Success - June 23, 2005
Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. Last night, played one $10 NL SNG and won. Once it got down to four players all were fairly good with the big stack being very tight aggressive. Blinds were at 100/200 and I was in the SB with 900 chips left. 2nd and 3rd had between 1000-1100. I picked up K2o and UTG and Button folded. I raised all in knowing that the very tight BB would only call with a huge hand. Well he called with AK and I was able to find a 2 on the flop. After doubling up I had the other two short stacks raise all in, when I had AA and QQ on consecutive hands. After that I was able to bully the tight player around in heads up play with my big stack and I went on to finish first. I want to share one interesting hand to show you how not to play AQ from early position with a full table.
I was small blind with pocket 3's. UTG raised to 55 with AQo and I called hoping to hit my set and try to double up. Flop came 3J7 rainbow. I check and UTG which we will call SUBJECT above bets 100 into a 125 pot. Now if I were playing against better players I would have probably bet a small amount to induce a raise. Against loose aggressive players (LAPs) at small stakes games you are probably better off slow playing, unless they are just maniacs and don't want to get bullied out of a pot. If you are against Maniacs, I have found that it is good to bet small and they will reraise all in nearly every time. So back to the situation.I call the flop bet and check the turn after a 9 comes. He bets 125 signaling to me that he probably doesn't have a strong high pair. I think he has two overs at this point and is just trying to buy the pot with his position. I call hoping that an Ace, King or Queen comes on the river to give him a pair. I was dissapointed when a 2 comes. The only hand that beats me at this point is a higher set. I think he has AK or two overs and I want to get some money out of him on the river so I bet 175. My thought is that if he is a typical party poker fish and has a "huge hand" like AK, he will reluctantly call my 175 bet on the river to see what I have. I was pleasantly surpised when he raised all in. I called and found that he had AQ. A summary of the hand is shown below.
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t15 (10 handed) converterUTG+1 (t800)UTG+2 (t785)MP1 (t785)MP2 (t760)MP3 (t770)CO (t785)Button (t720)Hero (t870)BB (t800)UTG (SUBJECT) (t925)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 3s, 3c. UTG (SUBJECT) raises to t55, 7 folds, Hero calls t45, 1 fold.Flop: (t125) 3d, Jh, 7s (2 players)Hero checks, SUBJECT bets t100, Hero calls t100.Turn: (t325) 9s (2 players)Hero checks, SUBJECT bets t125, Hero calls t125.River: (t575) 2h (2 players)Hero bets t175, SUBJECT raises to t600, Hero calls t415 (All-In).Final Pot: t1765
Now I want to review this hand from the SUBJECT's perspective. He raises with what he views as a great hand UTG. I call from the small blind and I really could have anything. Flop comes 3d Jh 7s. I check and SUBJECT bets 100. When I call the 100 bet, he has to think I have at least a pair. I called for a rather minimal raise from the small blind and I could have any hand. The board is a rainbow which means that I can't be chasing a flush (or shouldn't be) and I also could only be drawing at an inside straight draw. So if you assume that I'm not an awful player he has to know that I have a pair or a set.
On the turn SUBJECT throws out a 125 bet and I call again. Maybe I'm a bad player reluctant to give up my hand but I don't like the SUBJECT's turn bet. He should have checked the turn hoping for a free card. He saves his bet and has a chance to pick up an Ace or a Queen on the river which may beat me if I only have a pair. But the truly awful play is his reraise on the river. When I bet 175 in the pot it should scream value bet. There are a lot of poor players who will chase an open ended straight or a flush draw and then put a big bluff bet in on the river when they don't hit their cards. However, SUBJECT should have known that I wasn't chasing a straight or flush bet when I called his flop bet.
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Thank you for your comments on my last post. I hope I don't sound defensive, I just liked to discuss hands so I can learn a bit. I appreciate all of your inputs. Thanks!
posted by Steve K at 12:29 PM
5 Comments:
subject made an awful play, sure.
Raise preflop was OK, although UTG, maybe should have made it more expensive. limping to me invites every player to come along, and so what's the point of AQ then. So he raised too little.
your call on the flop-subject should be wondering if you got a piece of it. I do think a bet on the turn is fine, but 125 into a pot of 325? very weak. 200-250 or so if he wants to say "I got something here". your call should tell him one thing-he's losing. then when you shift from caller to bettor-that's his cue to just walk away. he's still have 650. the list of hands you could have to beat him is far far far too long to call that, let alone go all in.
what he was trying to do was induce a fold if you had just a pair on the board (even the sacred top pair), up to something like JJ in the hole. but seriously-in level one of a $10 does he really think anyone is folding even top pair at the end? at party? maybe he's new, or just watched WPT and some dude made a "tough lay-down". but those are pros,a nd pros make those tough lay-downs. Level one of a $10 party SnG is not where anyone makes em, and he should have known that and not bet the river.
Totally agree with you. Just trying to show what not to do. His move on the river was awful, but I think his bet on the turn was even worse.
Perfectly played on your part, though I probably CR turn, as all kinds of janky draws become possible and I want to give him a chance to overplay one of them.
I disagree with your plan of leading into a TAG here. A decent player will bet this flop 100% of the time, in position, heads-up, after raising preflop. Your lead into him will lock him up if he has nothing, lose you a bundle if he has a bigger set, and probably only get you a big score if he *happens* to have AA.
As for subjects play, he misplayed every street. As anon said, PF raise is too small, I think flop bet is too big (a bet of 90 or so folds you if you have nothing, most likely, so why waste the other 40 chips? It's certainly not for value). Turn bet is both questionable and pitifully small, and river raise is gawd awful, it's possible that you fold something that beats AQ there, but as you already have half your chips in the pot, it seems like he's asking for a parlay of A) you having a better hand which B) you will fold. If he thinks you're full of shit, calling is CLEARLY better, as you won't call a raise, and if he's wrong, he doens't lose anymore...
Pooh - Interesting suggestion on how to play the set first to act against a TAP. If the TAP was a tight aggressive player he is going to bet and represent his cards no matter what so you suggest checking instead of betting into him. My thoughts were that as soon as I call the flop bet that is the most I'm getting out of a TAP. He understands that I'm slow playing and will give up a hand. If I bet small and represent a small pair I think he would raise in order to see where he was at and therefore I might get more out of the flop raise than the flop position bet. You might be right though. If you are that means nearly every time you are checking the flopped set from 1st position.
If you are right I would point out that there are rare times when you are playing against a macho man loose maniac. He raises preflop and he wants to play strong afterwards so a min bet could induce an all in.
Good post Seth. Made me think
If only I played poker as well as I wrote about it right now, I wouldn't be in semi-retirement currently...
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