[nlhe] is he bluffing?

[Fira 0]

An interesting hand that recently came up. I'm usually a limit player, trying out some lower limit NL. SB: posts small blind $0.10BB: posts big blind $0.25Dealt to Hero [K:diamond: A:heart:]UTG: folds Villain: raises $0.25 to $0.50CO: calls $0.50Hero: raises $0.75 to $1.25Reraising with AKos on the button.SB: folds BB: folds Villain: calls $0.75CO: folds FLOP: 3:diamond: 2:diamond: 7:diamond:Villain: bets $1Hero: raises $1.50 to $2.50I've got the K of diamonds, and he bets out a dollar. I raise here for more information and hopefully to take down the pot here. Doesn't happen.Villain: calls $1.50TURN: 3:diamond: 2:diamond: 7:diamond: 7:spade:Villain: bets $3Hero: calls $3I decide to just call here. This was an awkward bet, as I put him on a stone cold bluff on the flop.RIVER: 3:diamond: 2:diamond: 7:diamond: 7:spade: 6:spade:Villain: bets $7Huge bet. What could he have... this is where I put on my thinking cap. What hands beat me?1. Any pocket pair. But from the way this hand was played, I didn't put him on one. I doubt he would raise minimum and then just call a small reraise preflop with AA, KK, QQ, or JJ. The turn bet pretty much eliminated pocket pairs from TT to 44. 22 and 33 were possibilties, but I didn't think he would just call my raise on the flop if he had really flopped trips.2. A seven, six, three, or deuce. A7s, A6s, A3s, and A2s are all possibilites, Hmm... I have no reads here. The possibility of him holding a 2, 3, or 6 was miniscule, but the 7?3. A straight with 45. This is nearly impossible so I'm going to ignore it for now.4. A flush. This was also one of the scarier hands he may hold. He bets the flop to induce a semibluff from me, which he successfully obtained, then bets bigger on the turn when he sees the full house possibility. Once I call the turn, he can relax and bet big to represent a bluff.5. A split pot with another AK, Ace of diamonds. Yeah, I saw this as another possibility, although not as strong of a threat.Hero: calls $7SHOW DOWN...Any comments or suggestions on how this hand could have been better played?

[SapphireTiger 0]

I think everyone's first instinct in this hand is to fold on the river. It's my first instinct, too...but i'm going to think about it a bit more.His minimum raise pre-flop...could really mean anything. I hate those minimum raises with the passion of a thousand firey suns.The flop...good flop for you, i like the raise. But be wary because you re-raised him pre-flop and he still bets into you. Then he shows strength again on the turn. I kind of want to know what you put him on the flop...or what he did for you to suspect that he's bluffing.Calling here is fine if you don't put him on a higher flush draw.Then on the river...he throws out ANOTHER bet.There are a TON of hands that can beat you. He played it like he could beat you. You can't beat anything but a bluff.after careful consideration of this hand...i think it's a pretty clear fold.Unless you have an awesome read on this guy, fold the hand.

[Guest XXEddie]

No, he isntand if he is, still fold, no reason to call him him. wait till you acually have better than A high to call a bluff

[viper 0]

No, he isntand if he is, still fold, no reason to call him him. wait till you acually have better than A high to call a bluff

agreed

[Fira 0]

Heres what I thought about his play:This flop is a horrible flop for an AKos if I held no diamonds, therefore I put him on a testbet, to see if I did have a diamond. With AKos without a diamond, it would be overly difficult for me to call, not to mention raise. The bet on the flop meant absolutely nothing to me.Since I reraised him preflop then raised him on the flop, he could correctly put me on some overcards with at least a diamond. No diamond on the turn, perfect time for him to take this pot down. Heres where I put him on a bluff. If he really had a flush, set of sevens, or a full house, I would think that he would wait for me to bet into the pot with my Kd and then trap me. Firing again into this pot showed weakness, in my opinion.The river was again not a diamond. He successfully read my busted flush draw, so he fires again with more power this time to take down the pot.

[Fira 0]

No, he isntand if he is, still fold, no reason to call him him. wait till you acually have better than A high to call a bluff

If he's not bluffing, what could he have? It just didn't seem like he had anything at ALL. That's the only reason I called the bet.

[SapphireTiger 0]

Heres what I thought about his play:This flop is a horrible flop for an AKos if I held no diamonds, therefore I put him on a testbet, to see if I did have a diamond. With AKos without a diamond, it would be overly difficult for me to call, not to mention raise. The bet on the flop meant absolutely nothing to me.Since I reraised him preflop then raised him on the flop, he could correctly put me on some overcards with at least a diamond.  No diamond on the turn, perfect time for him to take this pot down. Heres where I put him on a bluff. If he really had a flush, set of sevens, or a full house, I would think that he would wait for me to bet into the pot with my Kd and then trap me. Firing again into this pot showed weakness, in my opinion.The river was again not a diamond. He successfully read my busted flush draw, so he fires again with more power this time to take down the pot.

and in my opinion, you're over thinking. for the average low limit player, firing into a pot with heavy draws usually means they have something. This is why having a read on your opponent is so important. if you have no read on your oppponent, then you can't give him so much credit.The opponent you're talking about is a good, aggressive opponent...not the kind of opponents that you see in SSNLHEI'm thinking it's very possible that he has A7...

[Fira 0]

and in my opinion, you're over thinking.  for the average low limit player, firing into a pot with heavy draws usually means they have something.  This is why having a read on your opponent is so important.  if you have no read on your oppponent, then you can't give him so much credit.The opponent you're talking about is a good, aggressive opponent...not the kind of opponents that you see in SSNLHEI'm thinking it's very possible that he has A7...

Yes, but bad players do not equal honest players, they also bluff although it's of no coordination (like this pot here). A7 is a huge possibility, but I don't know why he would bet so big on the river if he saw that my flush draw had missed?Seemed like he was trying to push me out.

[teneight 1]

i'm certain you have him beat in this hand. I put him on an A10 or A9 ...with the Ace been a diamond. the best on the flop is very very weak, and i usually see this a lot in low limit NL games, trust me. whenever i see this bet when i was the initial raiser PF, i usually raise them the pot + their bet on the flop and they fold 80% percent of the time. i would callteneight

[SapphireTiger 0]

i'm certain you have him beat in this hand. I put him on an A10 or A9 ...with the Ace been a diamond. the best on the flop is very very weak, and i usually see this a lot in low limit NL games, trust me. whenever i see this bet when i was the initial raiser PF, i usually raise them the pot + their bet on the flop and they fold 80% percent of the time. i would callteneight

okay. Ad is definitely a possibility. granted, he's either got a monster and played it extremely well, or he has nothing...and the OP played it extremely well.i still think that the majority of the time, against a random SSNLHE player, you are losing money in the long run if you make this call.

[teneight 1]

fira..what were the results?? what did he have?

[Guest XXEddie]

fira..what were the results?? what did he have?

I assume he posted this hand because he played it wrong, meaning he wasnt bluffing

[GrinderMJ 0]

the preflop raise from 50 to 1.25 seems a little low to me

[Fira 0]

His hand his not important, I'm most interested in how to stop that huge bluff by the river. It was a very uncomfortable call.I could have sworn he had the A of diamonds or at least the Q, but no. He had J8, J of diamonds.Thanks all for your comments, I appreciate it.

[Guest XXEddie]

I could have sworn he had the A of diamonds or at least the Q, but no. He had J8, J of diamonds.Thanks all for your comments, I appreciate it.

Im still folding

[teneight 1]

told you he was weak. the flop bet gave it away. most low NL players that aren't experienced make this bet over and over when you raised PF. teneight

[Fira 0]

I could have sworn he had the A of diamonds or at least the Q, but no. He had J8, J of diamonds.Thanks all for your comments, I appreciate it.

Im still folding

You've got a point, this call may be a loss in the long run. Any suggestions on how I could have improved the play so he couldn't bet so huge on the river?

[teneight 1]

you could:raise more PF or raise more on the FLOP if you smell weaknessteneight

[Fira 0]

you could:raise more PF or raise more on the FLOP if you smell weaknessteneight

Hmm yeah, my preflop reraise was pretty low now that I think of it. 2$ probably would have pushed him out preflop. or at least on the flop.