25 50 HKD game in Macau.

Hero is on the button with 8K. Villain is in middle position with 7K.

Villain has been a tight relatively good player, willing to lay down at least middle pair.

Folds to Villain how raises to $200. Folds to Hero how has

A7

and calls. SB and BB fold.

Flop comes:

457

Villain checks.

You have top pair and nut flush draw with position on villain hammer the flop and the turn. If reraised Jam it in you are ahead of any premium pocket pair here

Is this for real? Or some sort of level? You don't know what to do with top pair and the nut flush draw and you're playing 25/50 in Macau?

At this point I put villain on a premium pp or High over cards. He is one of the better players at this table. If he has the overcards then I am way ahead. If he has the pp then it is closer to a coin flip. Keep in mind I am playing in Macau where all of the Asian Bacaratte players forget which table they are at and call for the thrill.

Since there is skepticism as to why I am posting this hand at all I will update early.

Hero bets $300 and Villain min raises to $600 after about 30 seconds. So I put him on an over pair or a bluff attempt. More likely an over pair given histor. At this point I have 14 outs against any over pair except Aces and less to a set. So my turn odds are ~ 30%. 60% if I shove.

I just flat call

Turn

3

Villain checks

This type of situation is where you should consider playing it very aggressively. I would have shoved right back at the villain. You should consider that with this hand you want to see the turn and river cards to hit your flush or trip or two pair. By playing it passively if the flush card does come it's less likely you will get maximum value from your nut flush

This is the type of feedback I am looking for. Whether the response is right or wrong this is a learning situation.

Liklely folding pf. bet/3 bet big. If he has a big pair himself I am still happy to GII We have 17outs!

TPTK, NFD -- this hand plays best when you play it fast on the flop.
If you hit the turn, it's hard to get pair as your card will scare folks, and if you miss, your hand can only stand so much heat. Fast on the flop, get max fold equity and see both cards if they call.

I'm happy to get it all in OTF.

As played... if I haven't see V re-raise on a bluff before, I'm checking back the turn.
Last thing I want is to get c/r again on turn.

Not keen to get it all in on the turn... after botching the flop.

OP are you scared money? If you aren't willing to shove in spots like this then you should not be sitting at the table.

I'm a cautious player and usually look for solid spots to GII. I'm sure you can tell I play on the weekends but I bring a solid earn when I play. And I'm still learning.

I agree this is a good situation, but not the best, and there is minimal fold equity at this table. Maybe a bit more with this player, but still.

After villain checks on the turn I bet $500.

Villain raises to $2100 (size of the pot) and I cannot justify another call. Fold.

I believe my mistake was not checking and seeing another card on the turn, but apparently everyone on here is eager to shove on the flop and hope the odds are correct, even if behind. While I trust the math I am not a fan of this approach. Too blunt in my opinion. I rarely see that on televised cash games so why is it the best move here?

The best explanation so far for the shove approach is if I do hit the flush then I wont get paid off. That may be true in many cases because the flush is usually obvious, but again I was in Macau and I am not so sure I wouldn't get paid off with this crowd if the price was right.

Thank you for all the constructive feedback.

You should've 3bet on the flop in my opinion! I am happy to get it in against my opponents when I flop this kind of hand on the flop. Get it in when you have the most equity.

You COULD check the turn like you suggest because you feel you have little to no fold equity, which makes sense because you get to realize the equity of your hand.... The problem is..... You turn your hand face up, and if a diamond hits, you most likely will not win enough, the strength/advantage in drawing hands and position is their fold equity... Which makes playing this hand unprofitable from the start, suggesting a fold preflop.

I would personally just blast the flop and get it in, you have 9 outs to the nut flush and I suspect any A or 7 would also allow you to win the pot.

If we discount all medium pocket pairs and A7 suited from his range....
(8s and 9s, I think he would play the same way with 6s)
I have NOT included hands like QKdd in his range or 89dd, but I'm sure they are in there as well...

Get it in brooooo!

By forcing yourself to make a decision on the turn, when your equity is halved, you're putting yourself into tough spots.

Solid argument. Seeing as I am only a 2% favorite to win the hand by the numbers, would your line change knowing that if you were stacked you wouldn't buy in again? I have a strict bankroll policy and I was already playing stakes that were above my comfort level. I was in Macau and they only have a few poker games. This was the lowest stakes I could play.

25/50HKD is bit under 3/6USD.

In general, I think the two reasonable options are to bet with the intention of 3betting or to check behind. Against a tough player, you should probably prefer the first line. Against a horrible, crazy Asian gambler, I would strongly consider the second because I have a decent shot of stacking him if he has K9 or TT when the K hits the turn.

Lots of folks would say, if you're a 2% fave, get it in. Between the dead money and being a favorite, it's a pos EV situation.

If you're on a short bank roll, that changes things. It sucks to be scared money bc you can't play optimally.

Bc you were scared money, you didn't play this optimally. You have 9 outs to the nuts and another 5 that are almost sure winners. 14 outs twice is a lot of equity. Factor in the pre flop action and the dead money, and you have to GII.

It's going to cost you more money in the long run to play these spots badly bc of your short roll than it will to embrace variance and make the right play.

If I'm not mistaken, 25/50 HKD is something like 3/6 in USD.

+4% against his range, which I have discounted heavily, he could have a ton of worse hands.
+you have fold equity which is equal to x%.


Well it comes down to WHY you was playing!! (I read this somewhere so bare with me)
Recreational, to play some poka, have some fun, meet people, socialize with people, generally comes with a friend
Gambling recreationals, to hit huge hands/ make huge bluffs and to bust people etc etc, playing for the thrill!
Professional, for the dorrars.
Intellectual, to make "correct" decisions and play "good" poker. (these guys actually seek harder opponents, lulz)


Appears you were on some sort of holiday?
If so, I don't mind some gambling if that's the kind of holiday, I'm happy to gambol if I am in front.
BUT if I am valuing the money in terms of time/entertainment dollars, I wouldn't mind passing this marginal spot up for more favourable spots+play more if your goal is to have some fun/win a few dollars if you can.


If this was my regular game and I was under-rolled, I would have to build my roll doing something else for a while I guess? Or just take a shot in attempt to build my roll (I'd take the flip personally)

Are people really shoving 4x the pot on the flop?

I was thinking of like 3betting to $1800 or $2000 with the plan to call off all 4bet shoves or 5bet shove all 4bets and shove all turns/and/or check behind the turn to realize equity if you think you have 0% fold equity.

bet/call

once he checks the turn again, bet big. No one tries to check/raise twice.

Some will advocate 3 balling the flop, I think this is a mistake, he folds his bluffs and marginals and shoves when he's ahead. You're basically throwing away the power of position which is huge in spots like this.

You're super wide here while his value range is mostly over pairs and you can put a ton of pressure on those from ip. If he happened to flop a set or anything he's willing to double the turn with you can still sit ip and draw to the nuts. 3! betting the flop ultimately lets him play perfect and needlessly gets your stack in, in a race situation when called. Make villains life miserable, don't let him off the hook.

bet/call flop, bet turn after he checks

That is what V did.

3b or fold pre.

AP, 3b big and try to GII on the flop.