Difficult board

Aisthesis · #1 06-04-2006, 12:26 PM

This is a hand where I feel like I left some equity at the table. The initial raiser is basically a pretty decent LAG. He raises an enormous amount from any position, sometimes mini-raises, sometimes big ones. Before this hand, from the other hands he had shown, I was beginning to suspect that he raised big on most large pairs and small on wrappy drawy type hands.

The re-raiser is pretty new to the table. He had played a few hands but done nothing really of note, so I obviously am putting him on some kind of AA. Other than that, I figured with his stack-size and the re-raise, he was going to be pretty much pot-committed if the board didn't look horrible to him.

As for me, I haven't had many hands the first part of this session and hence look rather nut-peddlish, although a bit less so the last 15-20 hands, where I've had some better opportunities and made one play that probably looked like a bluff (I had raised 4567ds in LP and turned the nut straight with huge redraws, but I don't think anyone expected me to be raising that hand--anyway, they folded on that one, so no one really knew whether I had it or not). But re-raiser wasn't in the game yet, and I think I had no table image at all from his standpoint, only to LAG.

Hence, I decided to go ahead and call with QQ44. I'm somewhere a little worse than 3:1 to set and have position. Probably a borderline call, but I don't think it's unreasonable with the implied odds and also the fact that the initial raiser is going to have to act before me, hence allowing me a better feel for where I'm at if I should hit bottom set.

Here's the hand:

Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $0.50/$1
8 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: $148.30
UTG+1: $55
Hero: $145.90
MP2: $268.25
CO: $20
Button: $43.45
SB: $85
BB: $121.60

Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is MP1 with Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 4[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, Hero calls, MP2 calls, 2 folds, SB calls, BB raises to $4, UTG+1 folds, Hero calls, MP2 calls, SB raises to $25.5, BB calls, Hero calls, MP2 folds.

Flop: 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] ($81.5, 3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks.

Turn: 8[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] ($81.5, 3 players)
SB checks, BB bets $23, Hero calls, SB folds.

River: A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] ($127.5, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

Results:
Final pot: $127.5

Villain has 7s 5c 8h 7d

I have several questions here, actually. First, one has to bear in mind that the initial raiser is pretty tricky and definitely capable of checking a flush, and the re-raiser is a complete unknown, who may or may not do the same.

Nonetheless, when the action first comes to me, no one has claimed the flush. So, do I go ahead and bet my QQ set, at least with decent odds to fill up if re-raiser has the flush (he's really the one I'm worried about with regard to the flush since I'm assuming he has two aces in his hand anyway). On the other hand, if LAG should happen to have KK, then I'm really in trouble (and he'll definitely call with KK). Am I worrying too much about these worst cases with what I know about my opponents?

Anyhow, I opt to take the free card and check as well on the flop.

Then the turn. Now I have LAG betting into me on the paired board, and my read up to this point (which, in light of his holdings, was obviously inaccurate) made KK a very definite possibility in my mind. So I just flat call--as I do on the river, too, fearing a big checkraise from LAG.

I guess the real questions here are: Do I go ahead and bet this flop? and, second, should I push or possibly mini-raise the turn? If I were to mini-raise, which I thought about, I think I'd still have to call an all-in from a LAG. But I really don't mind the mini-raise here since he's obviously not folding KK or 88, but he might well push himself with something less. And I guess another possible line is to push on the river, but I don't see him calling there with anything but a hand that beats mine, so I think I like the turn mini-raise better than calling the turn and betting the river.