i think i call pf, and i dont see how you can fold that flop.. thats a good flop.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is what I was thinking as a cash game player....

"Hmm, I got some outs, but I'm not getting good odds and I'm out of position, so I gotta fold."

[/ QUOTE ]

Pushing solves the position problem, and fold equity solves the odds problem. You have huge FE here because a lot of his range is A-high, no draw here.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

yea, what noah said. this is a dream flop for that hand, and it's why i think you can call with it pf.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

Exit, is preflop marginal or do you think it's a clear call?

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

marginal. i'm not sure it's right, it's just what i'd do... i guess until convinced otherwise

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

[ QUOTE ]
marginal. i'm not sure it's right, it's just what i'd do... i guess until convinced otherwise

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think we are deep enough to call with a suited one gapper, esp out of position.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

I would fold preflop unless I had 6000 or more stack size, and the MP1 does as well. YOu have to hit either the str+flush like this, or 2 pair, or trips to continue with this hand. If you hit OEstr or flush draw, the MP1 can easily bet an amount it would not make sense to call on the flop. And if you bet OOP on the flop with these draws, and the MP gets any piece of the flop, you are looking at a raise.

I haven't run the numbers, but I'd guess hitting one of the flops I would like to see with this hand is 15 to 1, and with your stack you only have 12:1 assuming you can get your opponent all in.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

We can only call pre-flop if we have a plan for the flop. I mean we know that OR is going to bet if we check and there aren't too many flops that are going to hit us harder than this. Presumably OR has been opening a lot to make this call.

I'm not that happy about check-raising all in on a two flush flop in a $100 buy in. OR will be sore tempted to call with just two overcards. I think I'd rather bet the flop and fold to a raise or push the turn if he calls.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not that happy about check-raising all in on a two flush flop in a $100 buy in. OR will be sore tempted to call with just two overcards. I think I'd rather bet the flop and fold to a raise or push the turn if he calls.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you think he'll call with two overs? So we have 14 outs instead of 8? Excellent!

This is a perfect flop to check-raise all-in with your holding. You almost certainly have 8 outs and you definitely have FE. Considering how frequently most people c-bet any flop your bet should be expected to take down the pot a large amount of the time.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

Why om earth did you call preflop with that garbage only to fold when you "hit" the flop good? Did you call 300 to 700 for trips only? I don't like it. Not at all.

Fold preflop - Check-shove flop

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

I can't understand all the hate for the preflop call. We're getting good odds on a potential invisible monster, that's ultra easy to get away from if we miss. IMO it's at least marginal, getting better vs the tighter opponents.

After the decision to call preflop, we hit the flop as hard as can be expected. If we decide to check fold here, our preflop call was indeed bad. The only way we can justify calling preflop is if we're willing to go to war on this flop.

Auto checkraise all-in for me, and I'm smiling while I do it.

JMO

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

If you are going to call pre, this is a very strong flop for your hand. You must ck-raise allin. If you don't wanna risk your tourney shoving w/9 hi, then you need to fold this pre.

GL,

Bax

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

i agree with registrar. the other thing is that, although the raise was a minimum, he could have an over pair. the minimum could be a pot sweetner. who knows. check raise leaving yourself enough so that you can fold annd pick a better spot.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

I'm just going to echo what the others have said for the most part. I'm ok with the preflop call, but this is a flop that you "hit", and a check raise in order. If you don't want to play a flop like this, just fold preflop.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

OT - Bill, I see you regularly playing the Stars 109 rebuy. That tournament has a greater percentage of the very best tournament players than any other. Why not play softer tournaments initially?

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

Yes, this is a good spot.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

It's marginal, fold vs some villains, call against others.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

No. You don't lead flop, push turn. Unless you enjoy being broke.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

Your numbers are way off.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

I don't think you're deep enough to call this raise preflop. This is a clear fold preflop. Maybe if you had position and 1 or 2 other preflop callers before you, I could see investing almost 10% of your money preflop.

With that being said, this is a decent flop for you. I would either check-raise all-in or if villian is more advanced I might just check-raise heavy (so he doesn't think I'm drawing) and obviously if he moved all-in, I'd call.

Ultimately, I think you're putting yourself in murky situations by calling this preflop and having to make tough decisions out of position.....you want your opponents to have to make tough decisions, not the other way around.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

if you're planning on check-folding this flop then you shouldn't call the PF raise in the first place.

If I had called preflop (which i probably wouldn't) then i check raise all-in 100% of the time.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

OT: Why do I have a feeling that JohnnyBax chose this thread because it involved 97??

Cheers!
John

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

Just wanted to add to this because I am a cash player too but realize that you need huge balls and be able to stick your stack in on instinct/gut feeling in mtts.
First hand of final table of Paradise Masters I made a raise with 97hh in cutoff and got reraised minimum by button and I decided to call because I saw him make this move with big aces a lot to take initiative of the hand and I also saw him make some laydowns postflop, I got an even worse flop 458 2 diamonds 1 heart yet I check raised it allin right there taking down a monster pot and giving me more confidence to take down the whole thing (/brag). You need to take risks and build stacks in these donk fests.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

if you call preflop then you need to semi-bluff this flop. preflop is marginal at best, but I make that call a lot.

Re: Is this a great spot to semi-bluff?
 

OK, everyone is pretty much saying the same thing:

If I am going to call preflop, this is the kind of flop im looking for and I need to check-jam it.

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I didn't even consider this play to be an option when I was in the hand..... Wow, I have a lot to learn.