Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Obligatory Poker Content

3 June 08

I’ve been playing No Limit in anticipation of heading out to Vegas in two days. As mentioned numerous times in the past, I am a horrible NL player.

One area I’m trying to improve is River play when I’m sure I have the best hand. In the past, I’ve just tried to “get paid off.” I usually throw out a small bet and proudly turn over my set or whatever. Now I’m actively putting my opponents on hands and betting appropriately. It seems to be paying off.

Hand 1: I have been playing a lot of hands, and have a loose table image. I have pocket 6s. The flop is 6-2-2 with two diamonds. Schwing! LAG 1 bets $15. Lag 2 raises to $30. I get cute and raise to $45. They both call. The turn is a third diamond. Double schwing! They both check to me and I bet $45. Only LAG 1 calls. The river is a blank. He checks. There is about $200 in the pot. How much do you bet here?

Hand 2: I have pocket 4s. The flop is K-4-2. Say it with me - schwing! 1st position guy, who is fairly tight, bets the pot - about $30. It folds to me and I raise to $75. He just calls. The turn is a blank. He checks and I check behind, but not before telling Jason (sitting to my right) that the guy has K-Q. The river is a Queen. He plays with his chips for a bit and then checks. How much do you bet here?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I probably bet half the pot on the first one. If he made his flush, he pays you off or might even raise you which is the best scenario. If he folds, then he probably wasn't calling you anyway no matter what you bet. He could possibly also have a higher boat but that is the chance you take.

On the second one, if you are sure of your read on him, then I would probably bet around 3/4 of the pot. Again, he probably thinks his two pair is good and more than likely would pay you off.

BamBam said...

What he---^ said for hand #1.

If your read is solid in hand #2, I think you'll get paid a fair bit more than 3/4 pot. I'd try and make it look like a steal attempt and bet more.
(I'd watch for pocket K's! But it's your read)

RaisingCayne said...

You are such a lucky schmuck, always flopping sets huh!? Geez.

Personally, in hand #1 i think your tricky min-re-re-raise on the flop was enough to scare villain away from calling off too much on the river, so I don't bet anything over half the pot at a maximum, assuming no more would be called. Probably just ~$75 into the ~$200.

Hand #2, given your read and how the hand played out, I would probably try to get paid off for the maximum and bet nearly the full pot amount. Could look like a steal, and get called by just top pair, and I think it would definitely be insta-called by KQ. (Ignore BamBam's stated fear of KK, as I can't imagine any spot where a villain would be willing to check the river with top set.)

Curious how the hands played out. (But given your recent run, I'm sure both ended with you scooping large pots. Lucksack.)

We'll be putting together another local blogger home game very soon, so check your e-mail for details on that soon, so we can arrange an acceptable date.

Enjoy Las Vegas! And best of luck!

DrChako said...

Here's what happened. I bet $100 on hand #1. He called with Q 2 (trip 2s), with no diamonds. Sometimes it pays to be a little loose. I don't think he makes that call if I've been playing tight.

Hand #2: With $150 in the pot, I bet $80. If he has the King only, he calls. If he has K-Q, he raises. He also raises there with a bigger set, but I'm not looking for monsters under the bed anymore. He raises to $180. I go all in and he calls with his K-Q.

Since it's such a low buy-in (max $300), you could make an argument to go all-in if you really trust your read. I got all his money, and I admit there may have been another way to skin this cat, but I'm pretty happy with the result.

Zeem said...

when you flop a monster in position and are bet into, why not simply call the flop bet and let your opponent fire another bet on the turn?

DrChako said...

That is usually too suspicious and only works if your opponent is either really aggressive or actually has a big hand. The early raise with a flopped set (advocated by none other than Doyle Brunson), may actually feign weakness and create action. Ever see the episodes of High Stakes Poker where Gus Hanson bet out when he flopped quads?