[coyote]

I’d like some comments on this hand from last night, NL50 at FTP

I don’t have the hand history, so I’m recreating from memory. I have about $32 and both villains have me covered. No real reads as neither opponent has been at the table for more than 30 hands, but I don’t recall either getting out of line or playing a ton of hands.>>

Okay, blinds at .25/.50 and I get AhQs

UTG limps
1 fold and I pop it to $2.00
MP calls
Folds back to UTG who calls.

$6.75 in the pot. Flop comes 2 5 J rainbow.

UTG checks.

I bet $5

MP calls, UTG calls. Crap, besides flopping a pair, I thought that was a pretty dry flop.
Not to mention that any attempt at controlling pot size is out the window.

Pot is $21.75. Turn comes the Qh, putting 2 hearts on board. Nice. Here it looks like I drew out on AJ/KJ, although QJ is in the back of my mind. I have about $25 left.

UTG checks.

I’ll stop here. What’s your play on the turn.? Comments on earlier streets?

[jojobinks]

i'd bet half the pot. your hand is good enough to commit, i guess. you're not gonna fold to a bet so you may as well get in there first.

i would often just take a free card on the flop:
1) you have to fold out two players, not just one
2) you put yourself in a position where if the turn comes perfect for you (a queen is much better than an ace, imo), you're basically committed for your stack
3) the ragged board is a 2-edged sword, especially if they're stations. they're gonna call b/c they feel a c-bet is standard and they guess you missed the flop too.

also, raise more preflop, to 2.50 or 3. if you did and got headup, then the c-bet is better, imo.

[TheMightyJim2k]

Originally Posted by jojobinks

i'd bet half the pot. your hand is good enough to commit, i guess. you're not gonna fold to a bet so you may as well get in there first.

i would often just take a free card on the flop:
1) you have to fold out two players, not just one
2) you put yourself in a position where if the turn comes perfect for you (a queen is much better than an ace, imo), you're basically committed for your stack
3) the ragged board is a 2-edged sword, especially if they're stations. they're gonna call b/c they feel a c-bet is standard and they guess you missed the flop too.

also, raise more preflop, to 2.50 or 3. if you did and got headup, then the c-bet is better, imo.

+A, would read again....

[coyote]

Okay, thanks guys. I hadn't thought a whole lot about my PF raise....so your feeling is that with a limper in front of you, any hand you want to bump, you need to make it at least 2.50 to go? (understanding of course that this changes with the # of limpers in front of you)

I'll wait a bit longer to post more of the hand, in case anyone else is interested.

[burnvalley]

I think you have about 3 options:

a. Small Feeler bet to see if you get reraised.
b. Push
c. Check and peel of a possible scary card.

I take b.

You can be out half the bot IMO. Makes you pot commited and at that point you might as well just push.

[jojobinks]

Originally Posted by coyote

Okay, thanks guys. I hadn't thought a whole lot about my PF raise....so your feeling is that with a limper in front of you, any hand you want to bump, you need to make it at least 2.50 to go? (understanding of course that this changes with the # of limpers in front of you)

I'll wait a bit longer to post more of the hand, in case anyone else is interested.

i go 4x + #of limpers, generally. of course there are different reasons to raise...building a pot, for value, et cetera.

in this case, i'm pretty sure we want to isolate, so i'd go at least 2.50

[FL70]

With no legitimate straight or flush draw on the flop, I'd guess UTG hit a set of 2s or 5s - limp-call, check-call, and check.

MP has some piece of the flop and is relying on his position.

In any case, I can't see either of them on a flush draw, so that limits the number of scare cards.

Pushing will amost certainly only get called by hands that beat you.

TPTK isn't all that in this situation. I'd check. If MP bets after you, you essentially get to act last. UTG's play will tell you everything you need to know.

[coyote]

Well,

Pot is $21.75, turn comes Qh.

UTG checks.

I look at the pot, and my remaining stack and decide that any type of turn bet commits me, so I push.

MP thinks for 5-10 seconds then calls. UTG folds.

MP flips 55 and I see that I managed to get all my $$ in dead.

Nice job FL70, you called the set, just in the wrong spot. I agree, top pair isn't "all that" but in this situation am I really betting half the pot and then folding to a raise?? I dunno, I just felt cornered by stack size/pot size.

Not getting it to heads up preflop really cost me. With a smaller pot, it would have played differently and I may have found a fold. Either that or the 55 doesn't call PF and I scoop.

Anyway, this was the second time I'd stacked off to a set of fives. I did it in an earlier hand on the turn with an all diamond, king high flop, I was holding red aces. no diamond on river, see ya.

[jojobinks]

either way you stack off to 55. stacking off to sets is what happens when you also have something. if you bet less (my recommendation), you can still get called by AJ or TT, or whatever other weird hands he may have called with on the flop.

[coyote]

So with this hand, at the turn, it's not about whether or not I'm stacking off, it's about making a bet that at least has a chance to be called by a hand I'm ahead of?