[Kings Facing Huge River Bet (.25/.50 Nlhe)]

My thinking is that I bet the flop after pf raising, so he could very well think I'm just making a continuation bet. Now if I raise on a scare card on the turn, it looks extremely defensive. It does not look like I have anything that can call a re-raise, so I think he very well might read a mid-strength hand on my part and try to force me out with some kind of semi-bluff. By flat calling, I have to have something in order to do it, which will make him think twice about bluffing the next street. That's what I was thinking anyway. Again, all of this is just IMO. I am the one asking the question, after all, so maybe I'm wrong.I do have legitimate reasons for thinking he will just bet half the pot with a made hand though. Because if he has a made hand, he has already made it by the turn. And on the turn, he did indeed bet bet about half of the pot. So I have to think that if he does have a made hand, and is therefore betting the turn for value, he'll probably make a very similar value bet on the river.

[Kings Facing Huge River Bet (.25/.50 Nlhe)]

I think you hafta raise the turn here and fold to a reraise obv. You need to get value from pair + draw hands and 9T and stuff like that, as is he's freezing you. By raising the turn he's usually going to check the river to you and you get to showdown for free and also charge some draws here. I'd check back river if checked to as he could definitely have trip 8s or something and I think going for really thin value is tough there.In your hand I'd fold river, a lot of stuff has made it, the flush made it on the turn and the straight makes it on the river. You're not beating much, unless he turned a decent hand into a bluff or doesn't have very good hand reading skills. The fact that he turned AdJx into a bluff here is pretty weird, he's probably a pretty bad player and didn't know what to do so just hit pot. Trying to make people fold overpairs at $50nl is rough, as we see right here. I'm not sure he was trying to get you to fold an overpair though, if he was it's a pretty advanced concept to be doing at $50nl like I said.

I don't think I agree with you about raising on the turn.Consider this: If I re-raise on the turn, any number of hands from a set of 8's to a full house, to a mere semi-bluff flush draw are going to push all-in over the top, a bet which would definitely force me to fold. If I flat call, now the draws and the trip 8's are likely checking the river, and made hands are probably betting half the pot again, which means that I actually get more information about his hand by flat calling. Also, If I'm going to throw away $10 by re-raising, and he's probably betting half the pot (also $10) on the river with a made hand, I'm losing the same amount of money either way. Plus since I'm likely shutting down the defensive bets of trips and busted draws, I'm gaining equity. Trip 8's now win only $5 instead of $15, and flush draws are more likely to check it down rather than try to take a stand. So in this case, I think re-raising would be a bad mistake. If I was out-of-position I'd probably do it, but not here IMO.

[Kings Facing Huge River Bet (.25/.50 Nlhe)]

Thanks, everyone. I especially found jmbreslin's post to be interesting, as that is kinda why I was considering calling, because I really didn't think that any hand would make that huge of a bet as a value bet.Here's what actually happened:At the time, I was kind of on tilt after taking a couple of tough beats, and then moreso for not getting an ounce of action with pocket kings in the previous hand (yes, I had them 2 hands in a row...,) so at the time I had not even considered the possibility of a full house betting for value, and had reasoned that the odds of him making such a huge bet with a flush were very slim, and therefore I was really only afraid of A/8 for trips or a total mis-read.I called, figuring it to be a stone bluff or a busted nut flush draw on the turn, and luckily I was right, and he turned over A/J with the ace of diamonds. It was only in retrospect that I realized how marginal of a call that had been, and that he could easily have made those exact bets with pocket 3's, pocket J's, or pocket Q's, and I would have lost almost every chip in front of me. So although I won the hand, I really didn't feel like it was the right one to make. Thanks for the help, everyone! I probably would have folded too if I was thinking clearly at the time.

[Kings Facing Huge River Bet (.25/.50 Nlhe)]

Some good insights so far. I don't know if I want to put him on as wide a range as some people have been suggesting, though. He did fold from the big blind in the previous hand, so I think it's somewhat safe to say that he's probably not a total donk, and narrow his range at least a bit.

[Kings Facing Huge River Bet (.25/.50 Nlhe)]

This hand just happened over on AbsolutePoker, and it was a really tough decision, so I want to know what everyone thinks the proper course of action would have been.GAME:AbsolutePoker Game #1494260071, No Limit Hold'em (.25/.50 NL)8 players at tableSeat 6 - SB (Villain) ($49 in chips)Seat 1 - (UTG+2) Cheetaking ($35.65 in chips)READS: I know absolutely nothing about Villain, and he knows nothing about me. He just sat down at the table 1 hand ago, and hasn't played a hand past the flop yet.Villain - Posts small blind $0.25BB - Posts big blind $0.50*** POCKET CARDS ***Dealt to Cheetaking [K K ] *** PRE-FLOP ***(1 Fold)UTG+2 Calls ($0.50)Cheetaking - Raises $2.00 to $2.50(3 folds)Villain - Calls $2.25(2 folds)*** FLOP *** [8 J 8 ] POT: $5.50Villain - ChecksCheetaking - Bets $3 (does anyone bet more here?)Villain - Calls $3*** TURN *** 8 J 8 [3 ] POT: $11.50Villain - Bets $5 (not what I was hoping for, obviously. I was just hoping he had something like A/J, but now he's representing a made flush draw. I don't think I can possibly fold, but I don't feel comfortable raising either, so I flat call. Is this okay?)Cheetaking - Calls $5*** RIVER *** 8 J 8 3 [Q ] POT: $21.50Villain - Bets $22Cheetaking - ?What the heck do I do here? Most people wouldn't make such a huge bet with a made flush, because that bet is screaming "PLEASE FOLD!" at me. Pocket queens with the Q , or just threes, would make it. But then again, I have no idea how the guy plays. Who puts him on the flush, trip 8's, 3's full, or queens full, and folds? And who thinks that he's bluffing or defending a weaker hand like A/J or A/Q? What should I do? Call or fold?

[What's My Line?]

SB: A/5MP: A/Q

[Tptk Facing Turn Check/raise]

Anyone else?I don't mean to pester, but I did only get one reply...

[Live 2/5 Nl]

On the flop I know villain is continuation betting, I was slightly worried about MP1 who is a fairly tight player and was basically calling there and not making any plays because I wanting information from him.

If you know he's continuation betting, and then he bet a big amount out-of-turn on a blank, why are you worried? That screams bluff. I personally probably wouldn't have the guts to call, but I do think you've got him beat here. I'd day shove, let him call with a crap hand, and hope that he doesn't catch a miracle on the river.

[What's My Line?]

Yes, sometimes I wonder what I'm doing at the table as I flatted instead hoping that the MP had hit his flush and would raise behind. Instead MP just called so we go to the river.Pot $44.50River is of course the Qs which puts 955QQ on the board.SB leads for $7, Do I just call or do I raise here? If I raise, am I calling a R/R?

SB has bet every street out-of-position, so I really doubt that queen helped him. I'm putting him on either something like A/5, or a donked up overpair. It's almost certain that you've got him beat. If he was the only player you were against, I would say stick in a mini re-raise, which should incite a call from a lower boat.However, since there are 2 players in the hand, MP has flat-called twice, and he seems to be quite loose, you have to be genuinely worried about him. Because you didn't stick in a raise on either of the two earlier streets, you have almost no info on him. Him having a queen seems like a genuine possibility, since a loose player often calls with nothing but overcards on a low board. And if he did hit the queen, that would certainly justify his call on the turn. He could also have a flush, although I think he probably would have raised the turn with it. Or maybe he's the one with the trip 5's. You just don't know.With that in mind, I think you have 2 legitimate options: either flat call, or stick in a minimum raise. Here is why both are viable, and how you should respond to the action in each:1. Flat call - this will entice MP to call as well, maybe even with just a flush or a pocket pair, and if he does just call, it's a virtual guarantee that you've got both of them beat, and you take down a nice pot. If he raises, you can assume that you're probably beat, but should still call if the bet's small enough.2. Minimum raise - this would be viewed an odd play, but it should still be small to potentially entice an A/5 or an overpair to call you because they'll be curious. This will also give you 100% assurance that you're beat if someone re-raises you. If they do, drop it and don't think twice.DON'T: stick in a medium or big raise. You won't get any more information from a bigger raise, and nobody's folding a hand that's better than yours to this bet, so all you'll be doing is throwing more money away if someone has the queen. Also, while a 5 or a flush or an overpair might call your mini-raise, they'll drop in an instant to a bigger one in this situation.Now, with all of that said, you definitely should have raised on the turn. I can understand slow-playing the flop, but the turn is like a perfect card for you. So definitely raise. Almost every hand that could get there just got there, and you're getting called with a ton of hands that are basically drawing dead. Everything from flushes to trip 5's to a pair of queens will call you there, given the players' VPIP's. Bet it!

[200nl 6 Max]

I don't think the call was a bad play at all. The only hand that's beating you is a draw, so why not flat call and wait to see the turn before committing more chips? I might call here too and wait for the turn to come a high card that's not a heart. If it is a heart, and the action gets crazy, drop it. If it's a high card, bet the farm and bust someone.Aside from that, what more do you want? You got all your money in with a 70/30 advantage, and caught a guy semi-bluffing. I don't see anything wrong with that. As long as you've got the bankroll to absorb a bust if it doesn't go your way

[Tptk Facing Turn Check/raise]

This hand came up tonight while playing .25/.50 PL Hold'em on Pokerstars.READ INFO:-Villain is 32/18/2 with 63 hands. He has been betting a lot, especially on the turn and the river when scare cards come up, and has clearly made continuation bets, so he seems to be very aggressive. He got re-raised a few times and dropped, so that furthers my suspicions. Also, one time he raised pre-flop and then showed an 8/9 down at the end of the hand. He has also slow-played a flopped set once, though, so he's also capable of that.-Hero has seen around 25% of the flops so far, and I have played very aggressively with blind stealing and continuation bets, so my table image is semi-tight/aggressive. I have also re-raised Villain pre-flop a couple times, and he folded both times.-BB: A very loose player who is 63/7/1, making a lot of bad calls both before and after the flop. He chases both overcards and just about any draw.THE HAND:8 PlayersUTG+3: Villain ($34.15 in chips) CO: Hero ($59.05 in chips) SB: posts small blind $0.25BB: posts big blind $0.50*** PRE-FLOP ***Dealt to Hero [Q A ](3 folds)Villain: calls $0.50Hero: raises $1.75 to $2.25(2 folds)BB: calls $1.75Villain: calls $1.75*** FLOP *** [Q 6 8 ] Pot Size: $7Not exactly the flop I wanted, but I still have to think I'm ahead with TPTK. I throw out my standard half-pot-sized continuation bet with the hopes of getting a read on the other two, and getting some money in the pot with the hopes that BB will chase a crap draw like he always does, and miss.BB: checks Villain: checks Hero: bets $3.50BB: folds Villain: raises $4.50 to $8Hero: ?A very small check/raise from Villain is definitely not what I was expecting. What do you guys make of this? He's never done something like this before. Should I be genuinely worried about a flush, or does this seem more like a nut flush draw? Or maybe he's just playing the scare cards and trying to bluff?*** TURN *** Q 6 8 [5 ] Pot Size: $23Villain: bets $9Hero: ?Can I still call with just TPTK?

[How Many Tables To Play/hands Per Session]

ok then i figure i wont go for the super tight at ten tables approach then. one regular table is pretty slow, but i figure one fast table on pokerstars is the equivalent of two regular tables?cheetaking, what blinds are you playing at to make 20BB per hour?

Actually, fast tables really aren't that much faster than normal ones. It's like 60 hands/hr versus 50.And the forementioned stats were mostly at .25/.50

[How Many Tables To Play/hands Per Session]

At the .05/.10 level, two tables is definitely optimal. Because at those stakes, people are mostly stupid, and you make the most money by playing good solid tight/aggressive poker. So if you are only playing one table, you'll get bored fast waiting for good hands.However, once you step up into the dollar levels, I'm going to go against the grain and say stick with one table if that's what you're comfortable with.Personally, I have found that I win a LOT more playing one table because I have much better reads on everyone, and can focus on each and every decision with no pressure. This lets me play small-ball, which is almost never boring because of how many hands you get into, and can make you a ton of money against even highly-experienced players. I tried to play 2 tables, but I won a lot less often, and my downswings were more extreme because I wasn't able to pay full attention. I won maybe 4-6 BB/hour during the year that I insisted on playing 2 tables at once. My current win rate at one table, though, is something ridiculous like 20 BB/hour. So, yeah, it can be pretty damned effective if you have good reads on your opponents.Also note, though, that this is PokerStars I'm talking about, so other sites are likely looser, and therefore are better in tight multiples.

[Home Run Hitters Vs. Small Ball Players]

Sorry for the question but.....does it means that when you use the "small ball" theory you have to play more hands, which means playing loose ?I play at very low stake actually $0.02 on PS and at those blind pople will call you with anything os i'll rather wait for monster hands, or playable hands in late position.Or maybe i'm missing something..

No, it is much less effective in micro-NL. Small-ball is better suited for games where everyone is playing tight/aggressive at least to some degree, because those players are easier to put on hands, and more likely to be paying attention to the hands you play, which is what makes small-ball effective. From personal experience, basic tight/aggressive is best for when a table is really loose, and then switching to small-ball is the way to go once the table tightens up and you've had time to study everyone's play.

[What's A Good Bankroll For .25/.50 Stud?]

Hello, everyone.I have been a No Limit Hold'em player for as long as I can remember, but then recently while I was playing in a few HORSE tournaments for fun, I discovered that I was doing much better at Stud than Hold'em. So I have decided to give the Stud cash games on PokerStars a try, but I have no idea what an appropriate bankroll would be.I know in NLHE it's generally 10 buy-ins, but what should it be in Stud? I've never really tried playing a limit game for anything but sheer entertainment before, so I'm clueless. I have about $55 in my bankroll at the moment. Is this enough for the .25/.50 on PokerStars, or should I step down to .10/.20?

[Aq...you Know I Hate You, Right?]

Yeah, I actually do. I played both a $10 180p, and a $5 180p, and the play was MUCH different. In the $5 one, the field was down to 64 players after the first hour. In the $10 one, there were still 94 left. I think that's a pretty big difference. Fewer donks in the $10 ones, and more tight players.

[Awful Bubble Play... Suggestions?]

I don't know about that... I mean, his raise on the river was awful questionable. I checked the flop, check/called him, and then check/raised a small amount on the river. That usually screams "slow-play! Warning! Warning!" I was really surprised that he played top 2 like that. I could easily have had a set.

[Aq...you Know I Hate You, Right?]

This also depends on what stakes the tournaments are. If they are 10+1 tournaments, your strategy will be much different than if it is one of the 5+.50 "donkaments" as BeaverStyle so eloquently puts it.1. You have to call that. Raising is a bit too risky. The play fits a low wired pair perfectly, so you genuinely have to be afraid that someone spiked trips. Another possibility is that the other guy is also holding a queen. Again, that fits perfectly. He could also be on a flush draw, and is just being a donk on the river, or, strangely enough, could be sitting with an 8 or 9. In these low-stakes tourneys, you never know. Folding is too tight, and raising is too risky. Call.2. This one is a little trickier, and depends highly on what happens on future streets. Honestly, I don't think that the check/raise means too much. You took the lead pre-flop, and lots of players will make this exact play with top pair to get a few extra chips rather than lead out. This one is HIGHLY stake-dependent. If it is a higher level, you have less to worry about because you can mostly rule out J/9, Q/10, 10/8, and Q/8. At lower stakes, though, you might be in trouble if a donk spiked a miracle on you. Because it's still so early in the tournament, the only way that you're going to know what he has for sure is by re-raising. If you call, he's probably going to bet again on the turn, so you're in just as bad shape. Folding would be really tight, and a loss of equity in the long run because you are still beating K/Q, K/J, and A/10 with a flush draw. Honestly, this one is up to you. Either re-raise him back if you're dying to know what he has, or call and wait to see what he does on the turn. If he checks, pounce on him. If he shoves all-in, then and only then might you consider folding. If he throws out a smallish bet, call again and hope to check down the river or call a third value bet. This is indeed a sticky situation because the board is somewhat dangerous, but going broke with TPTK in a donkament is plenty fine. If they called with something stupid and have you dominated, so be it. Type in "gg" and hop into another one.3. CALL!!! Come on, that fold is a horrible play. What are you worried about? A set? He can't have 2 pair... not even the idiots at the low-stakes PStars tables would raise with a hand that has 2 pair. The turn bet is an overbet, and people really don't make that with sets. This guy either has top pair as well, likely with a king or jack kicker, or he is completely bluffing. That river bet is total crap... at these low stakes, people will make that bet with almost any top pair because they think that it is invincible, and before I learned common sense and read poker books, I would make that bet as a bluff all the time. Call, and bust that guy!

[Awful Bubble Play... Suggestions?]

Heh... so pretty much, I just totally screwed up on this hand.Thanks for the advice, everyone. Here are the results:I hesitated forever... I really didn't want to call and lose and get knocked out near the bubble for a third straight tournament. And his actions were absolutely spot-on for having pocket sevens, pocket jacks, or kings. No way he was bluffing... he was giving me almost 4:1 pot odds, and he's too smart to donk it up like that. He could have been slow-playing an ace, but that river bet doesn't make sense. Then I realized that there was another likely option: ace/jack. so, with 3 hands that beat me and only one that didn't, the odds were still in favor of calling.I reluctantly called with the rest of my chips....then I breathed a huge sigh of relief when he turned over A/K and we split the pot.I went on to win the tournament, but was still haunted by that hand. I felt like I unnecessarily gambled with my tournament life on the bubble.

[Awful Bubble Play... Suggestions?]

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Blinds 100/200, 25 ante (5 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)This is the end of an 18-player sit&go. Payout is to the top 4.UTG (t2950)MP (t3855)Button = Villain (t8025)SB (t5370)cheetaking (t6800)PLAYER INFO:cheetaking: I've been playing a bit more conservatively than usual, grinding it out after tripling up on the very first hand. I've still done some blind-stealing and a couple suspicious bets, but my table image is a little tighter than usual. Still fits the tight/aggressive bill, though. Villain has been playing at the same table with me since the very beginning, so he's seen this.Villain: This guy is one of the best players I have seen at the 5.50 level. He plays a game that is somewhere between small-ball and traditional tight/aggressive. He tends to lean toward checking and calling with monsters, and then if he does indeed have a monster he will throw out a huge bet on the river (seen him do it twice, and busted short stacks both times with the near-nuts). With top pair, though, he can do almost anything. He has checked it a few times, overbet it, value bet it, almost everything. So it it very tough to figure out what he has.Preflop: cheetaking is BB with A, K. 2 folds, Villain raises to t800, 1 fold, cheetaking calls t600.Flop: (t1500) K, 4, A(2 players)cheetaking checks, Villain checks.Turn: (t1500) 7(2 players)cheetaking checks, Villain bets t600, cheetaking calls t600.River: (t2700) J(2 players)cheetaking checks, Villain bets t1200, cheetaking raises to t2600, Villain raises to t6600, cheetaking ?I realize that the raise on the river was probably a bad play. I should have just smooth called. What do the rest of you think? I have four questions:1. Was slow-playing the top 2 pair the right thing to do?2. Does anyone re-raise on the turn?3. Should I have just smooth called on the river?4. Should I call or fold to the river shove?

[It's Late But So Many Left]

Okay, now that I've commented on the other one and thought for a minute, I'm for folding the second one also. I stick with shoving the first time, though. There, YOU are the short stack and you need some altitude with 6 people still left to stand a chance.

[Two Pair No Goot?]

best case you're up against a flush draw and top pair. Worst case, you're up against a set and a made flush.In deep-stacked situations, this is an easy "call and see what he does on the turn" scenario. But this is different. Here's my thoughts:1. There is a player with an M of only 3 still in, and it's the bubble. If you lose, you win nothing. If you fold, you're still in great shape for making the money.2. There's a flat-caller behind you. He is almost as much of a threat as the raiser.3. In the best-case scenario, you're only winning 66% of the time. If you fold, you have twice as much as the short stack, so you're still going to make the money about 66% of the time even if you fold.Think of it this way... if you fold, you'll make the money 66% of the time, while if you stay with the hand you're only going to win the hand 66% of the time, and with no guarantee that you'll make the money by winning the hand. And that's the best-case scenario. You could just as easily be almost drawing dead.So I say fold and wait the SB out.

[It's Late But So Many Left]

I shove all-in both times. Your M's under five, and you need to make a move to get back in it. Sure you may risk getting knocked out on the bubble, but you're not gonna win by sitting and waiting for a monster.

[Is This Move Justified?]

The pot size after my push was 10425, and it cost him another 3900 to call. Not small enough to call with just a draw, not big enough to be a suspicious overbet. That's one of the reasons why I did it. It looked like a move that someone with a monster would make.

[Is This Move Justified?]

I just finished playing in this tournament, and made a move with about 400 left until the money that had me sweating bullets. I'm curious to know whether everyone thinks that this was a good move or a donk bet.GAME: PokerStars $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit, $15,000 guranteed, starting chips: 3000.Blinds: 200/400, 25 ante (Level VII)Game Info: 2160 players started, 650 remain, payout to top 250.9 players at table.UTG + 5: cheetaking (8725 in chips) BUTTON: Villain (15130 in chips) Player Info:I just sat down at the table about 8 hands ago. Villain bet me out of a pot after I called pre-flop from the small blind. Right after sitting down, I made a very big play by flat calling the flop against UTG+3 and then re-raising all-in after the board paired on the turn. He folded, and Villain looks pretty smart so far, so he might think that I'm a bluffer.Villain has been a tough cookie so far. He's been betting like crazy on several hands, and has thrown in a bet so far almost every time someone has shown genuine weakness. He also made a tough call, so I'm guessing he's a top bluffing aggressor, but I can't be sure because I have only seen him for about 8 hands.Antes Posted: (225)SB: posts small blind (200)BB: posts big blind (400)*** HOLE CARDS ***[A J ]4 Players Foldcheetaking: raises 800 to 1200CO foldsVillain: calls 12002 Players FoldTotal Pot: 3225*** FLOP *** [5 9 10 ]ugh... an ugly flop for me. Villain is an advanced player, he's seen me bet hard in another hand already, and I'm out of position, so I decide to check.cheetaking: checks Villain: checks *** TURN *** 5 9 10 [9 ]hmm... an interesting card. Now the board has paired, and there is a potential flush out there. Since Villain checked behind me on the flop, I figure that I'll represent either a made flush or a good draw with a small bet, and see what he does.cheetaking: bets 800Villain: raises 2800 to 3600Conventional wisdom would be to fold, but wait a second... this is a bit of an overbet. If he had made the flush or a boat, he knows that I'm an aggressive player. No way would he bet that much. He would flat call and wait for me to bet again on the river. This looks like a bet that does not want a call. And since this guy has made three big bets like this in the last four hands, I don't trust him. And what would he call with pre-flop and then check on the flop? an overpair slightly possibly, definitely a lower pair. A big ace with a spade fits the bill also. A flush, boat, or something like a/10 just doesn't make sense to me. So, I decide that the possibility is worth taking a shot at this pot. By pushing all-in, I figure that he must put me on something good after a raise and a re-raise on a dangerous board.cheetaking: raises 3900 to 7500 and is all-inIs this bet justified or not? Is my logic sound or flawed?