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Let's say that Hero does indeed raise, and Rick the Rock calls. What did we learn?

[/ QUOTE ]Mack - Tony is more likely than Rick to try something fancy, but either Rick or Tony are capable of making a (phony) move. It's scary if Rick calls a double bet after this flop. It would look very much like Rick has the case king or nines full of kings. But then what do the other two opponents hold? There is only one missing king, and only one of them can hold a pair of nines!

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And did we learn anything that will change our play of the hand? Let's say we raise, Rick folds and Tricky Tony re-raises. Are we going to get away from the hand?

[/ QUOTE ]No, we're not going to get away from the hand. But Tricky Tony acts first. If Tricky Tony raises on the 2nd betting round then we're not going to raise on the 3rd betting round. If Tricky Tony checks on the 3rd betting round after having re-raised on the 2nd betting round, then we have to decide whether to take the free card or not. If Tricky Tony re-raises on the 2nd betting round, then it looks a lot more like he has a full house or at least a king.

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Our 9 or 10 outs still force us to call. Information only has value if it causes us to change our course of action, and I don't see much changing here.

[/ QUOTE ]Possibly there is no change. Depends on what our opponents do, how they react to the raise.

If Rick calls, then we suspect Tony doesn't have a king or a pair of nines. All three opponents can't have a king or a pair of nines! By raising, Hero puts pressure on his opponents. But yes, it would be scary to get re-raised; puts the pressure back on Hero.

Even though Hero probably has the best hand after this flop despite Tony's lead bet, raising here is a bold play. Bold plays are not without risk. There is a finite possibility an opponent has flopped a full house, or will make one with Hero missing. But there's a better chance an opponent will back into a full house (with Hero missing) if Hero plays passively here. The more I think about it, the more I like Hero's 2nd round raise.

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