I know that this forum is not for $1/$2 NLH, but since I'm only at the silver level on pokerstrategy.com, I can't post this hand where I should. I play at NL2 online, but my live play bankroll is much healthier so I can justify the $1/$2 stakes when I play live.
The following is, in my opinion one of my best hands ever with respect to how well I played the hand through the turn. However, I mad a crucial mistake on the river that cost me a lot of money. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on my play.
Small Blind: ?? ($1 in pot)
Big Blind: ?? ($2 in pot)
Under the Gun: ?? Straddle ($4 in pot)
Position 4: ?? Fold
Villain 1 in position 5: ?? Call $4
Villain 2 in position 6: ?? Call $4
Hero in position 7: Qc Tc - raise to $16
I have a very tight image. I have not played a hand for
approximately 3 complete rounds and have not turned over anything but premium hands at showdown after several hours of play so the rest of the table has been giving me a hard time for it so I know that they have all noticed that I'm playing very tight. I'm confident that a raise will likely win me the pot or at a minimum, buy me the button. I bought into this $1/$2
game for $400 (max buy-in) and now have just over $500 in front of me.
I'm confident in my ability to outplay almost everyone at the table. At
this point I have the initiative.
Position 8: fold
Position 9: fold
SB folds
BB folds
UTG folds
Pot - $55 with 3 players. I'm in position.
Flop: 5d Qs Ad
Villain 1 donk bets $40 stealing the initiative from me
Villain 2 calls.
My read: Villain 1 has already proven to have a very wide range,
including any two suited cards (these seem to be his favorite as he
enjoyes chasing flushes). He has donked the flop 3 times in this game
since I sat down and each time, he had a flush draw. At this point, I'm
reasonably confident that he has a diamond draw. Villain 2 is a somewhat
solid player except he likes to call about 80% of the time pre-flop. If
he calls or bets after the flop, he either has something or is getting
the right odds to call and draw at a straight or flush. At this point in
the hand, I assume he has at least top pair, maybe top 2 pair. Villain
1 will call any raise I might make in this spot because he will not give
up the opportunity to turn a flush. Villain 2 is a much better player
and is certainly capable of laying 2-pair down if I represent a set of
5s.
Hero: I call
My explaination: I've been playing extremely tight. I called pre-flop
with small pairs 4 times since I sat down at the table. I didn't slow
play my set of 9s earlier in the match, but I was out of position, so a
call here can still represent a set very well since I'm in position and
villain 1 donked on the flop. Since villain 2 is capable of laying down
top 2 pair to a set on the turn, I'll just call. If I re-raise to
another donk bet by villain 1 he'll have to fold if the turn is not a
diamond.
Pot: $175
Turn: 7c
Villain 1: check
Villain 2: check
Hero: Bet: $75 taking the initiatve back
Villain 1: call
Villain 2: fold
A little surprising, villain 1 calls my bet! Villain 2 folds after
talking to himself for about 2 minutes. Now, I'm a little concerned
that I might have mis-read villain 1. But the little voice in my head
is still telling me that he's on a flush draw.
Pot: $325
River: 2h
Villain 1: donk bets $70
Hero's thoughts: The math is says to call! The little voice in
my head is telling me that he has a busted flush draw, probably K high
which is why he was able to justify a call on the turn with the nut flush draw. He's not a mathmatical player and doesn't calculate pot odds, and he's betting because that's the only chance he has of taking down the pot. But then I start thinking that a small bet like that means he's betting for value. It looks like he really wants a call. Then I start thinking that
$70 is a lot of real money. I suddenly became a big chicken! "There's
almost $400 dollars in the middle, but maybe I don't have to lose
another $70."
Hero: folds!
Result: Villain starts breathing again (holding his breath was something
that I failed to notice earlier) and breathes a big sigh of relief. He
then admitted that he bet the river because that's the only way for him
to win the pot with his busted diamond draw. On the positive side, both
villains asked me if I had trip 5s! In hindsight, I think it was a risky
play that I pulled off to perfection until I got scared. That would have
been the play of a lifetime for me had I been able to pull the trigger.
I think that I should have re-raised all in. I had him covered by about $150 or so and he would have had to fold. Unfortunately, as a fairly new player, I'm not accustomed to playing for pots of that size. Maybe with a little more experience I'll get more comfortable. By-the-way, villain 2 said that he folded top 2 pair thinking that I had a set of 5s.