He bluffs a lot, and thinks I do too.

[electrical]

I have been playing quite aggressively but showing good hands and winning big pots. Seat Seven is absurdly loose on third and bluffs/bluff raises extraordinarily often. I called on third because I was closing the action getting about 6:1, my hand, though weak, was reasonably live, the original raiser's looked weak, and seat Seven didn't have to have any hand at all here. My intention was to isolate Seat Seven if I caught anything scary or that genuinely improved my hand.

We have played before, however, and of the opponents at the table, he is the only one who has seen me bluff. He certainly thinks I bluff more often than I actually do.

For this reason, his call on Five could mean as little as a gutshot. Sixth and its action are an excellent development.

My read on his river play is that he will likely call the river with Queens-up as a bluff catcher, will probably bluff with one pair if checked-to, and will value bet or raise only if he can beat Kings-up. I have no idea what he would need to bet and then just call a raise. Perhaps Aces-up precisely.

I think he is pretty likely to have bare Queens on the end here (which he will fold if I bet), but there is some chance he has a two-pair he can call with, and a distant chance he has trips or better, with which he will go to war.

What gets the most in the middle, checking (selling a busted semi-bluff/bare Kings) hoping to raise, or betting and hoping to take it to three-town?

7 Card Stud High ($5/$10), Ante $1, Bring-In $1.50 (converter)

Seat 1: $49
Seat 2: $129.50
Seat 3: $171
Seat 4: $87
Seat 5: $180.50
Seat 6: $83.50
Seat 7: $251
Hero: $572

3rd Street - (1.60 SB)

Seat 1: xx xx 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] ___folds
Seat 2: xx xx A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] ___folds
Seat 3: xx xx T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] ___folds
Seat 4: xx xx 7[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] ___folds
Seat 5: xx xx 6[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] ___folds
Seat 6: xx xx 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] ___completes
Seat 7: xx xx Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] ___calls
Hero: 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] ___brings-in ___calls

4th Street - (4.60 SB)

Seat 6: xx xx 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 4[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] ___checks ___folds
Seat 7: xx xx Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] ___bets ___calls
Hero: 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] ___checks ___raises

5th Street - (4.30 BB)

Seat 7: xx xx Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] ___calls
Hero: 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] ___bets

6th Street - (6.30 BB)

Seat 7: xx xx Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] ___calls
Hero: 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] ___bets

River - (8.30 BB)

Seat 7: xx xx Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] xx ___
Hero: 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] ___ ???

[HOWMANY]

WHAT HAPPENED ON FOURTH STREET?

Bet/3 river. Checking makes no sense to me at all because I doubt he would value bet Qs up while he will call with it and maybe raise trips.

[2461Badugi]

Obvious bet, since it seems like his value-betting and value-raising standards are the same. You lose a bet if he has bare queens, but you gain one from queens up and probably at least one from a surprising better hand.

And sometimes he'll bluff-raise.

[2461Badugi]

[ QUOTE ]
WHAT HAPPENED ON FOURTH STREET?


[/ QUOTE ]

Good question. I think he has to have it in the back of his mind that you have K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]x[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in the hole here, so his value-betting range may be further reduced.

[electrical]

River responses are along the same lines as my thinking. In the actual hand, I bet, he mucked, indicating bare Queens. I started thinking that I might have let him bluff at it instead, which is why I posted the hand. Checking makes me the minimum if he does happen to have a hand, which really ought to be the case.

I'm surprised nobody likes the Fourth street raise. It seemed obvious to me at the time. If I'm not going to raise there, I think I ought to be folding Third.

[Sevenfold]

[ QUOTE ]
River responses are along the same lines as my thinking. In the actual hand, I bet, he mucked, indicating bare Queens. I started thinking that I might have let him bluff at it instead, which is why I posted the hand. Checking makes me the minimum if he does happen to have a hand, which really ought to be the case.

I'm surprised nobody likes the Fourth street raise. It seemed obvious to me at the time. If I'm not going to raise there, I think I ought to be folding Third.

[/ QUOTE ]

"He certainly thinks I bluff more often than I actually do."

So the check raise is accomplishing what?

He thinks you bluff a lot. You are (semi) bluffing.

I pick one off, but I wouldn't raise in the spot you describe.

Plus you are high. Whats the plan for 5th and beyond if you blank out against a guy who thinks you bluff?

[electrical]

[ QUOTE ]

"He certainly thinks I bluff more often than I actually do."

So the check raise is accomplishing what?

[/ QUOTE ]
Eliminating the other player -- the one who has no reason to think I am bluffing but is probably ahead of both me and the maniac now.

[ QUOTE ]
I pick one off, but I wouldn't raise in the spot you describe.

[/ QUOTE ]
Why play a three-way pot from way behind? This is precisely what I was hoping would happen, and I wouldn't want to be in the hand otherwise.

[ QUOTE ]
Plus you are high. Whats the plan for 5th and beyond if you blank out against a guy who thinks you bluff?

[/ QUOTE ]

Bear in mind that I actually think I am ahead of the maniac much of the time here. I am also a little high, but so what. I think I win more than I lose if it shows down in a hail of bricks.

[cgrohman]

I'm fine with 3rd coming out of the bring. Fourth is great, gets it heads up. 5th and 6th uber standard.

I just bet 7th and hope for the best.

[Wahoo73]

I like all of it, including betting on the river. However, it seems to me that your 4th street check-raise play ONLY works if Seat #6 checks behind you. Inasmuch as he was the initial raiser, it seems to me that most of the time you shouldn't expect him to check behind you on 4th. What would you have done on 4th if Seat #6 had bet out? and then Seat #7 had called or raised? Because of this, I think opening the betting yourself on 4th street is probably a slightly better play most of the time, inasmuch as you certainly have a strong semi-bluff with live deuces, live top kicker and fairly live three-flush. But I certainly can't argue with the success of the way you played it. NH! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I assume this was at FTP and I'm trying to remember if I was at this table when you played this hand. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[electrical]

[ QUOTE ]
It seems to me that your 4th street check-raise play ONLY works if Seat #6 checks behind you.

[/ QUOTE ]
Seat Seven was high card, so he would most likely be first to act on Fourth. It didn't turn out that way, but I still got the opportunity to raise. I checked because I wanted to give the Sevens the opportunity to check into a better board (Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]), who I was pretty sure would bet. I couldn't call two bets cold if it came to that, but one bet, if called by the maniac, may still warrant seeing the Fifth card.
[ QUOTE ]
I assume this was at FTP and I'm trying to remember if I was at this table when you played this hand. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, FTP. This game was very good and got better as the night wore on.