2-3 Preflop Spot
Got into an interesting spot last night in the 2-3 game which is normally the biggest game in the room with only 1 table going on the weekdays.
Straddle is on button for $10 and we are 7 handed right now.
Loose, not very good player opens from SB acting first to $25 and he has about a $200 stack.
BB calls, UTG+1 who is a loose reg who plays literally every day (not sure if hes somewhat a pro or what) just calls, folds to hero who has KQs.
Thought about just calling and raising as options. With SB being loose and short stacked i decide to raise because I dont mind being all in with him with this hand.
Hero 3bets to $150. Folds to SB opener who calls (leaving himself like 40-50 lol).
BB folds, UTG +1 now backjams for another $365. Needless to say I was surprised. I have not seen him make this move before and I've played with him a lot since hes always there and he typically gets out of the way when I 3bet because he has only seen me 3bet premiums large like this.
Am I supposed to call this off? I went into the tank for a while. Im really worried about being dominated by AK/AQs. Maybe w all the money in the pot I just have to call, but I dont know.
Surprise, surprise.
Don't feel too bad. These are tough spots to navigate. Normally we are never going to stack off with KQs in a cash game playing at normal depths. But having played long enough in Texas, I have been in enough odd spots like the one you described and went back ran equities later to have an idea of what we need to call off with.
I play in Florida, these games play just like the Texas games so yea my initial thought like you was that i had enough equity but i didnt want to take the risk which means i let emotion affect my thinking. But now i know for next time
Just read the reveal, but honest enough to admit I probably wouldn't call off here.
The BTN straddle seems to create these wonky ranges / lines for EP players, with more back-raising.
If UTG+1 is a decent reg, he's probably not back-4B-jamming very often with a hand much worse than KQs when the SB opens for a raise and then calls your 3B, leaving himself only 40-50 behind.
You MIGHT have been flipping against a PP lower than QQ, but I don't see decent regs taking this line with small and middling
UTG +1 is a decent reg and after thinking about this more and based on Mlarks comments I actually think the fact that hes a decent reg skews his range more toward middling hands and gives him less premiums and hands that have us dominated.
Reason is because he would never flat after an open and call with premium hands. Ive literally never seen him do it, he always 3bets. When he flats here hes going to have stuff like small and mid pocket pairs, JTs and similar, and smaller suited aces. I know for a fact he 3bets AJs/ATs here.
When I 3bet here he saw an opportunity to make a play to go heads up w the loose guy for a coin flip w something like 99 with a bunch of dead money is what happened.
If i could play the spot again i wouldve just flatted the open and not put myself in this position where calling off is the right play but it sucks.
I played a very similar hand yesterday where i was in the UTG straddle. I hate the button straddle bc blinds have to act first and it forces them to play way too tight for my liking. I woke up w exactly KQs again lol. 6 of 7 players completed to $10. I thought about bumping it to 90 or 100 but i have seen multiple people on this table limp and then still call huge opens so I didnt want to play a massive pot oop multiway w this hand where im gonna have to check fold a lot or open myself up to another backjam.
So hero checked, made 2nd pair on A Q 9 and folded. No harm done
