Only 8th hand in, no big read on capetown. DummLuck06 was an absolute donk, had been evident from several hands.

Full Tilt Poker Game #724716472: $5 + $0.50 Sit & Go (4787640), Table 1 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:33:27 ET - 2006/06/18
Seat 1: capetown (1,440)
Seat 2: DummLuck06 (1,065)
Seat 3: thoroughbred01 (1,455)
Seat 4: BIOrizzak (1,455)
Seat 5: HangukMiguk (1,515)
Seat 6: digs50 (1,410)
Seat 7: warezio (1,440)
Seat 8: bigD40 (2,835)
Seat 9: enz1986 (885)
warezio posts the small blind of 15
bigD40 posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HangukMiguk [Tc Th]
enz1986 folds
capetown raises to 100
DummLuck06 has 15 seconds left to act
DummLuck06 calls 100
thoroughbred01 folds
BIOrizzak folds
HangukMiguk calls 100
digs50 folds
warezio folds
bigD40 folds
*** FLOP *** [Jh Jd 8d]
capetown has 15 seconds left to act
capetown bets 100
DummLuck06 folds
HangukMiguk calls 100
*** TURN *** [Jh Jd 8d] [8h]
capetown checks
HangukMiguk checks
*** RIVER *** [Jh Jd 8d 8h] [3c]
capetown checks
HangukMiguk checks

My general feel was that capetown had overs, most likely AK, AQ. Didn't feel a bet was good regardless, just in case he had a jack, and i was no good. But I felt he had to have an ace, and almost felt like that was it.

Should I have even been in the hand PF? I know it's kind of iffy to be in this hand with UTG+1 making a raise, but with a donk in there who would pretty much jam with nothing, that a call was decent. Probably not though, but I just wanted to get a general concensus.

I don't mind the PF call. I like to speculate some early in SNGs looking to take down a big pot occassionally.

As for the rest ... I'd like to value bet the river. I think A high is calling 200 a lot. Villain has looked pretty passive so far so I don't much fear a re-raise. If he's slow playing a J he's an idiot.

I reraise PF to 250-300. If he comes over the top all in I muck. Flop I jam.

Don't have a problem with how you played it. I probably raise the turn. As someone previously stated, I probably bet the river hoping he calls with his Ace high.

with 2 limpers why only raise to 2.5xBB-3xBB

400-450 is better

raise the flop

Now come a river bet, what bet would most represent a bluff, or most likely be called off, or raised by an opponent? Remember, we have no clear reads. He had been limping into pots prior to this, so he probably has a high/medium pair, or an Ace with a big kicker here.


Note: yes, he did have AK, which was what I figured.

Very passive hand. I would have bet the river.

I'm trying to define his hand. I don't care if they call with overs or whatever I'm confident in my play. If they don't come over the top of me I'm going at the flop strong with a non-threatening board such as this. If they do manage to not reraise with something JJ+ I'm going to lose all of my chips, which is fine with me.

how will you define villians hand

hes calling with pretty much any 2 if you raise that small

Correct, except QQ-AA hes coming back over the top almost always and most probably with JJ as well. Now we know that our 1010 was good PF, and proceed to flop play. 1010 is a solid hand, getting a caller isn't bad.

Now you also agreed to raise PF but advocate to 400-450. We have 1500 chips, if we raise to 400 and Villain pushes in over the top it's only 600 more, and we have to call. Because of the raise to 400-450 we price ourselves into calling off for 2/3 of our chips. This isn't a great situation, but I like it better than just calling behind the raise.

You cant raise before the flop because it gives no value - play a TT like 22 preflop with the exception of calling medium size all ins (another topic entirely).

I call preflop, then play the hand the same as you did. You can argue either way for betting the river, i personally wouldnt 60-70% of the time but it comes down to personal feel and style whether you should do it.

I like the call preflop. If we hit a 10, we get paid off because early in these 5 dollar SNGs, people love to overplay top pair with any kicker. Plus his raise from 2P might not signify the strength you assume because of his position b/c it is a 5 dollar SNG, so keep that in mind that we might be best here.

Often raises early in these things are usually hands like A9o or KQ (Hell, I've even seen someone raise with Ks3s from UTG once )

JhJd8d (raiser bets 100, one fold, you call)

I like the call on the JdJh8d flop. Most of the time when there are trips on the board, thats a good sign that no one has one. His bet of 100 into a T345 pot is a classic "I have AK/AQ and just missed" continuation bet. He might have AJ and suckering you in, but most of the time this is a "I just missed" bet.

Turn 8h (check, check)

This is where I think you made a mistake. When it is checked to you here, I think you must bet. There is a straight draw (although 109 is unlikely, but you never know) and more importantly, a flush draw there. Him having A-x of diamonds is a likely holding here. Overcards on the river not only beat you, but also present a bluffing opportunity to him that you will be hard pressed to call. By betting, you find out if he has a Jack.

If he has AdKd, KdQd, or AdQd, he has 15 outs to beat you. He also has a hand that will call a pot sized bet, so get in there and maximize your value. Even if his overcards arn't suited, he might call a bet of 3/4th of the pot trying to catch.

The turn is where NL Hold Em hands are won or lost. By giving a free card, you got very lucky here that he missed. You also missed an opportunity to make an extra bet on the turn and/or river.

Checking down on the river is an OK play, but since we have position, you can again make a little more by betting on the end, something like 1/3 of the pot.

Making money with marginal holdings is what separates the good players who win and the players who play too tight and bubble.