Playing Your Target Villain

[rapidacid]

A main goal in MTT's is often to pick villains at your table who you feel you can double up against ... most often the case is that the villain pushes relatively often ... in this case, I had targeted the villain in this hand as the player I felt I could double up against ... I had been moved to this table about two orbits ago and had not played a hand ... in those two orbits I saw villain push twice on 4th st with no callers and he didn't show his hand ... here's the action, sorry but no converters are working for me at the moment ... does anyone have any suggestions?

NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25185323 Level:4 Blinds(100/200) - Saturday, June 24, 20:53:44 ET 2006
Table Regular(743579) Table #75 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: villain ( $4200 )
Seat 2: villain ( $7709 )
Seat 4: target villain ( $4502 )
Seat 5: hero ( $3275 )
Seat 6: villain ( $10058 )
Seat 7: villain ( $3973 )
Seat 9: villain ( $7634 )
Seat 10: villain ( $5987 )
Seat 8: villain ( $3220 )
Seat 3: villain ( $2310 )
Trny:25185323 Level:4
Blinds(100/200)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to hero [ Qd 2c ]
villain folds.
villain folds.
villain calls [200].
villain folds.
villain folds.
villain folds.
villain calls [200].
villain folds.
target villain calls [100].
hero checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Qs, 4c, 6c ]
target villain bets [200].
hero raises [600].
villain folds.
villain folds.
target villain calls [400].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 6d ]
target villain is all-In [3702]

Hero ?

[McMelchior]

What is your intention with the flop raise? A raise of t400 making the pot t1,600 is obv only a pot sweetener ... it's not folding any of Villian's hands, for sure. And not defining your own.

It seems from your introduction to the hand that you had decided in advance that Villian was going to bluff? Well, if you believe that - there's your bluff.

Personally without strong reads - and to me 2 turn pushes without showing down does not qualify as a strong read - I'm not donking my stack off with TPNK on a paired board.

[mornelth]

folds? ... Villain has to give you a credit for Queens or a club draw at worst after your raise - what is he pushing with here?

[rapidacid]

[ QUOTE ]
What is your intention with the flop raise? A raise of t400 making the pot t1,600 is obv only a pot sweetener ... it's not folding any of Villian's hands, for sure. And not defining your own.

[/ QUOTE ]

The intention of my flop raise was to isolate my target. To me the villains 1/4 pot size flop bet seems weak, and I thought I might be able to take it down right there ( just to restate, I've never actually seen a hand the villain has had ). Why do you say my raise doesn't define my own? I think it says I'm either raising for free cards for club draw, or I've got a pair, probably the top pair. Is it just the size of the raise you object to?

[ QUOTE ]

It seems from your introduction to the hand that you had decided in advance that Villian was going to bluff? Well, if you believe that - there's your bluff.


[/ QUOTE ]

I had only decided before the hand the the target was someone who I might have the opportunity to double up against if I ever got a hand against him. Yes I did think his flop bet could have been a bluff. The 1/4 pot size bet reinforces that thought, but the fact that he did it into 3 left to act and then called my raise obviously indicated something else.

[ QUOTE ]

Personally without strong reads - and to me 2 turn pushes without showing down does not qualify as a strong read - I'm not donking my stack off with TPNK on a paired board.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you wouldn't call if you had AQ? I find this one of the largest hurdles I'm trying to overcome recently: when to call the all ins from some ( to me in this case ) maniac with some kind of hand. Thanks for the response.

[mornelth]

[ QUOTE ]
So you wouldn't call if you had AQ?

[/ QUOTE ]

There's a pretty big differemce between calling with AQ and Q2 here.... Do you see why???

[FortunaMaximus]

[ QUOTE ]
I had only decided before the hand the the target was someone who I might have the opportunity to double up against if I ever got a hand against him.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is probably the problem here. Choosing Q2 to do it with is probably why you're in this situation to begin with.

[McMelchior]

[ QUOTE ]
Is it just the size of the raise you object to?

[/ QUOTE ]

Your raise is not big enough to "drive out" any draws. I'm not even sure why you would want to do that with TPNK. Just call the flop and see the turn for cheaps.

[rapidacid]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So you wouldn't call if you had AQ?

[/ QUOTE ]

There's a pretty big differemce between calling with AQ and Q2 here.... Do you see why???

[/ QUOTE ]

I do, I think I misread his post when I wrote that ... I thought he said he would never call the all in with top pair and that pair on the board

[rapidacid]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I had only decided before the hand the the target was someone who I might have the opportunity to double up against if I ever got a hand against him.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is probably the problem here. Choosing Q2 to do it with is probably why you're in this situation to begin with.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was BB and there were no raises, so when the flop came, my hand wasnt hopeless ... against a random hand, which with no reads on villain since I haven't seen him show down is all I can put him on, I've got 78% pot equity and after the turn it's 80% ... up to this point my "idea" has worked:

1) I'm heads up against my target
2) I've got some sort of hand
3) He's made the move I hoped I would be able to double up against him with

At what point does my Qx become callable against his all in? Q9? QT?

Thanks for all the responses ... I appreciate it.

[mornelth]

The real problem is that you do NOT have a good enough read on villain - i.e. WHAT does he push with? . . .