$11 140 flopped straight - how did i play this?

[qwertyui9]

Hey all, first post on this board so take it easy on me! Ive recently started playing online mtts a bit more seriously and had this hand come up today.

Im looking back at this now thinking this I was too passive all the way through the hand. I had seen the villain bet small on all streets like this before but had not seen any hands. What do you think of the play of the hand and what do you do on the river?

Holdem No Limit 800/1,600
Seat 1 : $4,020
Seat 2 : $6,695
Button $3,720
Villain $33,590
Hero $16,990
Seat 6 : $50,240
Seat 7 : $1,470
Seat 8 : $11,300
Seat 9 : $40,810

Villain posted small blind (800)
Hero posted big blind (1600)

Hero has K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] T [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

folded to villain:

Villain called 800
Hero checked.
Board cards [J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Q [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]]
Villain bet 1,600
Hero called 1,600
[Board cards [J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Q [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]]
Villain bet 3,200
Hero called 3,200
Board cards [J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Q [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Q [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]]
Villain bet 3,200
Hero ?

[TFGoose]

Put another t3000 out there pre-flop for one. Unless you have reason to believe otherwise, it's unlikely villain has a good hand here. He's limping to see if he can get a cheap flop. He'd probably raise with an Ace, so you probably have the best hand. Raise now and take the 3200 that's already sitting out there.

After checking preflop, I like the flop call, but would push the turn. There's 9600 in the pot right then to win, and you can't let a fourth spade hit that board and ruin you. Get your money in now when it's still very likely that you have the best of it.

--TFGoose

[qwertyui9]

Thanks, you've highlighted what i thougt about the hand after, both pre and post flop. Putting pressure on with hands like this isnt something ive been doing enough preflop.

As a rule do you take what you can get from the pot postflop later on in a tourny, as highlighted in this case? On the flop I've been gambling in this sort of situation recently and it'l often result in a double up or a bust out. A while ago I found I never had enough chips to finish in the serious money so I started trying to make pots like this bigger.

Do the times you make more chips here make up for when you bus or do you like to take what you can get along the way?

[JohnFR]

I like the flop, raise the turn though. I plan on getting this allin somehow somewhere in the hand raising the turn allows you to more easily get it all in on the turn or the river. Only a fourth spade on river gets me to fold the river in your spot, I push the river the way the hand plays.

[w33ktight]

I don't mind a PF check but I certainly raise this sometimes.

On the flop I'm raising. Raising this flop doesn't look strong, people assume you raise broadway cards in position preflop(which is why I sometimes check a hand like KQs blind vs blind, just to do this), so your hand is very well concealed. I raise to 3200 on this flop and hope he shoves on me. as played I think raising the turn allows him to play perfectly against you(correct me if I'm wrong more knowledgeable posters, I'm new to this concept) considering he will most likely put you on spades. As played on the river you can probably raise, his bet is looking like some sort of blocking bet on the river with Ax, maybe he has a Q. He might not call a river push, but we think we have him beat way more not and want to give him the opportunity to make the wrong decision.

GL with mtts, I have recently started getting into them more seriously as well(with good results, I'm proud to add), as I have been mostly a STT player, and a donkey in anything above NL 200 [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[TFGoose]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks, you've highlighted what i thougt about the hand after, both pre and post flop. Putting pressure on with hands like this isnt something ive been doing enough preflop.

As a rule do you take what you can get from the pot postflop later on in a tourny, as highlighted in this case? On the flop I've been gambling in this sort of situation recently and it'l often result in a double up or a bust out. A while ago I found I never had enough chips to finish in the serious money so I started trying to make pots like this bigger.

Do the times you make more chips here make up for when you bus or do you like to take what you can get along the way?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, like most answers, the one you're seeking is "it depends". Here, the right play is to raise the turn because you A) have the best possible hand so why not get more money in the pot, and B) that hand is vulnerable to a river spade, so you need to charge him to draw. This situation specifically calls for a raise.

In reality though, the decision of whether or not to milk a situation is a balance between the risk involved, and the potential reward. You want to get the most of your opponent's money into the pot as possible, without giving him odds to draw to anything that the board is representing as probable. It comes down to hand reading of course, but ultimately you'll just have to make decisions like this on the fly, based on the information available at the time.

I know that isn't terribly helpful, but it's the best I can do. You can't be afraid of monsters under the bed with every hand of course, but that's a lot different than being concerned about a four card flush cracking your straight. Always be thinking about what your opponent could have logically started the hand with, and tailor your actions based on that judgement.

For instance, here you're worried about a random spade screwing you over. That's a plausible scenario. But let's say you re-raise an opponent preflop holding AA, he calls, and the board comes 4-5-6 rainbow. He bets, and you call to trap. The turn is a 7. Are you scared of the straight? Probably not, because it's extremely unlikely that your opponent holds a 3 or an 8. So when he bets again, you can just call, fairly confident that you still hold the best hand.

Again, give them a range of hands, and choose whether or not to slow play based on that, on what they do, and on the board at the moment.

--TFGoose