Absolute Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.10/$0.25
6 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
DonkSlayer: $23.55
BB: $42.85

Pre-flop: (6 players) DonkSlayer is SB with xx
4 folds, DonkSlayer raises to $1, BB calls.

Flop: ($2, 2 players)
DonkSlayer bets $1.4, BB calls.

Turn: ($4.8, 2 players)
DonkSlayer checks, BB bets $2.5, DonkSlayer calls.

River: ($9.8, 2 players)
DonkSlayer checks, BB bets $3.75, DonkSlayer calls.

Results:
Final pot: $17.3

Well...

-You raised from the small blind. That could be perceived as a steal attempt or true strength
-You stayed in to showdown, which shows that you did have a hand worth going that far.
-However, you played it very passively after the flop. You probably wanted to end the hand right there and take the pot since you made a fairly large bet on the flop.

I'm excluding KJ, JJ, KK, and AK from your possible hand range. You would have played those more aggressively. My guess is that you probably flopped top pair, but that you have a marginal kicker. It is possible for you to have KQ. But I think you have something like K9.

set of 6s?

play after turn doesnt make sense now that I think about it.... but I stand by my guess!!

wow. i followed the exact same path to the exact same destination. QQ may also make sense depending on the table dynamics.

i concur

i'm going with qj or aj...qj

Me too.

Whoever said set of 6's is crazy. Why would he smooth call the turn and river when only a higher set beats him? That would be some weak poker.

yeah, i'm going with AJ/QJ as well.
SHed and with possibly an OESD, flush draw, or weaker J capable of calling the flop bet, i think hero typically continues betting the turn with QQ or Kx for hand protection/greater visibility. with mid-pair, top/2nd kicker, hero wants to get to showdown very cheaply if possible (since such a hand is good often enough SHed), but isn't so enamored with the hand that he worries about protecting it or possibly getting blown off the hand by displaying weakness.

I have no idea where everyone's getting a pair from. This is ace high... possibly backed into the 8.

VILLAIN SHOWED K-Q

More hints:

I played this hand alternatively to a straightforward line because my read was that the villain indeed had a strong J or K after he called my flop bet.

When I let you know what I had, 75% of you will hate my turn play, regardless of how dead-on my read was.

So, how about now?

truthfully

i've lost interest in the guessing game =/ Just tell us

Haha. A few more and then I'll spill it.

A8

AA....?

AA

Ding Ding. Again, a few of you will take issue with this, but here's my thinking:

Villain was a pretty straightforward TAG.

I hadn't necessarily been raising much from the sb, so when he called I said "oo" thinking he hadn't just called me with two random spades. I'm going to pop the flop regardless because, hey, that's what I do.

I thought that the Villain played this as well as he could've. I bet my usual 3/4 of the pot after having raised preflop, and he flat-called. I knew he had a good K or AJ at this point. KJ was a definite possibility, so I figured that if my read was on, I was going to lose money if I was raising and he DID have KJ, and would get a fair amount from him if it was AK/KQ/K10 by simply calling him down.

From Scott's comments, this guy could've been a good player and completely misread my hand for something weak like A-high or a J. I thought his bets were great; enough for me to be satisfied enough not to raise with AA or junk 2-pair, but small enough to gain value bets from me holding an underpair, ace-high, or AJ.

I think any criticism that will come at my play in this hand would be for dismissing spades so quickly or thinking KJ was very close to what the villain had, but my read was my read, and it was right-on in this instance.

you're right. I don't like this hand at all, lol

You definitely fooled a lot of us, so theoretically you won because we didn't pin you on pocket aces.

but...

monetarily, not really. At .10/.25, I'd build the pot bigger and hope to make more off my aces, preferably to stack him.

If your read is that he has a K or a J you should be betting at least the river.

You say your read was spot on, but look how much value you lost on that river. You can bet $9 and get a call there easily

Well, I personally only raise from the SB with a pretty strong pair, so I'm going to guess QQ. I have a hard time seeing you (or anyone on earth) play JJ or KK this way and unless you have an incredibly strong read on your opponent, I don't know why you're not raising with AA.

Soooooo, QQ.

Donk bet river.

You had two jokers.

What about if the Villain had KJ?

I dunno man... only 1 out of 4 Kx hands strong enough to call you down is ahead here, and often it's likely to just pop you on the flop. the other three call bigger bets than the ones villain made on the turn and river. i think you have a comparatively bigger EV with this line only if:

1) villain decides to slowplay KJ until the turn more often than not
2) you bet 3/4 on turn again, and slowplayed KJ properly raises to about 3x your bet (instead of something silly like minraise) - this raise should be big enough that calling it commits us so we are put to a fold/push decision
3) we cannot get away and push
4) villain never holds spades - or if he does, does not play them this way (i.e. is way more likely to semibluff flop than passively call)

assumption #4 is what troubles me the most - you say you went with your read, but this is online, i don't see any reasoning behind this read other than "gut" feeling. live, that kind of "feeling" makes more sense to me.

a little bit more background on the villain that makes it much more likely that he fits into the assumptions above, and i like keeping the pot small here. otherwise, i think we are losing value by playing this as if we are against a worst case hand.

You're a smart guy, Nomad. I held 1 thru 4 as true in this particular hand, and that's why I think my line was probably best. Your point about #4 is well-taken, though.

i like it when i pick up a really big hand, have the opportunity to stack someone off and then don't.