Hopeless bluff, or a reasonable play?

[REDMAN]

I have been playing all day small limit cash game but consider player involved to be reasonable maybe slightly loose aggressive. A player in early position raises 3 blinds. On the button I call with 10d-10h. I put early raiser range on AQ+, 66+. 3 see the flop including me. Flop is 5x –8s –Qs. Early raiser bets 2 blinds in to a 3 blind pot others fold I call thinking he makes this bet with a lot of cards. Any pair, AQ and AK he has to protect against the flush and has made continuations bets often. Turn is 9s making the flush. It is checked to me. His turn check changes his range some may be AQ drops and AK becomes much more likely so I bet 6 blinds in to a 7 blind pot trying to take it down right their villain calls.

The pot is 19 blinds I have 10 left behind. River is 3s this 4 flushes the flop. It is checked to me. After his call on the turn I now figure my hand is not good unless I can get him to fold. Not really putting him on a range with 19 blinds in the pot and 10 behind I push thinking with 4 flush on the board I have some fold equity. This seems be a tough call unless my opponent has a good spade. I push partly because I figure I only have to be successful 1/3 of the time. He calls and I loose.

I left thinking I am the biggest a donkey in the world. I thought I could play and was a consistent winner but this is now typical of my play. Did I just get caught? Was this a hopeless bluff, or a reasonable play? Any and all suggestions are welcome including stop playing now you suck. Please help!!!

[miaowmiaowchowface]

dude. this is virtually unreadable. Put it in a similar format to an online HH

[REDMAN]

Sorry here goes again. I am going by memory. I am most concerned about the river bluff. Does this work enough to justify it?

9 Handed game / Loose Aggressive table / UTG-1 Continuation bets often

I have 10d-10h on the button.

Stack Sizes
UTG +1 – He has me covered
Late Position opponent– not sure /does not mater
Button Me – 65 blinds

Pre-flop
UTG +1 – bets 3 blinds
All others fold
Late positions Opponent – Calls
Button – Calls

Pot 10 blinds - Flop is 5x –8s –Qs

UTG – bets about 80% of the Pot
Late Positions- Fold
Button -Calls

Pot 26 blinds - Turn is 9s

UTG +1 – checks
Button – I bet close to 85%-90%
UTG +1 calls

Pot 60 blinds - River - 3s (4 spades on the board)

UTG –checks
Button – all-in for 50% of the pot (only has to work 33% of the time to be justified)
UTG - Calls

I actually expected to win the pot on the turn and felt I probably had the worst hand on the river and could only win if I shipped and my opponent did not have a spade that he could call with. I am trying to bluff (a non spade AQ) a (lower set without a spade) (other Pairs that have a low spade that I dont beat at show down) or over cards without a spade.

At the time i thought this river bluff made senses now i do not know.

[crack]

I would say first, you don't need to bet so much on the turn. Something smaller, like 60% is going to do the same job as a near pot bet. If it will achieve the same thing then there is not really much point risking the extra money.

Sometimes I am going to make this bluff and sometimes I won't. It is going to depend on what I think of the player. Is he capable of laying down a hand, is he a trappy type player who might be doing this to induce a bluff, is he the type of player who will see 4 spades on board have no spades in his hand and auto fold everything, does he think I am the type of player who will be auto betting everything I have in this spot.

Is he thinking about what I could have called the flop with, will he fold getting 3/1, does he even know what 3/1 means? Does my hand have any showdown value against this type of player? These are the sort of things that will be going through my head.

If you are playing very small stakes, I will give you a broad piece of advice and say to try and keep the bluffs down to a bare minimum. Bluff less and value bet more. I know it kind of like with stocks saying buy low sell high etc, but ya know, there is truth in it.

A friend of mine said to me once that he doesn't like to play the smaller stakes games because the moves he tries never get any respect and they don't work, so I simply said, stop making the moves then.

[miaowmiaowchowface]

on the flop you aren't in great shape that often so folding isn't really that bad, even though you have TT.

There is no purpose of betting the turn unless you are betting the river as a bluff 100%. Worse hands fold (mostly), (or shove). better hands call.

River looks questionable at best, what's his C/c range on the turn.. mostly spades right or hed shove?

[REDMAN]

You are right i should have folded the flop or just given up on the turn. It was his lack of betting the turn that through me as I would expect him to bet the turn to protect against the 4th flush hitting. I should have assume part of his range inclused AsKs or AsQx this would exlain his lack of betting. In hindsight actual I should have assume this was the major part of his range but in low stakes games it is easy to think everyone is a donky. I miss played this very badly.

He ended up having AsKs exactly the hand i should have expected him to have.

[lwestatbus]

dude. this is virtually unreadable. Put it in a similar format to an online HH

I actually like the narrative format you used. It lets you intersperse your own thoughts and observations with the hand development. I hate having to interpret the hand history (HH) as I'm generally not smart enough.

I see that you've been very active since joining. Welcome.

[hotpokerbabe]

Well a lot of online players are using HH to analyze other players next judgements. But like Iwasthatbus, I'm not much of a smart pants to do the analyzing part when I am currently doing some other analyzing myself.

[clarky]

There is no purpose of betting the turn unless you are betting the river as a bluff 100%. Worse hands fold (mostly), (or shove). better hands call.

Mostly in online poker session, bluffs like re-raising bets pretending as if you have a good hand when you don't is a common strategy of bluffing. However, miaowmiaowchowface is right of analyzing the hands.