UTG opens to $8 (standard size for him), MP calls, I call OTB with Jd7d and BB calls. UTG was a weak rec player who I was trying to get involved with as much as possible especially in position against him. MP was an older guy who was pretty loose and passive and not a concern. BB was a 30 something guy who had just gotten moved to the table maybe 10 minutes prior and hadnt done much to notice.

Flop - Js5d6c ($30 in pot)

BB bets $20, UTG and MP fold and I call. This is the only play Im questioning but Im not folding with TP, backdoor straight and flush and in position. I almost raised right there but for whatever reason, I felt seeing and re-evaluating after the turn was the better play so I flat the $20.

Turn - 4h ($70 in pot)

BB quickly bets $45. At this point, Im really only in trouble if he has 2x3x which I think we can all agree is super unlikely. Im 4/1 against a set getting about 3.5/1 so not ideal but not awful. I doubt he flats JJ so maybe 55 or 66 but does he really lead 2/3 pot with either twice of those or even 44? I call.

River - Jh ($160 pot)

I have about $360 behind after the turn. He snap bets $90 almost before the river hit the table leaving himself about $75 behind so he is well covered. I tank for longer than anyone should for a $250 1/3 pot but whatever. Im trying to talk myself out of a fold as I feel like Im beat but I have no idea how. What does his line say and what are we doing here?

P.S. The result of the hand doesnt matter to me. I dont have friends that play poker and obviously I never post hands here either but this one for whatever reason has been stuck in my head for three days. Just looking to talk it out a little bit and get input from beginning to end even though its a semi standard spot and nothing crazy. Thanks in advance.

Fold pre most of the time and 3bet some of the time. Calling puts you in spots like this.

FWIW you are closer to 5:1 against to river your straight.

Fold that cheese pre.

AP, fold flop. BD draws aren't worth much, and your TP7K is pretty bad against a BB donking range in a multiway pot. This is 2P or a set most of the time, and when it's a J it is almost always JT+.

AP, your 8 outs to a straight have about a 16% chance of coming in OTR (by rule of 2 and 4) or 17.39% (non-estimated), so IDK where you are getting the idea that you are 4:1 against a set. You are more like 4.75:1. Also, your IOs aren't good, as V is unlikely to pay off much on a 4-straight board.

Repeat this prayer: “Dear baby Jesus, please deliver me from the temptation to play suited 3-gappers.”

J7s:

1) Be very deep
2) Be a very strong postflop player
3) Be on the BTN
4) Nevermind, just fold

J7s is about a 40% hand. If you want to widen your range to play back at the bad UTG player, I think you can find better hands to do it with. You should also be iso'ing him more often when you can.

I've seen worse pre-flop play, it's not a huge leak, but I think playing this hand is a leak. Too often with hands like these, when big stacks go in, you'll end up on the losing end of a flush over flush or straight over straight situation.


I don't see too many players leading 2/3 into the pre-flop raiser and 2 others with a hand like TT or A5. This is a bigger J or better almost all of the time. Your backdoor draws don't give you the equity needed to call this bet. Just fold the flop. This isn't a heads up pot where he's the PFR and can be leading into you with overs or mid-pairs. Given the preflop action his range is much stronger than that, and you really can't be calling this bet.

OTT it's a close decision. You don't have direct odds to call, and implied odds aren't great when you're drawing to a 1-card straight or flush, because you don't get paid. You need to make about $75 more on this hand, and that's not a guarantee that he'll pay that on the river on a 4 straight board. I think it's a fold.

River is weird. The J hitting takes away a lot of his better J combos, so that's good, but he's still betting like he's got this, so if you were behind before, you still are. I'm not sure what to do here either because I never really get to the river this way. 1/2 players are weird and you never know when some unknown is going to spazz out and run a 3-street bluff, so I always lean towards calling in close river spots, but I just don't see any value hands you beat. Some people will play premium pairs this way, but readless, I think you can fold here too.

I hate 3 gappers due to RIO, so even though we're on the Button and it's for lol cheap and we're attempting to get into a hand with the raiser, I probably pass. Mostly because we're going to make very few hands where we're going to feel comfortable getting in lots of chips. ETA: If we're super awesome, whatever; given the play of the hand, it is my opinion we are not super awesome.

I fold the flop. Guy donked into the preflop raiser plus a couple of others on a fairly drawless board. We have TPnK+nodraw which is pretty weak against this bet, imo. I just fold and move on.

I fold the turn. He's continuing to bet and one of the only draws (87) got there. Our IO are terrible on a four-to-a-straight board as are our RIO when we "hit" and are worse.

I'm trying to think of a draw that busted on the river. I'm trying to think of a worse value hand. I'm trying to think of showdownable hands that he now decides to turn into bluffs. Can't think of very many (if any).

Glearntofold,imoG

Ez fold pre....

fold pre the J7s trash

JTs in position and deep stack is the bottom of all Jacks combos. If you face a raise, don't play any gap combo. Even the KJs is trash when UTG raised the pot. KQs, QJs, JTs, T9s down to 54s if the stacks are deep. I really mean deep stacks not midges stacks we frequently see in the 1/2 games. Of course we play all the AXs together will all the above no-gap Broadways and the suited no-gap connectors. Make sure UTG villain got deep stacks and you cover it, ..., that's very important. If the stacks are not deep enough you can't call the flop bets to draw because you'll be drawing much more times then flopping a mad hand.

One other thing you got to really understand is the fact that Hold'em is a flop game. At the flop you have 72% of your final hand revealed. The flop is the joint of the hand.