Eastwood Jr.

Earlier today I was playing in $208 heads up freezout on UB when the following hand came up. The blinds were 30 - 60 and I was leading 1800 to 1200 in chips. My opponent Mr. X had been playing a seemingly erratic game but I felt I had a strong read on him, which is why I was raising high when I had good hands pre flop.Hero SB (button) with (5d 5s) raises to 190.BB calls 190.At this point I feel like I have the best hand but obviously am very vulnerable. The flop looked like a good one for my holding though.7d 4c 2d Playing heads up I rarely make continuation bets since most opponents won't

Honestly, Eastwood has some decent points, and I like the rest of his post. And maybe for somebody struggling at cash games it might be good advice. If you are bankrolled for $.50-1, play some $.10/.20 short handed so you can see more flops, and not have to worry about losing as much.Thanks Spence. Actually the short stack justifications I listed were the worst part of the post. I don't like playing on an ultra super short stack but some do so I guess, in a way, I was just trying to rationalize their mistake. Oh yeah and by the way if you like that one then you should read ESP gone awry

On the turn, given the situation, worrying about the nuts while not wanting to fold the third nuts, I really like your idea. It would have been tough to put the LP limper on a set in this spot. I think thats a real bad read for two reasons. 1. A late position player dealt 99, 1010, or JJ might raise pre flop in this hand. All those limpers and a medium pair will often induce a big raise. 2. Someone with a set, most likely would not be trapping on the turn. 45 is a decent pot for a 1/2 game. If the LP limper had a set on the turn he would probably bet about the size of the pot just in c

I think you're right. Eli raising in the middle was what actually came back to haunt Jen in the end. As far as leading, that is so tough to do, especially when you know that Sammy likes to fire pot sized bets with nothing when the action is checked to him.

I'm going to go ahead and disagree with almost everbody as I often do, regarding the question of short stack play. My theory in a neolithic nutshell: Short stack is ok. Ultra super short stack is bad. How bad? Real bad. You should avoid playing with 10-15 BB's or less like its the plague. Dan Harrington categorizes a level of 5BB's or less as the "dead zone. Who volunteers to be in the dead zone? Apparently alot of players do it willingly, but I've never heard a top pro recomend it. (In "Ace on the River" Barry Greenstein said he plays shortstacked but I'm positive he didn't mean dead

Sweet I hit the nail on the head. He probably shouldn't have reraised that hand preflop. I think your raise to 55 indicates alot of strength and if he were playing a little more cerebrally, he would've probably realized you were pot committed. If he smooth calls then, he'll go broke on some flops and save his money on others.

I wouldn't fold. He's betting all your chips not all his chips, so moving all in doesn't indicate as strong of a hand. I would guess that he's probably overplaying a middle pair and you have him dominated.

Earlier today I was playing a turbo $105 heads up, online tourney against a good player whose screenname I can't recall. For the sake of literary merit we'll call him Jerry. The blinds were 30-60, I had 1300 chips (after making a frantic comeback from 700) and he had 1700 when the hand started.Hero SB (button) Ad 10c Raises to 180.Jerry BB calls 180.When he called 180, something about his tempo told me he didn't have a pair or a strong ace. I just felt like under the exact situation, (I had been raising alot) he would reraise with any hand that was beating me. I was also fairly certain he

Considering that board, I don't know if I would lead the flop but I also don't want to disagree with Fischman because he's a slightly more accomplished player than I am. (sw) I would be interested to know if you took a long time to make up your mind before you checked or if you played it like you normally would.

I love pocket pairs. Usually with about 66 or smaller I try to take a flop as cheaply as possible. Either by limping or calling one raise in order to try and flop a set. It's important to realize how many chips your opponent has when you call the bet. If he has about 7x the amount he bet or more, then you should almost never reraise with these hands. The reason why is you're about 7 to 1 to flop a set (5 to 1 if you consider the turn and river) and if you do there's a good chance you'll double up without having to stick your money in, being at best even money. (If he's desperately shorts

In terms of dead cards that could fit my hand, there weren't many I could recall. My spade draw was very live because I remember that no one had a spade upcard on 3rd street. As far as my draws to make two pair, they were also live although I'm not quite sure if any of the cards I would have wanted had been discarded.

If he comes over the top then you have a crying call I think. It's like OJ Simpson's lawyer, Johnny Cochran, said during the the big murder trial. "If the glove don't fit you must aquit." To me, the way this guy played his hand adds up to losing his mind, not holding the nuts. (Although OJ was probably guilty, which means that everyone once in a while some one will show you QJ or JJ and you'll have to rap the table and say nice catch)

Thank you sir.