The Magic Turn

More often than not, I get myself into trouble when I veer away from the standard 6-max TAG script. But if I start to pick up on tendencies, or sense a good opportunity to grab a pot I don't deserve, I'll try to get tricky. Here are two hands from a recent session...

Hand 1 - Villain is 39/23/1.5 over 420 hands.

Full Tilt Poker, $0.25/$0.50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com Hand History Converter
SB: $50.25
Hero (BB): $62.35
UTG: $59.95
CO: $47
BTN: $50.25
Pre-Flop: 9c 9s dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG folds, CO raises to $1.75, 2 folds, Hero calls $1.25

Flop: ($3.75) Ts 5d Kh (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO bets $2, Hero raises to $7, CO calls $5

I thought the $2 C-bet seemed small, and perhaps designed to minimize risk on a whiffed flop. When he calls he is clearly stronger than that. I'm ready to give up.

Turn: ($17.75) 9h (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO bets $11, Hero raises to $53.60 and is All-In, CO calls $27.25 and is All-In

I regret checking here. I should continue my line of strength so as to string along my villain if he is holding a weaker 1 or 2-pair hand. When he bets after calling flop raise, he is clearly strong, so I feel less confident, but I follow through on plan to check-raise.

River: ($94.25) 3d (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: $94.25 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed 9c 9s (three of a kind, Nines) and LOST (-$47 NET)
CO showed Th Td (three of a kind, Tens) and WON $91.25 (+$44.25 NET)

Cooler hand. Against a LAG-y opponent, I don't mind the outcome, just wish I had played the turn differently.


Hand 2 - Villain is 24/14/3.5 over 90 hands

Full Tilt Poker, $0.25/$0.50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com Hand History Converter
BB: $47.80
UTG: $50
MP: $18.45
CO: $61.95
Hero (BTN): $70.05
SB: $60.85
Pre-Flop: Qd Ah dealt to Hero (BTN)
2 folds, CO raises to $1.75, Hero calls $1.75, 2 folds

Considered a 3-bet, but figured I'd mix it up and could easily play this hand in position.

Flop: ($4.25) Td 6s Kh (2 Players)
CO bets $3, Hero calls $3

This is basically a float, but I have several outs that I'd feel pretty good about.

Turn: ($10.25) Jd (2 Players)
CO bets $6, Hero calls $6

Bingo! Now how do I play it? Check-raising looks really strong, and might scare away a one-pair hand like AA, AK, KQ, QQ. Calling is risky because I risk allowing my opponent to peel to a flush or boat for free, but I can minimize my losses if one of those cards falls on the river by just calling a river bet. I choose to call, confident that my opponent will 3-barrel if a blank falls.

River: ($22.25) 7s (2 Players)
CO bets $18, Hero raises to $59.30 and is All-In, CO calls $33.20 and is All-In

I time down before pushing. If you're going to raise here, it may as well be a push, which looks slightly more like a bluff than a min-raise, which is only $15 less anyway.

Results: $124.65 Pot ($3 Rake)
CO mucked Ac As (a pair of Aces) and LOST (-$61.95 NET)
Hero showed Qd Ah (a straight, Ace high) and WON $121.65 (+$59.70 NET)

Villain clearly had no intention of laying his hand down anyways.

The real lesson here though - I have a long ways to go in my reads of flop bet strength. Both times I made a move thinking it was a weak standard C-bet, and both times I was crushed on the flop.