Bluff #2 (live, 25-50)

[Post-Oak]

Villain #1 is a rich fish. He raises a lot preflop, and stubbornly calls big reraises with marginal hands. It seems like he knows how to play, but he can't help himself when he tilts or his ego is involved. I have just doubled through him the previous hand. I had limped UTG with AK, CRed his standard PFR, bet the K high flop, then CR him all in on the turn. The final board was 6 J K 8 Q no flush, so I am not sure what he could have had (his turn bet had pretty much committed him though). I have $10K and he covers a few times over.

Villain #2 is in MP and is tight-passive. He has about $15K.

Villain #3 is on the button and is a good LAG. He has about $25K in front of him.

My image is of being tight, although I have repopped Villain #1 preflop a bunch of times, which is pissing him off. We are playing 7 handed and the blinds are $25-50.

Villain #1 limps in EP, there are 2 more limpers, SB completes and I check in the BB with 3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].

Flop (5 players, $250) A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 5 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].

I check. Villain #1 bets $175, Villain #2 calls, Villain # 3 calls. SB folds.

I make it $1300.

My plan is to check the turn if called, unless I hit the double gutter. I am definitely expecting to take this one down right here though.

[pocketjesuits]

Not sure I understand your desire to bluff into three opponents, at least one of whom has a tendency to overvalue mediocre hands, when you can just call here with great odds.

[Dale Dough]

I don't like this spot much, raise or call, but raise is better than call IMO. WTF are 2 and 3 doing just flatcalling here? I'd raise a strong hand every time here with deep stacks. But I can see a flatcall with 76 which means you're drawing to the deuces or a split. Also, is it inconceivable that someone has 87? Even 76 seems strong enough to raise here, considering that there is a good probability the fish has nothing and won't pay, and if he does call you can win a big pot. Not all your outs are clean. That's what sucks about calling, even though you have an OESD and great odds.

That's why what you did seems a whole lot better. One problem is that he might push you off your hand - if he makes it 4 grand, you can't expect him to fold anything but a bluff, and you've just paid a whole lot more than you'd like to for your hand. The other problem is if he calls, and the others follow suit. You are now facing the same problem as in the just call scenario.

Either way, you can't fold, and raise > call IMO, and overbet > pot sized raise that is liable to be called SOMEWHERE. Going through those steps, I guess I like what you did. Although on second thought, it's not an overbet by much, everyone still gets about 2 to 1. Might have made it 15 or 1600 - although with the bets still out there and the pot in the middle, raises always somehow seem to be bigger than they really are in relation to the pot, so that might seem excessive. Depends on how the game has been playing, I guess.

EDIT: Cliff notes: I like it, because he won't always have something to pay you off with, and with the other villains you have to worry about being beat or splitting if they give you action. They should have raised sets on the flop this deep. Your draw is not as strong as it seems, but too good to fold IMO. I might have made it more though, because I really really don't want to give odds to a better draw.

[Apathy]

seems ok to me, but im not sure how much id like betting if you hit on the turn and you were called by one of the cold callers.

[Post-Oak]

My thoughts were similiar to Dale's, in that I felt I had a draw I could not fold but which is not nearly as strong as people seem to think. First of all, if I hit the 2, there will be 4 cards to a wheel on the board, so I probably could not win a big pot anyway. The 6 could give someone a higher straight, so if I play a big pot here, I am may be drawing dead. The gutshot is definitely in the Button's (good LAG) hand range. In fact, he had stacked me by hitting a gutshot earlier in the session.

I just didn't think that any of the 3 players could withstand the heat of this CR. First of all, Villain #1 calls way too much, but he could be betting without the ace here. As soon as Villain #2 calls, Villain #1 should usually be thinking he is beat (unless he happens to hold a strong hand). Villain #2 is very tight and will definitely lay down a hand like AQ or AK here (this guy really could have limped with AK here). The button could easily have as little as a gutshot, as was pointed out earlier.

Anyway, the station did what stations do, and flat called. Villains #2 and #3 both folded quickly. The turn was a 9, I checked, and Villain 1 bet $6K. I folded.

I guess I overestimated his ability to lay a hand here to a CR and 2 players left behind. It turns out he was on tilt from the hand before, a fact I did not realize until later. I was also told that he often tilts and spews. So my bluff in this particular spot did amount to spewing, but I still think it is a good spot to CR bluff against reasonable opponents.

[pocketjesuits]

[ QUOTE ]
But I can see a flatcall with 76 which means you're drawing to the deuces or a split.

[/ QUOTE ]

Huh?

[Post-Oak]

PJ, exactly how did you manage to reply to me, yet put a quote that never appeared in any of my posts???

Careful with that cut and paste.

[LurkerAnon]

don't worry P-O -- he's just calling Dale dumb