Couple of live hands that have bothered me for a while

[DarkForceRising]

Live full ring 1/2 NL. Early in the day and opponents are unknown.

Hero is fully stacked ($200) in BB with 9 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].

Several limpers and I check. Pot is $9 and 4 handed ldo.

Flop: 5 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

I bet $5 to see if we can get something going here.

Next guy raises to $15 leaving him with only 10 or 15 bucks. The following guy (fully stacked) makes it $30. Button folds and I make it $60 to go.

Too much? Too little? Or just right?

Hero is dealt K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 10 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] in teh cutoff with about $300.

Multiple limpers including the blinds. Pot was prolly $12.

Flop: K [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 3 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

Checked to me and I bet $10. BB is the only caller.

Turn: K [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

BB checks, I bet $25 and BB raised to $75. BB has me covered.

Now, the check raiser in question here is an open book. It is actually comical to watch him start shaking when he raises. Plus he sighs and announces his weakness when making atrocious calls. Classic loose passive who would not raise anything less than AA, KK and maybe QQ from the blinds behind multiple limpers.

He has nothing less than the remaining king.

Play?

[Grunch]

On hand 1, forget about the short stacked guy. He no longer exists. The deeper guy is the one you should be focused on.

You know you have the best hand right now, but it's possible that a club falling will screw you. Either you will still have the best hand and your action will be killed, or you will have the worst hand and there will be a lot of action. Getting all-in on the flop is the way to go. Raising to 60 will leave quite a bit behind if he just calls however, which could make for a difficult turn. If you make it more like 90-100 he may even go all-in with a flush draw (which is good for you), and even if he doesnt pushing the turn will be a no-brainer no matter what falls.

[Pyromaniac]

hand 2, this is a simplistic take on it, but if you read him as having Kx, then you're behind to an A, Q, J, 4, or 3. ahead against 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 2. and tied with another T.

or, ahead against 24 of 45 cards, tied with 3, and behind to 18. so this is a classic WA/WB, then -- whichever one of you has the worst of it right now only has a few outs to improve and a few more to split the pot.

in limit WA/WB is about getting to showdown and seeing which it is, right? here, I dunno. call and see what happens on the river? push?

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Classic loose passive who would not raise anything less than AA, KK and maybe QQ from the blinds behind multiple limpers.


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so wouldn't raise AK here, then?

any chance this is a 44 or a 33 instead of the king?

[DarkForceRising]

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so wouldn't raise AK here, then?

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Maybe suited. I seriously doubt it, though.

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any chance this is a 44 or a 33 instead of the king?

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It was definitely on my mind at the time. Looking back, however, his nonchalant flop call and trembling turn check raise seems to almost certainly point to the fourth king, although that did not seem as clear at the time.

One thing that has really hindered my progress at live NL is the emotional factor resulting from the escalation of bets. I had not played live in almost a year up until late June. And I had never played live NL.

As a result of this, my thinking on some of the trickier decisions has been muddled by trying to appear emotionally disconnected, keeping my breathing steady etc... Had my mind been more clear, I likely would have significantly reduced the possibility of 33 or 44.

[Grunch]

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in limit WA/WB is about getting to showdown and seeing which it is, right?

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In no-limit, WA/WB is about keeping the pot small. If the pot becomes a wildfire, you need to hit the eject button.