it's a fine line!

[digitalmonkey 929]

No-Limit S&GI don't have the actual hand history but it went like this:I had 9:club: 5:spade: in the big blind and wasn't raised so I got to see a free flop. The flop comes down 5:heart: 9:spade: 5:diamond: . I check and then call min bet from the player on the button. Everyone else folds . The turn is a K:diamond:. I check again, he bets min again, I call again. River brings a T:diamond: and he bets 150. I raise to 250. He re-raises to 500. I push all-in and he calls. Is it right to slowplay here?I'll post the outcome after I get a few comments.

[dna4ever 2]

only hand that beats u is 99 so i would slow play the hell out of it. My guess is he hit the nut flush on the river. Guess we'll see when u post

[akishore 0]

only hand that beats u is 99 so i would slow play the hell out of it. My guess is he hit the nut flush on the river. Guess we'll see when u post

not really. 99, TT, KK, T5 and K5 all beat you. the latter hands (T5 and K5) are especially possible considering:1. he was on the button. if the cards were suited, a lot of people will play them.2. the minimum bet on the flop seemed suspicious. people do that sometimes when they hit their trips in order to build the pot (stupid logic, i know, but it's what they do).3. the minimum bet on the turn again, possibly to keep you in.4. the big bet on the river maybe because he realized that you weren't going to fold?i might be overanalyzing the hand though, always easy to do that in retrospect.slowplaying might be fine on the flop at the most, but i would be betting/raising on the turn, even the flop. but i'm not sure... if he had a decent hand, he wasn't going to lay it down anyway, so that's probably the type of hand where you're going to get all your chips in regardless of your play.aseem

[cardo1971 0]

you were right to slow play, dont want to scare him off too soon :clap: , hopefully you won & he did not have 9's, if he did........... more power to him

[ticccal 0]

or kk or 1010........oops somebody already posted that......

[dna4ever 2]

only hand that beats u is 99 so i would slow play the hell out of it. My guess is he hit the nut flush on the river. Guess we'll see when u post

not really. 99, TT, KK, T5 and K5 all beat you. the latter hands (T5 and K5) are especially possible considering:1. he was on the button. if the cards were suited, a lot of people will play them.2. the minimum bet on the flop seemed suspicious. people do that sometimes when they hit their trips in order to build the pot (stupid logic, i know, but it's what they do).3. the minimum bet on the turn again, possibly to keep you in.4. the big bet on the river maybe because he realized that you weren't going to fold?i might be overanalyzing the hand though, always easy to do that in retrospect.slowplaying might be fine on the flop at the most, but i would be betting/raising on the turn, even the flop. but i'm not sure... if he had a decent hand, he wasn't going to lay it down anyway, so that's probably the type of hand where you're going to get all your chips in regardless of your play.aseem

Yea sorry I meant only thing from the flop that could beat is 99.

[CoolHandLaw 0]

I had 9 5 in the big blind and wasn't raised so I got to see a free flop. The flop comes down 5 9 5 . I check and then call min bet from the player on the button. Everyone else folds . The turn is a K. I check again, he bets min again, I call again. River brings a T and he bets 150. I raise to 250. He re-raises to 500. I push all-in and he calls. Is it right to slowplay here? I think you played it fine. You've essentially doubled-up assuming he doesn't hold 99. And if was holding 99 then you were drawing pretty much dead right from the flop, and off the turn.His min bet is suspicious especially on the turn, so I'd assume he didn't hold 99. The only other hand i can think of him holding is a flush hand or a JQ. I would think his min bet would tell you that he didn't hold the 99 therefore, you had the nuts at that point. Slowplaying to let him make a hand was a good idea. You maximized your take on this hand it sounds like.sorry, i need to read more carefully. (at work right now). Of course, there were several more ways you could have been caught (K5, 105).

[Mister Hand 0]

You didn't mention how many players limped in for the flop, or what the blinds were, how many chips you had, etc. But based on what you did tell us...I don't mind checking the flop, especially if there are many people in the pot. That makes it more likely that someone will bet it. Just calling the flop is okay too, especially if you're first to act after the original bettor.I don't like checking the turn so much, because the overcard could scare him if he's betting a 9 or has a small pocket pair. I like checking the river the least of all, because if he doesn't have a big hand like a flush, he can easily check right behind you and you've made two minimum bets on your monster flop. And if he did backdoor a flush or a straight, he's probably going to raise any bet you make anyway. So I would usually bet and hope to at least get a call from the kinds of hands I mentioned earlier. Based on the way you described the hand, I think the only hands that can beat you are K5 suited or pocket tens, unless he's the kind of player who will play any two cards on the button.

[digitalmonkey 929]

Obviously flopping a boat was a surprise so I wanted to slowplay hoping he had something that he would chase. I had put him on Ax and thought I had him until......the sunnuva turned over pocket tens for a bigger boat. Oh well, slowplaying is a fine line I guess. I did wonder why he didn't raise preflop on the button with pocket tens though!

[Azzy666 0]

I believe you played it correctly. If he had 99 and you hadn't slow-played, you were going to lose anyway. So, your only concerns are TT, KK, T5 or K5. The odds of him having any of these hands are slim. When you flop a monster like that, I often like to slow-play to try to let people catch their hands (2 pair, straight, flop, etc). I don' t think you did anything wrong.

[Guest]

I don't know about all this 99 stuff. If I was you, because the pot wasn't raised preflop, the hands you have to worry about are K5 and 10-5. Unfortunately, anything you could have done differently -- raising on the flop, checkraising on the turn, etc., probably is not going to push him off one of these hands. The only possible mistake you made might have been pushing all in after he reraised. I don't know how many chips you had left, but if it was a lot, then it's not a no-brainer; there are some hands out there that can beat you, and he has bet every card and reraised your checkraise. If he is a complete rock, you at least have to think about just calling. But I am by no means saying you made the wrong play. Just a tough beat- if it was one. EDIT: just saw your update- not raising with TT in a tourney is an awful play. After that, he just got lucky- nothing you could do. ZH

[wrto4556 0]

Your hand is holding up more times than not. I slowplay here, too. Then bet big on the turn to charge him for the flush draw.

[digitalmonkey 929]

Thanks guys!