Villain is 22/6 over 18 hands. No reads/notes.

Against players I know to double barrel, I like to wait to the turn to semi-bluff x/r with draws and good hands. With villain being an unknown, jamming the flop with an x/r might be better since we have no reads on him. How does the turn x/r look? I think we could reasonably represent a K or a J by delaying to the turn.

As for the river, as this hand played I wasn't sure what to do. Call behind his bet, raise/call, or raise/fold (raise/call seems spewy but raise/fold seems odd to me too; I have an underlying fear that people bluff me and I'll look like and idiot if I fold incorrectly). I'm trying to extract more value on the river in my game as I don't do it enough. Thoughts?

Merge - $0.50/$1 (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

Hero (BTN): $46.50
SB: $32.09
BB: $15.81
UTG: $53.86
MP: $38.22
CO: $17.31

SB posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero has 5 6

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $1.00, fold, BB raises to $1.50, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($3.25, 2 players) J K J
BB bets $0.50, Hero calls $0.50

Turn: ($4.25, 2 players) 4
BB bets $1.00, Hero raises to $2.00, BB calls $1.00

River: ($8.25, 2 players) 8
BB bets $1.00, Hero...?

How can you check raise if you have position?

I'd raise the flop. Seems to be less pricey of a semi-bluff than raising the turn.

If you raise the turn as played, doesn't that pretty much force you you to a river bluff bet b/c your hand has no showdown value?

On the river, what are you putting BB on? Precisely a FH or bigger flush?

If the river was a blank and villain checked back to me then yes, I would have fired a barrel for the exact reason you mention.

The river smelt like a flush or a scare card bluff. I would have heard from a J on the turn and a K would likely check to me on the river, given the turn action.

What other flushes are out there that BB can 3-bet preflop?

You probably don't have enough history to know if BB 3-bets AQ or AT from the BB given that you only have 18 hands. AQ seems possible. QT seems unlikely. Preflop 3-bet could include AK, 99-TT, 88, QQ, more or less hands.

I'm not really in tune with current state of the game so...not sure how your general opponents play anymore.

What do you think your hand look like from the eyes of the BB? I think you kind of played your hand a bit weird and I'm not sure if BB can't really put you on a flush or even knows what to think about your hand.

I don't think you know enough about your opponent to raise/fold. Calling only feels like it just leaves too much money on the table. Seems like a raise/call to me.

I agree with anfernee on this one. I just don't see villain showing up with a bigger flush based on the previous streets and I think we would have head from a boat on the turn.

r/c

That river bet looks like an OMG-don't-let-it-get-checked-behind value bet. I think you have to raise here, and probably call a 3!.

Since the villain is unknown there's no way I'm taking a line that involves folding. One thing that you've got going for you here is that your hand is underrepresented. Your turn raise looks a lot like Jx/Kx, and so he won't expect you to have a flush here very often. The problem is that if your opponent puts you on Kx/Jx and somehow the 8h gives him confidence, then you're still looking at a bigger flush or full house (or a bluff). In the heat of the moment I usually raise/call here, but I actually think just calling is probably the correct play.

I think raising flop is a better choice as well. As played, i would raise river, but I think calling a 3! is really close.... I'm not a huge fan of it, but I also think that we could be good enough as well. (12-1 is pretty good)

Sadler was trying to help me with this at the end of last year and I still really need help with c/r semi-bluffs in general - but in this case particularly I don't see where c/r the flop or turn gets us the desired fold equity we're looking for. A 3b range from an unk on the BB has to connect with this board enough to at least draw.

Hows this look for a range through the flop?

www.pokerstrategy.com
Board: JdKhJh
Equity Win Tie
BU 32.17% 31.46% 0.71% { 6h5h }
BB 67.83% 67.12% 0.71% { 77+, A9s+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, ATo+, KJo+ }

Now I get it if the flop didn't hit his range so much - say T77..

www.pokerstrategy.com
Board: 7dTh7h
Equity Win Tie
BU 41.44% 41.02% 0.42% { 6h5h }
BB 58.56% 58.14% 0.42% { 77+, A9s+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, ATo+, KJo+ }

I can see semi-bluffing flop with this equity, but I still don't understand why we would wait to turn and pass up the chance to take a free card if we wanted one...

I would have played this hand like a calling station fish thru turn and raised river... perhaps you guys can help explain in more detail why we c/r at all here? what are we trying to accomplish? fold out a small portion of his range like TT-77, A9s on a paired board?

*g*

I think I may raise the Flop here. The hand sample sucks, but 22/16 so far seems tight, and vs a range like that, I don't like the Flop. It seems like he'll probably 3! you on the Flop and you can generally narrow his range from there.

The River donk sucks. Unless Villain thinks your Turn raise is repping the 4, it seems like a value bet. But I'm not folding the small flush. I don't think I raise here, because we can be beat so easily. As played, I call. I'll get a couple of reads as to what he 3!'s with PF from the Blinds against a steal, and what he donks the River with.

R/C!

Think I agree with Augwest. There's so little that folds this flop. Just call and hope to hit.

r/c - NH otherwise