The game is overall fairly weak. I would call it loose over aggressive even though people are tossing a lot of chips around, they aren't really using it to apply pressure.

UTG/Straddle: Weak/loose player who likes to raise his straddle with ATC and fire on any flop. Fairly tilty after loosing a few big pots. 500ish stack

UTG +2/Hero: Has a mixed image at the table. Played with a few people there a few times. Some view hero as TAG while others have a more laggy experience with hero. Thus far today fairly TAG. Haven't been to showdown almost at all. 1000+ stack.

HJ: keeps buying in short, limping in pots, then when down to under 75 moving in with any hand. Only 40 stack.

CO: Not much info, but has taken almost the same line on flush draws. Check/call until he hits, then gets aggressive. Fairly passive player. Has taken this like at least 3 times with flush draws. Little less than 200


UTG: Straddles for 15

Hero: 2d4d. Don't normally play this hand from any position, but with table dynamics being very loose and multiple way pots even with decent size raises, decide to call the 15, hopefully pick up a few callers, expecting the straddle to raise, will call reasonable raise expecting a few callers for a good pot to see a flop.

HJ: Calls 15

CO: Calls 15

Straddle: Raises to 45 total.

Hero: Call

HJ: All in for 40 total.

CO: Call

Flop: 8d8s4s

Straddle: bets 65

Hero: Call

CO: thinks for a second, then calls

Turn: 10c for a board of 8d8s4sTc

Straddle: Check

Hero: Check

CO: Check

River: 6d for a board of 8d8s4sTc6d

Straddle: check

Hero: check

CO: all in for 125. very fast, not deliberate at all

Straddle fold

Hero: ???

Fold pre, fold flop, fold river.

wtf are you doing. fold everywhere.

.

With table dynamics as such, I think that you should still be folding this one pre
As played fold the river.

I don't have a big problem with playing 2d4d. It doesn't have that many possibilities but isn't the worst hand to play. The problem with this play is that you are doing so from early position with the entire table left to act. If you are chasing money so badly that you are playing 2-4 from early position in a bloated pot then you have a leak in your game.

Thanks for input.

With the info I had with playing on this table, I felt that my 4 was good on the flop, however I didn't want to raise here because I can't stand a reraise here and with the spades out there a draw would have come along. So I called the flop with knowing that an 8 or overpair would definitely barrel again on the turn if a spade doesn't turn.

On the turn, once it was checked around I felt more sure that my 4 was good. Can't see an 8 or overpair checking this turn.

On the river, I wasn't sure if I was good or not, but felt like at this point I had showdown value, so I decided to check.

The all in on the river from this player didn't seem in line with what I'd seen him do previously. I tanked for a while and figured that it was either a slow played 8 or full house, or a busted draw.

Also based on the short stack's previous shoves, I'm feeling decent about a pair being good here as well. So with the odds I was getting in both pots, I don't have to be right here an overwhelming amount of the time.

Not that the results matter, as I'm not results interested, and I'm sure I'll play a similar situation differently in the future depending on the information at the time.

FWIW, I tanked for a minute or so, decided that it was either a slow played monster or air and that I didn't have to be right all that often. I throw out 5 green chips, the CO says "I didn't want you calling there," I show 2d4d, the short stack mucks, the CO mucks, says that he was drawing to spades.

I see that this is the second thread about your own hand that you've started. Two is not a pattern, but it is a start.

Thanks for input. I will just keep it to myself from now on then.

I know this isn't what you want to hear but you played poorly. Your preflop plan makes no sense to me, especially if you 'are expecting straddle to raise'. I respect you sharing your reasons and opening yourself up to criticism, as that's how we all get better, but just reread your own OP. Why would you want to be calling the straddle's expected raises to see the flop again?? By playing this way you are just playing like the other folks in your game. This is not TAG or LAG play, you are simply playing the same weak/passive game that they are in this hand. If you search for my thread on Reciprocality in this forum you will see that by playing exactly the way your opponents would play in this situation you can't gain an edge on them here.

Now you are asking whether to bluff catch with bottom pair in a bloated pot... to be honest I just skimmed the action give how bad the preflop plan was IMO. I have no idea if you should bluffcatch or not... I think you need to fix your approach to the game and find concrete positive Reciprocalities vs. your opponents. Playing like you are in this hand isn't it. In the game with the dynamic you describe tight and aggressive play will do the trick, as boring as that might be.

^^^ Setsy delivers another good post. Before you play any hand, just ask yourself, is this the most optimal play? Limping wth 24 and being ready to call a straddle raise with it is not optimal by any means. In fact, its so suboptimal that with reads I would be limping premiums if he raises his straddle everytime. This proves how poor the preflop is- you have a weak hand and are ready to call a raise because you know its coming. Instead, limping because you know he is going to raise would be the only reason to limp here

Fold preflop
fold flop>min raise flop> call flop
fold river

Preflop is by far the worst part of this hand. You are playing the weakest 1 gapper from EP for a 3x straddle where you are expecting to get reraised preflop. There is no way you can profitably play this hand here.

wtf fold pre or if you decide to play this garbage fold flop what decision is there?