[daveT]

MikeI., I am totally with you on this.....

A few hands that I sort of remember...

Hero has 5 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in the BB.

Maniac raised UTG, hero calls, maybe there is a caller, maybe not, who knows.

Flop [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] x

Whatever happened here, I don't really remember, but I do remember getting a strong sense that I was drawing dead to a bigger flush if I hit. Did I lay this down?? NO. sure enough I finish my flush on the river and get burned.

A few months ago, in NL, I get tossed two baby diamonds UTG and limp in. Deja Vu all over again. A bad player that will pay me off bets it out and I call, the odd part is someone behind me called. Once again, I get that "eerie" feeling, sure enough the river brings my precious diamond, and I get burned again. I sat there for something like three minutes contemplating the call.

Back to Limit. Hero holds AJs UTG, raised, a few cold-callers. Flop brings me the beautiful ace. I bet villain calls. I friggen knew he was setting a trap. Did I stop betting? NO.

Sure enough, he flips up AK. Most of these hands happened a year ago or more. Nowdays, if I have a "strong" read, I follow it. I am pretty sure I have no chance of winning, and even if I do have a sliver, the math tells me to fold, or heaven forbid, check my top pair.

Alas, so many people will tell you that the math tells you to continue on, but there is so much more than pot odds, pot equity, or reverse implied odds. Somehere in hard core GT land, there is some sort of justification for folding.

Yep, these are ever so important hands, these marginal situations that there can't possibly be a right or wrong from a passive observer, but to those that where there, wrong or right is as clear as black and white.

The best high stake limit players probably deviate quite often from what is classified as optimal strategy. And why isn't there any good No Limit books? Because optimal strategy must go out the window for a player to succeed, and these kinds of hands are what separates the good from the bad, the merely good from the best.

So in final thinking, MikeI., are you suggesting that the forum should continue like:

So, any way, I have KK on the button and the CO raises. I reraise and have a really bad feeling. Whatever I call.

The board doesn't help me, and the CO bets again. I don't what to do, but I can't fold, but I really have this effed up feeling, somehow, I know the CO is super strong, what should I do now?

Logically, we can't have this happen, it is too messy.