5.25 SNG HU ... how is my river bluff
 

Villain is a friend of mine, usually plays 200nl. He is really good at reading me, and so I try to mix it up against him.

I have 1410
He has 1590

i post sb 10
he posts bb 20

pf he raises to 60, i call with 76o. after the game he told me he thought this was a fold. but assume i call.

flop comes 792r, i bet 60. i'm trying to take it down right there, and he calls. im unsure what he has, but he is usually ahead of me here, i think.

turn Jd, I check he bets 170 into a 240 pot, I call. afterwards, he and i decided this is a pretty clear fold, but the riv is the point of my post.

river 9, and i bet 400 into a pot of 680. my line of thinking was to try and rep the 9, because i think he is good enough to lay down top there, and is more likely to fold to a bet of about 400 (which seems to be for value), then pot sized or a shove. thoughts?

Re: 5.25 SNG HU ... how is my river bluff
 

Although it is great of your friend to help you; if you are trying to learn to beat $5 tournies, then you should not get use to playing fancy. At the low stakes you want to play the hands pretty straight foward and they will pay you off anyway.
As for the hand mentioned, I am not sure what to do on the river b/c I would have played the line so differently. Sometimes callig w/ a 67 is ok; however, I don't like your flop play. By betting 60, he will probably call w/ 2 overcards. By betting only 60 there it is impossible to figure out where you stand.

Re: 5.25 SNG HU ... how is my river bluff
 

[ QUOTE ]
Although it is great of your friend to help you; if you are trying to learn to beat $5 tournies, then you should not get use to playing fancy. At the low stakes you want to play the hands pretty straight foward and they will pay you off anyway.
As for the hand mentioned, I am not sure what to do on the river b/c I would have played the line so differently. Sometimes callig w/ a 67 is ok; however, I don't like your flop play. By betting 60, he will probably call w/ 2 overcards. By betting only 60 there it is impossible to figure out where you stand.

[/ QUOTE ]

No... read my post. I'm playing AGAINST my friend in a 5.50 sng. He is a good player. We're playing that low because we're just practicing. Secondly, I don't really agree with any of your advice.

Re: 5.25 SNG HU ... how is my river bluff
 

This all depends your history and how would your opponent think about this line.

In typical situations without long game history:

I don't like the way you played the hand. The same mistakes you already mentioned and the flop bet is too weak. It doesn't give you much information and if it's lower than your usual bet size it's a tell. It can also be your regular bet which is too low (you don't gain much information, you can't get your opponent fold that often and you don't gain that much value if you actually have a hand).

I don't like the bluff, it just looks too weird to me. About only hand I think you may get rid off is a missed draw or maybe a better seven. If you really want to bluff this way, then a bit larger bet (about the pot) might be better. But if you bet small bets most of the time (which i think is not a good idea) then this bet-size can be better.

Re: 5.25 SNG HU ... how is my river bluff
 

would be pretty clear to ur friend based on your line that you don't have the 9 and thus he can shove over your bet if he's a good player.

Re: 5.25 SNG HU ... how is my river bluff
 

[ QUOTE ]
Villain is a friend of mine, usually plays 200nl. He is really good at reading me, and so I try to mix it up against him.

I have 1410
He has 1590

i post sb 10
he posts bb 20

pf he raises to 60, i call with 76o. after the game he told me he thought this was a fold. but assume i call.

flop comes 792r, i bet 60. i'm trying to take it down right there, and he calls. im unsure what he has, but he is usually ahead of me here, i think.

turn Jd, I check he bets 170 into a 240 pot, I call. afterwards, he and i decided this is a pretty clear fold, but the riv is the point of my post.

river 9, and i bet 400 into a pot of 680. my line of thinking was to try and rep the 9, because i think he is good enough to lay down top there, and is more likely to fold to a bet of about 400 (which seems to be for value), then pot sized or a shove. thoughts?

[/ QUOTE ]

You butchered this hand .

The call pre-flop is weak and if you're trying to mix things up , you're doing it with the wrong hand . The general consensus among the posters here advocate folding offsuit connectors to a raise . Look at Dromar's thread and see for yourself .

Your flop bet is weak and you should have bet more to define his range . If you had bet larger and were called , then you should consider slowing down if you suspect that you're beat .

On the turn , do not check and call if your read tells you that you're behind . You either bet or check-fold but you should never check and call .

If you get him to fold over 37% of the time (not a lot), then your bluff will show a profit . Is your bluff believable to him ? He knows you better than us and you know him better than us , so use your own judgement .

Re: 5.25 SNG HU ... how is my river bluff
 

donk bets are horrible

that is all

Re: 5.25 SNG HU ... how is my river bluff
 

[ QUOTE ]
donk bets are horrible

that is all

[/ QUOTE ]
Not always, but here I agree.

Re: 5.25 SNG HU ... how is my river bluff
 

Your opponent is setting up these very traps for you to fall into. If you had to mix it up, then maybe attempt a c/r on the flop, but even then you are asking for too many problems.

Your opponent knows that you won't call without good odds, and calling a large bet on the turn is plain stupid if you actually had a nine.

Over-all, terribly executed.

Re: 5.25 SNG HU ... how is my river bluff
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
donk bets are horrible

that is all

[/ QUOTE ]
Not always, but here I agree.

[/ QUOTE ]

Almost always. The only time I do it is if my opponent never cbets, but is still a huge station.