pocket pair plays

[wisky_VI 0]

As always without flopping a set small to medium pocket pairs are tricky, though less so in heads up action. Any thoughts on the below hand ?Hand 45564916, Started at 1/26/06 6:17 AMTable 'Red000´s HE': $2-$2 No Limit HE (Real)Seat 4: wisky_VI ($61.60 in chips) (on the button)Seat 7:villain ($32.80 in chips) Dealt to wisky_VI: 8d8swisky_VI : Post Blind ($1)villain : Post Blind ($2)wisky_VI : Bet ($4 villain: Call ($3)*** Flop *** : 6h 9c Ah villain : Bet ($6)wisky_VI : Call ($6)*** Turn *** : [ 6h 9c Ah ] 7d villain: Checkwisky_VI : Check*** River *** : [ 6h 9c Ah 7d ] 10c villain: Checkwisky_VI : Bet ($11)villain : FoldWas I too weak just calling the flop bet ? Free card on the turn seemed solid to me. On River I sorta wish I would have overbet rather than value bet...I hit a great river card but some feedback leading up to that would be helpfull both in regards to ring games and HU.

[RhinestoneCowboy 2]

In a ring game, I am most likely not raising with 88 unless I am in late position with less than 2 limpers.The flop bet HU is ok, but what do you plan on doing if he fires after the turn??

[wisky_VI 0]

most likely 2-1 odds or better and I call. I had some knowledge of this player which made things 'easier'.

[ForKeeps 0]

In a ring game, I am most likely not raising with 88 unless I am in late position with less than 2 limpers.The flop bet HU is ok, but what do you plan on doing if he fires after the turn??

I agree. You're lucky he was only on a heart draw, and you should've popped him on the turn when he checked so he didn't hit a higher river card and decide to call you.

[CrackofmyACE_FTP 0]

So you played theredpill99 head up eh? Was he any good, or does his play reflect his personality?

[wisky_VI 0]

can I plead the 5th ???

[AlphaOmega 0]

The mini-bet before the flop is kinda bad. Even if it's just HU you want to build a pot so that you can exploit your positional advantage with a strong hand HU.Many people have a set number that they like to raise to when on the button, but I generally will put in a raise of 2.5-3 times the BB almost 80-90 percent of the time.There is no way you can justify your flop call without reads. There is no way we can discern if your turn check was good without specific reads of the opponent. Against some opponents, it's good to bet here because you can knock them off a pair of nines. Against some, it's better to check because his betting pattern could indicate a possible check/raise. Against a standard villain, I would bet because you could have the best hand (villain could be on a heart draw), it builds the pot which could force villain to call with a more marginal holding on the river (thus giving you value) when you hit your OESD, and it adds a little to our implied odds because I doubt villain would put you on that hand if you bet the turn.It's also good for metagame purposes in making us less predictable/readable. This will generally lead to the villain becoming MORE predictable, since they likely won't come to the turn as often unless they have a real hand.