Home game hand

[HalfSugar]

I was playing in my regular home game last Friday and this hand came up which proved to be a huge turning point in the game.

Villain is a bit of an enigma but he is also top of the league we play in after 20 games. He is a very competent player but loves to get involved a lot, often to his detriment. I would not describe him as especially loose or tight as he plays both extremes depending on stack size but either way, he is very aggressive when in a pot. With a middling or big stack, he will be in more than 50% of pots, more often than not driving the action. Passive he is not.

I am second in the league we play in and I am your classic nitty player. We are good friends but there is a certain level of competition between the two of us given our league positions that can lead to some unusual play (read: dick swinging) in some pots.

OK, with that background, the blinds are 100/200 with a running 25 ante. The table has just got down to 9-handed following the exit of the first player at the FT. Villain is on the button with 14,375 and I am in the BB with 13,525. Average stack is around 8,000.

Action starts with UTG folding then a MP player limps in and it folds round to button who makes it 600 to go. SB folds and I look down at [Ad][9d]. Given what I have said about the villain, I decide this is a good spot for me and call. The MP player folds. Pot is 1,725. To qualify my thinking here - if I hit the flop hard he will hang himself more than 50% of the time by betting into me and if I miss, I can easily release.

Flop is [Qd][7d][Th]

This is pretty much my dream flop against such a player. I did think about leading out here but I figured I would rather try and see a free card or check/raise on a semi-bluff since as I have said he might see it as dick swinging and think I am whiffing with air.

I check and villain bets 2,000. At this point, his range is wide and covers everything from a total bluff (which therefore includes a lower FD) to 77. It also includes KJ and QT.

I decided that flatting here would likely advertise my flush draw since villain knows I am a nit and will want a cheap card so I make it 6,000 leaving myself little room to fold. In hindsight, this is probably not the best move given that I only have 6,900 behind (something I had not realised when I popped it) and I would be forced to call his all-in as a 3:1 dog against any set.

After a little thought, villain calls which likely rules out QT or a set as he would almost certainly push back. He is not a trappy player by trade so I put him on KJ or a lower FD.

Turn is [8s]

That is a great turn card for me as it gives me a handful more outs and kills his J if he is holding KJ.

After a little thought, I push my remaining 6,900 into the middle, hoping it is more like 8,000 but the count disappoints! Villain tanks for a long time then grudgingly calls due to the size of the pot.

He shows KJo and the river is [Jc] which gives me the straight.

Looking back, I am undecided about the hand, particularly the raise on the flop given what I was leaving behind. I could have folded on the flop if necessary since 12,900 and 6,900 are OK at 100/200 but given that the pot would be about 21K if he pushed over my raise and I would be getting just under 4 to 1, I'd have to call despite manufacturing those odds myself with the raise. That's probably the bit that bothers me the most about this hand - I check to get him to hang himself and then set myself for the exact same result if he has flopped a miracle and I brick on 4th and 5th.

In the end, doubling up here was huge for me and I rode it into second place. HU was brutal - early on I picked up KK to his AA to double him up then having got it back to about 45/55 stacks, I chopped my AK vs AJ all-in pre-flop when the board rolled out 34567. Some nights are not meant to be.

Obviously, given that I am now only one point off the lead in the league despite having played the least games out of all the players in the top ten, my donkey play fares OK against these guys, but it is big hands like this that always trouble me so I would appreciate feedback as my game is leaky which this hand probably illustrates well.

[Ciso_B]

I personally don't like check raising flop here unless its all in. Getting the last bet in nlhe is crucial at times and you kinda give him the chance to exercise it here, if he has A10, or KQ or something and decides you're on a move, in this case, you're calling anyway as you put it, so if thats the case, just move in once he bets the 2k. It turned out well for you in the end, but I prefer leading this flop, or check/shoving.
Check raising to 6k, then having him call is the worst lol, cos a brick turns and waht do you do? You're odds obviously deminish dramatically seeing a brick turn, and you re oop to boot.

I think leading, then re shoving if you put him on a 1pair hand if he re raises, or check/shoving is the best line this hand. The way you played it ended up doubling you up, but check shoving picks up the pot without showdown i think, and lead/shoving probably does the same too.

Just my poxy 2cents.

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Yeah, with that stack, I'm in agreement with Ciso. If I'm check-raising, it's a check-shove or nothing. No sense giving him the option to make a call, not considering your stack, and then calling a turn shove because it's a good price. That completely kills the semi-bluff aspect.

[miaowmiaowchowface]

if he tries to outplay you lots, you should b3b the flop all the time, to get lots of his money in bad (assuming he has air and folds to ur nitty set-line). not sure about preflop.