B2P, unraised pot, super dynamic flop
Not sure if there's a better way to play this but...
Early in a $50 WSOPC Series MTT on GG Ontario.
GGPoker, Hold'em No Limit - 80/160 (20 ante) - 8 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
UTG: 10,092 (63 bb)
UTG+1: 8,370 (52 bb)
MP: 9,001 (56 bb)
MP+1: 9,944 (62 bb)
CO: 8,149 (51 bb)
BU: 11,668 (73 bb)
SB (Hero): 10,309 (64 bb)
BB: 9,940 (62 bb)
Pre-Flop: (400) Hero is SB with 7♣ 6♣
1 fold, UTG+1 calls 160, MP calls 160, 1 fold, CO calls 160, 1 fold, Hero calls 80, BB checks
Flop: (960) 8♠ 7♥ 6♠ (5 players)
Hero bets 960, 2 players fold, MP calls 960, CO raises to 2,240, Hero calls 1,280, MP folds
I don't like screwing around with bottom 2 on such a dynamic flop, so I decide to go big. Lots of turn cards I don't want to see but I want to get full value from all worse hands. The raise came out of nowhere. I don't see villain limping pre with overpairs (maybe 99) and I block two of the sets, but 88, T9s, and even 54s are definitely in his range. I suppose even 87s and 86s, though I block those a bit. Hard to envision villain raising with draws here but maybe with big combo draws?
Turn: (6,400) 2♠ (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks
If he was raising combo draws he wouldn't check behind with the flush, so looking more like a hand that now doesn't like the flush card.
River: (6,400) T♦ (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets 2,080, SB (Hero) folds
Hard to see how the T improves him given the assumptions I made, unless he raised flop with 99 or a hand like 98. Seems more likely that he had a strong hand on the flop, got scared by the turn flush card, and now realizes I don't have the flush when I check river. The question is, does he play any hands I beat like this?
6 Replies
I think I'd prefer trying for a check raise here on the flop. You wanted to go bigger, this is the way to do it. Someone is going to hit this board.
As played, it' hard to imagine us winning on the river. Maybe a strangely played A8?
This spot is just so hard to find bluffs.
I think I'd prefer trying for a check raise here on the flop. You wanted to go bigger, this is the way to do it. Someone is going to hit this board.
As played, it' hard to imagine us winning on the river. Maybe a strangely played A8?
This spot is just so hard to find bluffs.
It's an unraised pot so I'd worry that the risk of it getting checked through outweighs the benefit of getting the x/r in when someone bets.
I loathe unraised pots. They so often leave us in these puke spots.
That being said, this one’s hard to avoid and the flop action is hard to range.
My thoughts are along the lines of sets straights and AXss where X can be the 5 or 9, it could also be As5/9x both of which can raise with some very small frequency.
Given the sizing on the flop I’m leaning toward a set which checks the flush completing turn and assumes you don’t have the flush so bets river.
Feels very much like a fold.
I’m checking this flop in an unraised pot OOP btw.
Agree with pops here. Unraised multiway pots leave lots of undefined hands.
First, I think there is merit here to run a squeeze preflop from SB. This play depends heavily on how sticky we think the limpers are. But even if we get called we have a hand that still has playability if we have a caller or two.
Second, I think there's two ways to play it here -- fast like OP.
Or, my preference, on this soaking wet board OOP multiway with undefined hands is retreat into check call mode and seriously under rep our hand. We then get the benefit of escaping with minimal damage when the action gets too hot. We really don't like many runouts that don't bink a 6 or 7 for us.
As played, I'm mucking river pretty fast -- literally every draw got there. And I would not discount a flush here heads up as players can try to get tricky in these spots.
I really don't know about this whole check flop idea. The only thing worse than an unraised multiway pot on the flop with such a dynamic board is having everyone get a free turn card. I mean in hindsight CO probably bets and I can follow with a x/r, but things could have gone very differently even if it doesn't get checked through. Imagine MP leads and then CO raises, and I'm sitting there with my B2P and MP still to act behind me...
Raising pre is an interesting thought but I would have to go pretty big with a hand that can be tough to play OOP.
Flop lead is fine but should be much smaller, half pot or less
Easy fold to villain flop raise
