Tricky hand

[electrical]

You complete on third with a weak door, and a King calls you. You lead on fourth and the King raises. Give up now. You have an underpair and no re-draws or overcards and the pot is small enough to fold out of.

If you want to test him, re-pop it on fourth, while the bets are small, representing (AA)3. This will let you look at a couple of cards for free, and you can make a semi-bluff more effective later if his board starts to look weaker than yours. I really don't like calling. Fold here or raise, folding being preferred by me.

Instead, you call, then lead on Fifth. His raise on fifth should erase any doubt. Whatever he had on third (KK, broadway draw, big three-flush) has you in rotten shape. He has a great draw and overcards at a minimum, more likely something like Queens and a draw, Kings, Kings-and-Queens... Fifth is really a bad spot.

If his raise on fifth was a free-card play, he's really stubborn, since he tried it twice, and you didn't quit firing the first time. His check on sixth was a gift, and should tell you he has no better than Kings and a draw, which still beats you. Kiss his hand when you meet up with him again.

The river, heck, throw in a bet. A check-raise is really unlikely because your board is so ragged and unthreatening. What hand could you bet here? From his perspective, you might have rivered Aces-up or three of something, but more likely you have a dry pair or a small twoop, and he wouldn't expect you to bet. He knows you don't have rolled threes, you don't have a straight showing, a flush is unlikely. A C/R is really unlikely here, so fire on the river.

[Andy B]

I would limp third, but I enjoy gambling more than these other guys. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] I would only take the aggressive approach if I had good control over my opponents, and with a small ante, it probably isn't worth it.

The river is an easy bet. People pay off with all kinds of things. He could easily have Kings or two small pair, maybe even less. You checked sixth which could be taken as a sign of weakness. He should look you up with plenty of hands. And a lot of low-limit players are afraid to value-bet two pair on the end because they suck. Also, if he had made a flush or some other hand that beats you, he will bet it every time after sixth street gets checked through unless he is very tricky. There aren't that many tricky $1/2 players. Bet your damned hand.

[Eddie901]

Thanks for the helpful replies. I did indeed bet the river and he called with [ JS,5S,KS,2S,QC,3D,AH ]. Couldn't understand the call with no pair, but there you go...

[Andy B]

And you were wondering what he could call with.