cheetaking
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009, 10:39 AM
QUOTE (gobears @ Tuesday, April 7th, 2009, 5:25 PM)

Yes, sometimes I wonder what I'm doing at the table as I flatted instead hoping that the MP had hit his flush and would raise behind. Instead MP just called so we go to the river.
Pot $44.50
River is of course the Qs which puts 955QQ on the board.
SB leads for $7, Do I just call or do I raise here? If I raise, am I calling a R/R?
SB has bet every street out-of-position, so I really doubt that queen helped him. I'm putting him on either something like A/5, or a donked up overpair. It's almost certain that you've got him beat. If he was the only player you were against, I would say stick in a mini re-raise, which should incite a call from a lower boat.
However, since there are 2 players in the hand, MP has flat-called twice, and he seems to be quite loose, you have to be genuinely worried about him. Because you didn't stick in a raise on either of the two earlier streets, you have almost no info on him. Him having a queen seems like a genuine possibility, since a loose player often calls with nothing but overcards on a low board. And if he did hit the queen, that would certainly justify his call on the turn. He could also have a flush, although I think he probably would have raised the turn with it. Or maybe he's the one with the trip 5's. You just don't know.
With that in mind, I think you have 2 legitimate options: either flat call, or stick in a minimum raise. Here is why both are viable, and how you should respond to the action in each:
1. Flat call - this will entice MP to call as well, maybe even with just a flush or a pocket pair, and if he does just call, it's a virtual guarantee that you've got both of them beat, and you take down a nice pot. If he raises, you can assume that you're probably beat, but should still call if the bet's small enough.
2. Minimum raise - this would be viewed an odd play, but it should still be small to potentially entice an A/5 or an overpair to call you because they'll be curious. This will also give you 100% assurance that you're beat if someone re-raises you. If they do, drop it and don't think twice.
DON'T: stick in a medium or big raise. You won't get any more information from a bigger raise, and nobody's folding a hand that's better than yours to this bet, so all you'll be doing is throwing more money away if someone has the queen. Also, while a 5 or a flush or an overpair might call your mini-raise, they'll drop in an instant to a bigger one in this situation.
Now, with all of that said, you definitely should have raised on the turn. I can understand slow-playing the flop, but the turn is like a perfect card for you. So definitely raise. Almost every hand that could get there just got there, and you're getting called with a ton of hands that are basically drawing dead. Everything from flushes to trip 5's to a pair of queens will call you there, given the players' VPIP's. Bet it!