Do you just call 88 OTB three-way?
1/2. Rake/promo/tip is 6+3+2 to 60.
V1 (covers) over five orbits has a preflop mix of limps and raises, a RFI/VPIP/3B around 28/17/0. He has called three open-raises in position.
V2 (50) bought in for 100 twenty minutes earlier. It's probably the first time he has played poker in a casino. He is tanking preflop. His VPIP is 45. He has not yet open-bet.
OTTH
UTG Limp. V1 opens 12 in UTG+1. V2 in CO calls. Hero OTB with black 88. Hero?
8 Replies
Call with most stack sizes.
I think call is fine here. Sounds like V1's UTG1 iso range is stronger than most, so I wouldn't want to 3b and I wouldn't fold without a better reason.
I think its a straightforward flat. We aren't exactly happy if we 3! V1 calls and even if V1 folds we're essentially all in with V2 flipping against a lot of hands.
Post flop, if we hit, we could be in a super premium situation where V1 bets, V2 ends up all in and we can min-click to build a side pot that will make it super hard for V1 to get away from any reasonable holding. We can pretty easily structure our betting so that V1 feels priced in to get it all in by the river because of V2s money. If we miss, sometimes we get lucky and they do to so we can check it down and win against V1's Ax.
Calling is fine.
Raising would also be fine, depending on a lot of variables - stack depth, reads on our opponents, how we're ranging them, table dynamics, our post-flop skill edge, etc.
When the rake is high, I'm more likely to want to raise.
Here, I'd think we're probably not ahead of V1's range, but our hand benefits from getting him to fold a hand like TT or 99, or just getting value from un-paired over-cards we'd be flipping against, so a 3B is tempting.
On the other hand, I'd have no idea if we're ahead of V2's range, or if he has a fold button if we raise enough to put him all in for his last $50 after he calls the $12. Do not think me shocked if he double-flats with 99-QQ or ace-rag.
I'm pretty indifferent to $50 wagers in spots like this at 1/3. I might raise it up to $50 and not lose sleep over the results. The elation of having V1 lose his mind after he folds what would have been the winning hand, and stacking the shorty (who'll hopefully leave so someone can sit down with more than $100) would add enough emotional EV to make the 3B worth more to me.
This hand is better to flat with. Play it multiway for a set and with position. If you 3!, you won't know where you are at on most flops and you won't make many draws to semibluff with.
I'm pretty indifferent to $50 wagers in spots like this at 1/3. I might raise it up to $50 and not lose sleep over the results. The elation of having V1 lose his mind after he folds what would have been the winning hand, and stacking the shorty (who'll hopefully leave so someone can sit down with more than $100) would add enough emotional EV to make the 3B worth more to me.
I don't think the worry is over the $50, the worry is if we 3! and V1 just jams. We're basically playing H/U vs V1, an opponent who doesn't open raise often. We have position, I'd much rather see a flop and see how V1 responds as the PFR because players like this will often play hands like AK/AQ passively post flop when they miss but might jam pre-flop. And we have the potential to cooler his QQ+ if we hit a set. All hands that we lose $50 to if we 3!/fold. We should be able to navigate post flop fairly easily, so seeing a flop is beneficial for us.
