Ok gang, following scenario...


3 limpers preflop, I complete in the SB with Ah 4d, flops comes out 2h 3d 5c, not a bad flop. I check UTG bets $10.5 which is called by 2 other players, I check-raise it up to $100 and everyone folds. Good play? Dumb play? I had $200 more than any other player in the hand. I probably should've just called on the flop and check-raised the turn, but if a 4 came up, I'm probably looking at a split pot. Advice and people telling me how much I suck is always welcome.

Bet out at it, represent the overpair.

Um not quite sure what this means.

If you want paid u raise flop to 40 bucks and get 1 caller.

Nothing wrong with that play at all. You want to get sucked out on by hands such ace 5? There was already almost $40 in the pot. 8)

wow i dunno how many ppl will tell you you need to raise that much. you don't.

we aren't going to be sucked out every hand ppl. this is a rain bow flop. there are only 6 outs that will really kill our action an ace or a 4, and a few gutshots.

with no flush draw I'm not against a smooth call here. If someone has a set most will stick with it regardless and we are giving them a "free" card here.

With a $10 bet and two callers, I will either raise to $35 - $40, and act accordingly on the turn. or smooth calls.

Say a brick comes offon the turn, but also a good card, maybe the K or something. I will go for the c/r here and be willing to gamble with someone else with a gutshot or oesd with one to come.

also depending on how agg your table is, i would lead on the flop/turn, or maybe lead flop and c/r turn. check calling can give your hand away to good oponents who know how you play, but otherwise i think there are a lot of different ways to play your hand.

i don't like the big overbet here at all. if you are that afraid of being outdrawn...well i dunno, i really don't think you needed to push $100 in on the flop. espicially cause you said you had over $200 more than any other...other chip stacks would help...but i think you could have played this hand diff/better.

good luck.

- Jordan

I pretty much agree with Jordan.

Smooth call here, and make a move on the turn when a safe card comes. If you want to raise, 30-35 looks good enough for medium overpairs/sets and anyone with a 5/high kicker to call. I don't mind either play, but it is very unlikely that any card on the turn is going to beat you, you can afford to call here.

A smooth call on the flop and a check on the turn is giving your opponents every opportunity to win the hand.

My post about getting sucked out on was sarcastic, but I disagree with allowing lesser hands cheap opportunities to improve and possibly beat us. The monster hands that are going to call a $40 raise will also call a $100 raise, and IMO are more likely to do just that (call the bigger raise) as it looks like a scared bet. Maybe my thinking is skewered towards the smaller stakes that I am accustomed to, compared to the higher stakes that others pay at... :?

well, i lead the flop most of the time here.

and then i check to turn. most opponents will be the turn, not always.

but if i feel i need to guard my hand i will lead again. again, i don't feel the $100 raise is neccesary. cause frankly it isn't.

if I do go for the c/r I will raise to around $35 - $40, when the turn comes I again will put out a bet.

this hand isn't one of the hands that should have only 2 rounds of betting (being the flop/preflop) I'd take a gamble in getting more money in on the turn, then killing all my action on the flop.

edit:: and the reason I lead here on the flop is cause i lead almost every pot im in when i hit part of it. im always firing so a good thing for me in nl games is that its hard to know when i have a monster or im just putting out another bet to try and take it down. i dont know how to OP plays, nor how his opponents view him, so it's hard to say exactly the "best" way to play this hand...but still, the raise to $100 is not neccessary.

- Jordan

thanks everyone for the replies...I was a bit gunshy and had been running bad earlier, when this hand came up, I thought, "How can I lose this one?" So I decided to overbet the pot, and if they call...well then they call. In retrospect/future, I really like the advice I was given. A smaller checkraise was certainly in order, I don't really like going for a checkraise on the turn because I feel a turn bet might intice someone to read me for trying to steal and therefore raise me. Plus I really don't want to give a free card, my hand is strong, though far from unbeatable. If I get sucked out on...well I always wanted a new monitor...