Hey guys I played this hand tonight just looking to hear what the correct play would be.

Game 2/4NL

Hero ($600) UTG+1 dealt 99 raises to $15. Up and down so far but up $300 . Not sure of image.

Villian ($350) UTG+2 calls. Seems like a weakish pleayer but I haven't really seen enough.

Button Calls.

BB calls.

Flop($60) 10 8 J Rainbow

BB checks.

Hero bets $25

Villian (UTG+2) calls

rest fold,

Turn ($110) 7

Hero bets $35, Villian raises to $70. Hero??? Calls

River 5

Hero???


Where I have put '???' I am wondering what you consider the correct play to be. I realise bet sizing is a bit small looking back i'm not sure why I did that.

Thanks.

Do you want to stack off here? Do you think he'll get it in with less than a 9?

Stack sizes are a little awkward with another ~$250 behind after his bet. Shipping is way too big. $170 leaves $150 behind and seems like it gives us an easy ship on the river if we get called, and an easy call if he ships (assuming he can do this with less than q9 of course).

Now that you've flatted a turn raise on a 4-straight board OOP you're in a tough spot. Checking burns value. I'm torn between a $150+ sized bet for fat value, or a $70ish bet to induce a raise. If V is bluffy enough to try to rep a 9 it's not an awful line.

This.

If we wanted to stack off, we should have 3bet OTT vs a minraise.

If we don't, but want to get some value, flat as played. OTR, we are betting 2/3 pot, or 160ish. Maybe a little less for better calling odds. If he shoves we are snap calling.

This is kind if a cool hand. Your line probably looks line an overpair, villains with draws are calling to crack dem aces. You have blockers to the nuts. And you have a customer.

Your job is to get as much money into that pot as you can.

I would have totally 3bet the turn. I don't think I would shove, I might make it ~200, enough to leave him an odd sized stack that he will hopefully spaz-shove.

There's no guarantee you win here but it's pretty durn close to one. Gotta get the money in when this happens.

AP it would help to know how aggro villain is. Given that he already raised you once I would think about a c/r otr. Against someone more passive I would just shove and hope for the best.

The end goal needs to be getting stacks in the middle. We have blockers with our 99 so Q9 for him would just be an extreme cooler.

Raising on the turn after his min-raise is how I'd go about it. As we are out of position on the river, and raise on the turn could induce a shove from our opponent.

Opponent has $240 left behind after his min-raise, so making it $170-200 would basically be putting him in a fit or fold situation. Just think shoving is too big here IMO.

Shove the rest of the chips in on the river if our opponent hasn't punted to us yet and take down pot.

Hand played perfect up to turn.

On turn, we now must target the top of their range to get full value. I bet like 80% pot here. They can have two pair often, sets sometimes and all stubborn tptk that will happen ever so often. Betting small on turn has no real value.

As played I call turn. I see no value in 3 betting as I doubt he raises anything other than a straight here so its a wash or we are crippled vs Q9. Ask yourself, how many times you have seen a villain minraise on a 4 straight board without a straight? If you see it frequently, then by all means 3 bet it on in. If not, you probably better just call and pray for the split. This game has a ton of simple common sense to it really.

If we bet 80% pot and he raises like 2.5x or 3x, this is a VERY tough spot depending on individual. Most will see your huge bet as a straight thus they will not raise it unless they have Q9.

Having said that if they are a drooler just playing their own hands, then they could raise with any 9. Your judgment on that tendency will be your crown or demise.

The real cruz to this game and what separates Good from Great from World Class is how well we get into the mindset of the villain, assess his tendencies and then exploit them. Daniel Negreanu is one of the very best that I have seen yet at this.

Thanks for the input guys !

OTR I bet $110 he shoved for $250 I called he had Q9o lol, at that stage I thought we were chopping but oh well . At least we can take comfort in the fact he called Q9o early position pre flop.

Aintnolimit thanks for the insight bro. Definitely should have bet bigger.

Check flop. Check / evaluate on river. Calling a small to medium bet and folding to large pot + sized bets.

Also block betting the river is also cool. Very rarely will people shove rivers with just a 9 when you lead out again.

If I were to bet flop, which I probably would, it'd be a little more. I would have bet more on turn, too, but the $35 is intriguing -- I would do that to hope V raised and then I'd re-raise. I just don't see how V puts you on a 9. If V has Q9, life sucks, but I'm trying to get it in on this turn or set it up for river. As played, bet river for value or to induce.

Just read other posts -- definitely sucks but not much you can do. It is a bit of a cooler

Betting flop is a mistake imo. Bluffing this board against 3 opponents less than 100bb deep can't be good. You're building a pot with a marginal draw and very little fold equity, I much prefer to start with a check on the flop.

As played, I don't mind betting or checking turn. If I did bet, go bigger for reasons ANL listed. But checking the turn is also good since it's going to be hard to get him to commit his stack with less than a straight with a 4 straight on board, so we disguise our hand and increase the chance of being called on the river.

I like the small flop bet with a good draw. It allows you too set your own price for the draw. Big hands will let you know right then and there with a raise usually, and you get off cheaply without relinquishing the lead from your pre flop raise. I think a check hoping the V behind doesn't get any ideas might put us in a less than desirable position OTT if that V decides to get frisky. Personally, and this is nitpicky, but I'd even just bet $20 OTF.

Our draw isn't to the nuts, so that needs to be kept in mind. OTT, we hit, so a bigger bet is in order. Since V seems "weakish" with limited information, I think we're better off betting a larger bet with our straight. If that gets raised, ugh. But, when the $35 gets min-raised, it doesn't tell us as much. Could possibly be two pair. When you make a sizable turn bet on this board, and a weakish player raises - again - ugh. Now there's no way it's 2 pair unless they're really bad. I mean really noticeably bad. We now know it's either a chop or we're in the cooler.

So then the question becomes - would this V go ape s*it with a 9? Would this V not even consider he could be beat by Q9? Or is it more a weakish V who will beat you into the pot when he/she has the stone cold nuts, only. And might be more likely to call with just a 9.

As played, and this could be a leak of mine, I'm probably going to block bet the river. I really don't want to check and let this V set the price to see his/her cards. I'd be thinking what amount might 2 pair call (yes, that's pretty thin given the turn raise), and a 9 would call from a weakish V who's now hoping for the chop. Since the term "weakish" V makes me think passive, I'd go 1/3 pot OTR, bet folding.

It would be a tough fold. In the heat f the moment especially. But if we know the V is not very aggro and V is raising OTR, on this board, alarm bells should go off. And I've often found when the alarm bells are going off, and I find myself tanking, trying to make a decision - the longer I have to think, the more likely folding is correct over the long run.

River is a check-call ainec.

Betting doesn't do much and you are unlikely getting worse to call

You block a lot of straights so it's harder for them to have a straight there.

You bet small to induce a raise ott. Check to keep all the bluffs in their range.

Interesting thought. My thing is - do weak V's bluff on this board?

Semi-grunch... skimmed a bit. But here's how I would have played this hand (probably)

Pre. Hero limps. Calls an open. if its limped around, Hero wants flop huge or just let it go.

As played, totally fine. But, 99 has got to be close to or at the bottom of your open-raising range from UTG+1.

Flop. Pretty good flop, but you need to know if someone is going to put in a huge bet on you here before you can bet yourself. Suppose you make it $25 and someone raises you to $75. Are you calling?

Having said that, I think $25 is too small. I'd probably go $40 and feel pretty good about folding if we face a big raise.

Turn, I'm going to try to stack off here now. We block a lot of 9x hands, and the nuts Q9 is not normally a hand folks will play. So I'm usually figuring I'm up against 2p or a set when we get pushed back on. I probably b/3b-shove given stack sizes.