25NL, 88 flops a draw against a fearless villain

[PotatoStew]

Villain is a little on the loose side, but not to an extreme.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: 2+2 Forums)

UTG ($25)
UTG+1 ($28.25)
MP1 ($25.30)
MP2 ($18.20)
Hero ($27.20)
Button ($7.65)
SB ($47.60)
BB ($24.50)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, MP1 calls $0.25, MP2 calls $0.25, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $1.25</font>, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, BB calls $1, MP1 folds, MP2 folds.

Flop: ($3.10) 7[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 6[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">BB bets $1.75</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $4.25</font>, BB calls $2.50.

Turn: ($11.60) 4[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">BB bets $2.5</font>, Hero calls $2.50.

River: ($16.60) 3[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">BB bets $2.5</font>, Hero calls $2.50.

Final Pot: $21.60

I think I played it fine up until the river here - should I have given up there or seen a showdown? If the pot was smaller, I probably would have ditched it to his river bet, but as it was I couldn't bring myself to do it. What sort of hands do you put the villain on?

[PotatoStew]

Shameless bumpage.

[PotatoStew]

This hand must be either really obvious, or insanely difficult...

[Marshall28]

ummm, id definitely re-raise a little bit more on the flop, like over 5...

anyways, on the turn, his bet screams "PLZ DONT RAISE I WANT A SMALL POT" ... hence your response should have been to raise it up again. i think you have A LOT of fold equity here so a strong semibluff on the turn is required ... if he doesnt fold there he will definitely check the river ... worst case scenario u maybe lose to something like 98 or 910 but just make a note that he cant get away from tp and punish him later.

[PotatoStew]

[ QUOTE ]
ummm, id definitely re-raise a little bit more on the flop, like over 5...


[/ QUOTE ]

I feel ok with my bet sizing in general (when I'm first to bet), but I'm still iffy on my raise sizing - why "over 5"? What is the reasoning behind that amount?

[Marshall28]

well, i just kinda think ... hes put in 1.75, and its now only 2.50 more to call ... i dont think thats going to give him a compelling enough reason to throw away a hand better than yours. a semi bluff should be strong because it is in fact a bluff ... you dont want action.... the more u raise, the more FE you have. i just think that over 5 tells him that you are serious about playing a big pot, but thats not the real issue here, i think the real issue is continuing it on the turn after his tiny blocking bet. he obviously wanted to keep the pot small, and u let him do that.

[the_muppeteer]

As played, there is NO way your not calling that river bet...