** Game ID 519398439 starting - 2005-09-30 03:17:52
** Shkoder [Hold 'em] (0.50|1.00 No Limit - Cash Game) Real Money

- Globbert sitting in seat 1 with $74.19
- yougotbluffd sitting in seat 2 with $36.50
- Binbs sitting in seat 3 with $95.30
- englandone sitting in seat 4 with $106.13
- pappersplan sitting in seat 5 with $85.90
- DrBuse sitting in seat 6 with $90.07 [Dealer]

Globbert posted the small blind - $0.50
yougotbluffd posted the big blind - $1.00
** Dealing card to Binbs: Jack , Ace
Binbs called - $1.00
englandone raised - $2.00
pappersplan folded
DrBuse called - $2.00
Globbert called - $2.00
yougotbluffd folded
Binbs called - $2.00

** Dealing the flop: 8 , 2 , Jack
Globbert checked
Binbs bet - $7.00
englandone called - $7.00
DrBuse folded
Globbert folded

** Dealing the turn: Ace
Binbs bet - $8.00
englandone raised - $16.00
Binbs called - $16.00

** Dealing the river: 4
Binbs checked
englandone bet - $40.30

it might not be correct, but i'd probably pay this off... short stacked players tend to defend their gay one-over raises to the end.

I don't like such a small bet on the turn, but since you made it, I'm either re-raising the turn or leading the river. Top 2 on that board is way stronger than you played it.

Preflop: I don't like open limping with AJ here in a six handed game. You should be coming in for a raise. Open limping is generally never the right play.

Flop, I like that you lead right into the preflop raiser, gains you a lot of information on your hand. BTW, I really hate the mini raise so I hope you took this villian down. Well, I hate using it myself, but I love villians that do because you get to see so many flops with great speculative hands against these villians that will then overplay their hands postflop. Anyway...

When I'm in these situations, you gotta put your opponent on a hand. But I don't really know anything about your table, so its all just going to be general. Would this type of opponent mini raise with a strong hand like QQ through AA and then just flat call on the flop. This is an excellent flop to slow play for him to see how you act on the turn, since he does have position. So I could see him sitting on Kings or queens and waiting for the turn to raise. If the flop was more coordinated, I would almost take him off these strong hands because you would think he would protect his hand if there was a flush draw or more obvious straight draws out.

Seeing how villian was laying to create a trap you would almost think he's on a set of jacks or maybe even a lower set that he decided to mini raise. However, like I said before, its very feasable to put him on KK or QQ, even KJ and a stubborn donkey would still be holding AK or AQ.

All in all, at first I wanted to see you get all your money in on the turn, but I'm not really worried about any of his hands catching up, he can't have two clubs in his hand, its very unlikely. Its also unlikely he picked up a straight draw with that ace, except for if he called two overs, KQ on the flop and got stubborn with that hand too, even there, that's only 4 outs, which is the most I will give him with one card to come here.

If he's a frequent bluffer, you played it solid. You keep the pot smaller by just calling on the turn, so you probably wouldn't have to pay off a large bet on the river, ie, you wouldn't have to pay off a set more than you would if you pushed back on the turn. Plus, you give him the opportunity to keep up his bluff. He saw your bet on the flop, the jack, so he either hit the ace and will bet it for you, or might use the overcard on the turn and the three flush on the river to try and bluff you.

In sum, I think the turn is more of a wa/wb situation and just calling the mini raise there is fine.

You need to call the river bet.


--sorry if most of my post was all over the place, obviously the thought process during the hand is much quicker, but I just tried to explain in longer version what kinda things would quickly pop up in my mind during this hand.

Seeing as this is the second time in which you, Binbs, have posted hands involving AJos I will address my reply to both posts. Beginning with this one, your call preflop is questionable, but not wrong. AJ is not a huge hand and has a great potential to lose money to hands that have you dominated. Nevertheless, when you hit a beautiful J high board, you must bet it, and you did, nice work! On the turn you hit your miracle card, the glorious ace. Now you can beat a variety of hands that made the silly preflop minraise: AK, AQ, ATs, KK, QQ.

So, you got minraised on the turn, the card you liked the most. There is no but to this statement. Your hand improved greatly, top two with a clean board! I suggest reraising, you all aren't so deep stacked that an allin is not in order.

There is a time in NL cash games where one must say, can I go bust on this hand right now. Such circumstances could be when you limped with JTs and hit three tens. Depending on the deep -stackedness, it is unprofitable to fold period. Another would be if you have AK on a draw heavy AK5 board and are being pressured. Finally there are situations like yours. where you have acquired a monster of a hand from what was a somewhat marginal holding. In this hand, even if you imagine he might have a set, you must bust. Indeed you ought to have bet out the river if not reraising the turn, what has changed? He made the smallest raise possible, sometimes this siginifies a monster but many times it is a cheap bluff. If he flips over a set, boo hoo, you were unfortunate, but many times he will not, and in this case that possibility is too likely to occur.

In response to your folding of the AJ with a JJxx board no flushes on the turn for a big raise I say no sir. You must forgive yourself sometimes for losing all your stack with a monster. You don't get many, and folding them is not a great way to make money. Many times online it is not the issue of whether you are beat this time, but whether most of the time you are beat, and in both cases here the great majority of occurences have you dominating opponents.

In saying that you must bust sometimes I don't mean to infer that one should not be careful. I, myself have been consistently winning at .50/1 and 1/2 and attribute it to my ablity to avoid busting. But there are select situations when your hand is just too big to lay down, so dont! Have some balls, this is no-limit!
good luck

Very good post.

You do have to bust. Every session that you play, for instance if you play like a 1,000 hand session, you will inevitably have a big hand that you lose a full buy in to a bigger hand. There is no way around it.

Which will lead me to my quick point, this is exactly why most of nolimit and any poker for that manner, atleast at these stakes online, is money management. Im sure at any stakes, but I just like to make points from my own perspective.

It should be easy for you to get all your money in on this hand, you may drop a whole buy in, but that won't phase you because you should have the bankroll to back it up and rebuy and keep playing. No fear at the poker tables, yet, with the ability to make big laydowns at the right time. This isn't one of those times. When he flips over bottom set, click rebuy and keep playing 100% perfect poker. When he flips over a lower two pair, a tptk, or a complete bluff or just something silly, then rake in the chips, and do the same thing as if you lost the hand, keep playing 100% perfect poker.

GL at the tables.