Hate it or Love it

Geng · #1 01-22-2006, 09:44 PM

Trying to get a handle on my play and it seems that hands like this go my way when I'm winning but I can't win for the life of me when I'm on a down swing. I'd like some critique to let me know what ya'll think:

Party Poker 0.50/1 Hold'em (10 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

Preflop: Hero is Button with A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
1 fold, UTG+1 calls, 1 fold, MP1 raises, MP2 calls, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, 3 folds, MP1 calls, MP2 calls.

After reading alot here, I decided that it would be better to raise or fold. AJ suited would be weak if it was capped but in watching the table I didn't think it would be and I figured I had position.

Flop: (11.50 SB) K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (4 players)
MP1 checks, MP2 checks, Hero bets, MP1 folds, MP2 calls.

At worst I figured I had the 4 queens and a backdoor flush for my outs. I discounted the A. I wasn't sure if I should bet here or not. I was the pre-flop agressor and betting might keep me on the lead for the turn if I need a free card. It also builds the pot to make it better equity for following my outs and might get an Ax to fold to open up my A.

Turn: (6.75 BB) 5[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (3 players)
MP2 checks, Hero bets, MP2 raises, Hero calls.

Another iffy play. The 5 gives me one more to the backdoor flush so it helped but was it enough to take a free card here? 4 outs for the Q's, and 8 outs for the flush leaves me 1:2.83 to improve. With 6.75BB in the pot I can stand a re-raise and still have odds so I bet and sure enough got raised.

River: (10.75 BB) Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (3 players)
MP2 bets, Hero raises, MP2 calls.

Final Pot: 14.75 BB

Nothing really to be said on the river, I hit the nuts with the river card and didn't get much action.

MP2 is now at 14% vp$ip, 9% raise after 34 hands though this happened on my first orbit. You get a bit of hindsight I didn't have. At the .5/1 tables I tend to treat people like fish till the show me they aren't one. Table is 29% vp$ip (not including my action)

RyanC · #2 01-22-2006, 09:48 PM

Great analysis, I think your play was standard.

dwedeking · #3 01-22-2006, 09:52 PM

I would have taken the free card on the turn, this is the purpose I see to betting on the flop. If the Q would have come on the turn then I would have betted out, with only the heart let's see what the river does.

MP2 is on a solid hand on the turn. By taking the free card I think we get an intital bet from MP2 on the river if he was on a lower pair (instead of the good hand he had) thereby increasing our profit while minimizing our risk (you had 2BB that you placed on the turn we could have saved when it's likely we're not ahead.)

Yerma · #4 01-22-2006, 09:55 PM

Hmm...hate it or love it?

I *hate* the flop and turn. I think your preflop 3-bet is merely dubious.

Geng · #5 01-22-2006, 10:11 PM

Could you please explain why you hate the preflop and turn? I just went back and looked at SSH and even it calls for a pre-flop raise from the button with AJ suited so why was this bad?

d0ugla5 · #6 01-22-2006, 10:17 PM

what happened to UTG+1? was he all-in or something because otherwise what happened to him and why are all the number of players in the hand off?

Bonesy · #7 01-22-2006, 10:19 PM

Don't know how many outs you are giving yourself on the turn which is very important because it is likely that a bet will fold noone. I don't think you have enough to value bet.

Geng · #8 01-22-2006, 10:19 PM

UTG+1 folded preflop. Wonder if bisons converter isn't working correctly.

martinimagic · #9 01-22-2006, 10:27 PM

*Grunch*

I like your PF read with the 3-bet.

I am totally betting the flop to build the pot. A lot of cards can help here.

Good card on the turn. Not sure why MP2 woke up. All I can figure is he hit his set. I get lost here a lot. Do we want to reraise? I am thinkng MP2 is hoping for the board to pair and is not going anywhere. I lack aggression so this is why I ask.

River is straight forward.

Andy Ross · #10 01-22-2006, 10:41 PM

The flop play is fine, but I think that the turn is bad. The bet on the flop is good, since it gives us the option of drawing for free on the turn. Take the free card that's offered to you.

[ QUOTE ]
With 6.75BB in the pot I can stand a re-raise and still have odds so I bet and sure enough got raised.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your reasoning here is pretty bad. Our equity isn't big enough for the bet to be for value (otherwise you'd re-raise his c/r), and we don't have a hand to protect.

MP2 is making it as expensive as possible for us to draw here. We can call the raise profitably, but that doesn't mean that we should *want* to have to call the raise.