Playing A Marginal Hand In The Blinds

PezRez on 4th April 2010

PokerStars Game $35+$3 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50)

Seat 1: Player 1 (1377 in chips)

Seat 2: Player 2 (1575 in chips)

Seat 3: Hero (4443 in chips)

Seat 4: Villain (1605 in chips)

Hero: posts small blind 25

Villain: posts big blind 50

*** HOLE CARDS ***

Dealt to Hero [7c 8h]

Player 1: folds

Player 2: folds

Hero: calls 25

Villain: checks

*** FLOP *** [Qd 7h 6s]

Hero: bets 50

Villain: calls 50

*** TURN *** [Qd 7h 6s] [5c]

Hero: bets 100

Villain: calls 100

*** RIVER *** [Qd 7h 6s 5c] [8d]

Hero: checks

Villain: bets 250

Hero: calls 250

*** SHOW DOWN ***

Villain: shows [Th 6h] (a pair of Sixes)

Hero: shows [7c 8h] (two pair, Eights and Sevens)

Hero collected 900 from pot

In this hand I flop middle pair. It is likely to be ahead, but when I am out of position I must bet both to protect my hand and to define my opponent’s hand. If I check, he could bet with any two cards and I will have no information about his hand as we proceed. Since he calls, I figure he is most likely to have a pair, although probably not a Queen as he would likely have raised with it. He would expect me to bet many hands in this spot, so as well as legitimate draws (eg. 45, 58, 89) he will call with a lot of gutshots and maybe some total air hands hoping to bluff on the turn if I check.

On the turn, I have a straight draw in addition to my pair. My decision is very similar here to the one on the flop. He may have a better hand - it is possible he has just made a straight or two-pair, or has a Queen - but he could hold a lot of worse hands and with middle pair and a straight draw I will have to see the river anyway, so I don’t want to check and have to guess. A half-pot bet seems about right as a combination value bet/blocking bet. I would expect him to raise on this dangerous board with a queen or two-pair, so unless he is slow playing a straight when he calls I expect that he has a one pair hand, a draw, or both.

The river makes me two pair, but puts four to a straight on board. This is a perfect spot to check and hope to induce a bluff. If I am right that my opponent was hoping to bluff later in the hand, this would seem to him the perfect opportunity. As to the straight possibility, I wouldn’t want to bet and get raised, but since my opponent is a good player he is not likely to have drawn to either the ignorant-end straight draw or the gutshot to the nine. It is possible he holds either a four or nine with a pair (eg 69, 74) but if that’s the case, unlucky me. I check, he bets 250 and I stick with the plan by snap-calling. He had bottom pair that he has turned into a bluff, and I collect a nice pot with a marginal hand.

PezRez