2-5 K9s vs. likely bad player on QJT
Yes, the mini break from poker was at least temporarily ended and we played 2-5 so you get two posts in one day... This one isn't so much what should we do but how much should we do it for...
V1 is a known reg. played a lot vs. him, generally assume he's bad but he's been playing years and he plays tighter preflop at 2-5 than 1-2. He still splits his range a lot preflop though, even at 2-5, with limps/opens (just doesn't limp as wide) ... and does it in mostly in obvious ways where opens are better hands (some "value" limps even as high as AKs, but so much other stuff and mostly raises KK+ and if he limp/raises it's never a bluff).
V2 Sat down 30m-60m ago but keeps leaving the table, was on my direct right and bought the button but then immediately wanted to move to the open seat on my left the next hand as the BB (I mentioned the cost to him and his response was an aggressive "I'll pay to move", but I don't think he realized I meant he could wait a couple of hands and move for free). But he then managed to move immediately and not play the BB, so this is now the first hand he's played in this seat IIRC.
He's played a couple of small hands, but I didn't remember much apart from he seemed loose/passive and generally bad.
Would guess he has around $1k (main V in hand)
V3 calling wide in blinds and BTN
H being aggressive, has about $950 but it was more ... some tiny chance V1 noticed it has gone down since he sat.
OTTH
2-5
folds to V1 who limps in LJ-1
1 fold
H in HJ opens K♠9♠ to 25 (no 3bets, etc. assume I get too many folds postflop HU)
V2 calls in CO
BTN folds
V3 calls in SB
BB folds
Everything going according to plan...
Pot: $105
Flop: QJTr (no spades)
V3 in SB checks quickly
V1 in MP checks quickly
H is thinking about how much to bet as...
V2 obviously thinks it's his action and grabs a bunch of chips and bets $50
H now mentally shrugs and checks letting this action stand
SB folds
MP folds
H raises to $150
V2 snap calls
My assumption at the time was that V was way more likely to have 2+ pair plus given how he'd didn't even think of fold/raising. Some chance he has K9/98 but I don't think he just calls with AK much, if he has it.
Pot: $405
Turn: QJT 2 (pretty sure it was the 2s making it 100% rainbow)
H bets how much? (roughly $750 behind and we are assuming V wants board to pair, but some chance A, K, 9 might be bad too)
9 Replies
I have been coolered with K9 so many times in this spot against slow played AK but I'm still not walking away with this action. I bet small flop multiway hoping to get check raised or multiple callers. Now that the action is messed up I guess it actually benefits us because we remain aggressor on the turn. I probably go 66%-80% pot turn and check call almost all rivers
I like how you played this hand. At SPR of 2 on the turn, you can get all the money in by going ~60% pot twice, so I would just do that ($250 turn $500 river seems easy).
I would be mildly concerned about running into AK here, but still very happy to stack off. Board pairing river would be pretty ugly.
I like it so far, although I'm not thrilled with K9 (used to play it be because I love dogs, so I play Kc9c for fun 😉 ) I go kind of big on the turn. As much as I think he'll call w/ two pair or a set (or, we hope, 98). $250 seems about right.
well he usually has two pair here so just id just bet whatever amount you think he will pay across 2 streets. your hand is pretty face up as a straight but vs some players that doesn't matter and against others it does. obv the more the guy is scared money the smaller you should bet.
250 turn, jam river.
I like 250, jam turn as well. We’re targeting two pair and pair plus straight draw. Villain is a non-believer that we have a straight. We can bet even a little smaller like $230. Bet whatever amount keeps him as a non-believer on the turn and put the rest in on the river.
In spots like these I kind of like betting a small amount of physical chips. Like two black chips, a green and a red. I think visually it makes our hand look weaker than putting two and a half stacks of red into the pot.
In basically any spot looe this youre looking for geometric bet sizing but a little bit front loaded, so maybe $250 ott setting up a $500 river jam into $900 otr. Could go $275/$475 as well.
Also i feel like you defended your pfr with K9s like youre making a loose raise, but GTO raises with as weak as K5s from HJ, its a very standard raise.
Given description of V, I think I'd bet $250 and pray he jams over the top. If he flat calls, we're jamming river on any non board pair.
Alternatively, if we think he's going to bet his 2P for value and protection, I might go for a check-jam.
I'd have liked a larger check raise size. You make it 6x on the flop, and we can just play a two street game by jamming turn.
Reveal:
Spoiler
Maybe an opposite fail to the last post, where I check/called turn and check river...
Given V's desire to bet flop and then snap call the x/r, I assumed he had something he thought of as strong or a good draw ... like QJ and maybe even JJ/TT.
So while the obvious 250-350 bet immediately popped into my mind on the brick I then thought "well he's not calling any amount on brick rivers with draws, and bad players love two pair and I've got a polarized range OOP ... so why not 400" which might have worked, but then I thought "eh, if 400 is good why not a nice round 500"
So I bet 500 and he was obviously surprised the bet was that big, asked for a count multiple times looked at how much of his stack it was and eventually folded after about a minute. He said he had AQ and pretty much snap left for a table change.
So pretty much the worst possible outcome.
Also, after he left, a couple of bad/mid regs at the table immediately asked what I had and commented that I never have AK/K9 there because I bet too much. And to be fair I assume I get called for 300 near 100% of the time.
