Game plays loose. High Hand and BBJ drops. ****ty rake (5% to $10 max).

Notable villains:

UTG, $300. 80yo lady who calls anything pre once she has limped. Biggest fish at the table.
UTG+1, $180. Playing any hand she's in. Likes to limp/shove hands like QT.
BTN, $270. Likes to call light from time to time. Will 'put someone on a hand'. Evidently plays 25/50 regularly.

Hero has $350.

Hero is dealt 99
UTG and +1 limp
Hero raises to $22
BTN calls
UTG calls
UTG +1 calls

Pot is $86 after rake.

Flop 278

UTG checks
UTG +1 checks

Hero?

I bet $65 for value as this flop is wet and is bound to get a caller or two.

I would maybe even go 60.. You're getting callers

Very straightforward flop bet, especially against said villains. Shoving any turn card

so thats a reason to bet more, not less

You'd shove on a broadway diamond if 3 people called?

It's table dependent, but this is my thought too. I struggle in spots like this with bet sizing because I suck at ranges in multi-way pots. Having the smallest overpair on a drawy board makes it even harder. So I tend to lean towards betting either too small because I'm a pussy or overbetting and pushing everyone out when I have the best of it.

Not shoving any turn here...

...because of this. So going back to this point:

Hero bets $75.

My thought process is that I'm getting 1-2 callers, at which point I've set up a pot size that makes any non-diamond broadway an easy shove. Am I overplaying my hand, or is this correct thinking?

Might just shove the flop given those descriptions.

The problem here are the villains that you've described... Sounds like they're all calling with draws or over cards. Even with a large 75 bet, if one person calls, these fish feel "priced in" to see another card. A bet is a bet against a fish, they don't understand pot sizes or bets. Even if they have a low end back door straight draw, they're calling.. If they don't have ****, they're most likely folding. Excpect a hand like QT and especially JT to call for that "inside straight draw"/overs or even AdTc to call hoping for that backdoor.. If you bet and get callers, the turn needs to be a good turn card for you to keep from guessing and losing your stack with a hand like 9s

These villains could be calling with literally anything from A7 to a GS to a BD non-nut diamond to any Ax combo that equals two overs. In so many ways, I'm just playing my cards with little idea where I'm at, even though I think I'm ahead right now. I know I want callers because I think my equity is pretty huge right now. I know I don't want to see a diamond or an Ace. I'm not really afraid of a straight draw given my blockers.

I think your thought process is good. Bigger the better imo on this flop against these opponents. You are almost always ahead. You are getting called at least once most of the time, and there are a lot of scary turn cards.

In fact...

I think I can get behind this reasoning. This is a big pot, and any turn decision is going to be tough. Taking down the pot now is not a disaster, and getting your shove called is also not a disaster.

I considered it, thinking BTN would put me on AK and call with his bluff catcher. But I also wanted a chance to keep UTG in the hand, thinking she might call $75 into a ~$230 pot (forgetting that she has NO CLUE about pot odds).

My flop bet was very slow. I probably took a good 45-60 seconds to think it through and count out my chips.

Hero bets $75.
BTN calls
two folds.

We're heads up with ~$170 effective, $230 pot.

Turn is 3

I love the turn card and shove.

Overall, have I played this hand well? This type of holding multi-way is something I see 2-3 times per session at this game, and I've always been a little uncomfortable. The dynamic sets things up to play for stacks, and I worry about over-playing my hand. OTOH, I struggle with the opposite...getting mubsy even when I'm ahead of all ranges.

I see no other way to play the turn as played. Would be more interesting spot much deeper

Well played on all streets.


I guess TT and JJ are possible for the Button, but it doesn't really matter at this point.

Just to clarify the hand: we set ourselves up to play for 135bb stacks with the smallest possible overpair in a 4way pot and this is, what, awesome?

I dunno. Maybe I'm just too outta wack with the rest of the forum, especially on preflop, especially on how it affects postflop. For me, preflop is a super easy overlimp which makes postflop pretty damn easy to play too. But I kinda feel I'm in the real minority on this lately.

Gpreflopaggressionatthesemoroninvestedloosetablesi shighlyoverrated,imoG

I actually expected to get more push-back against my pre-flop play, and I think there's a lot of merit to what you're saying. First, I'm never getting a fold pre for $22 in this game, and I don't really want one. I would have to bet $35-40 pre to MAYBE get only one caller, but then am I just charging myself a super-premium to either fold/over-shove any flop? Or did I accomplish the same thing with $22?

After the flop hits, I think the hand kinda plays itself once I look back on it.

To paraphrase Avaritia: Sigh...they never fold. Hold on wait a minute THEY NEVER FOLD THIS GAME IS AWESOME.

There is definitely an argument to be made for limping preflop. I'd have to imagine that it has to be more +EV in the long run to raise it up in position though from a straight value perspective against players who are calling and calling down with much worse.

Higher variance to be sure, and I certainly don't think limping preflop would be a big mistake, but I'd still prefer to raise.

Good discussion of both approaches. I am never sure if I should raise or over limp in LP with 88-TT. Last session, I limped 3 times in a row and got beat all 3 times and went on massive tilt. (Still not sure of the "best" approach).

I prefer to raise 99 pre, but the 20 seems a bit steep. I don't want to build a massive pot. I just want to extract value from the lower end of my raising range and disguise a big hand when I catch the set. Hitting a set against someone with AJ or AQ tends to be a great fish stacker and they don't expect it from 99.

The bottom line is you just played 99 like AA here. That can go wrong a LOT of different ways.

I think a better line is to raise to 12-15 pre. Bet flop for half pot and shut it down. You have a value hand still, but building a big pot is unwise here. Lets get to the river and try to get to showdown as cheap as possible.