Tight Poker

[crunny]

I hope i made the right play here. But i doubt it. All comments appreciated.

PokerStars Game #7493543884: Tournament #38332674, $12+$1 Holdem No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2006/12/18 - 01:15:26 (ET)
Table 38332674 1 6-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: crunny (2250 in chips)
Seat 4: AussieSam (4805 in chips)
Seat 5: saltinecrckr (1945 in chips)
saltinecrckr: posts small blind 50
crunny: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to crunny [Kd Ts]
AussieSam: calls 100
saltinecrckr: folds
crunny: checks
*** FLOP *** [4c 7s Kh]
crunny: bets 200
AussieSam: raises 600 to 800
crunny: raises 1350 to 2150 and is all-in
AussieSam: calls 1350
*** TURN *** [4c 7s Kh] [Ah]
*** RIVER *** [4c 7s Kh Ah] [8d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
crunny: shows [Kd Ts] (a pair of Kings)
AussieSam: shows [Kc 4h] (two pair, Kings and Fours)
AussieSam collected 4550 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4550 | Rake 0
Board [4c 7s Kh Ah 8d]
Seat 1: crunny (big blind) showed [Kd Ts] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 4: AussieSam (button) showed [Kc 4h] and won (4550) with two pair, Kings and Fours
Seat 5: saltinecrckr (small blind) folded before Flop

[ugignadl]

Reads? How has villain won his chips? Through being lucky or people being sticky?

Truth be told I probably push preflop.

[darinvg]

We've got 20BB so I don't like a preflop push. I probably check raise the flop since it's not dangerous. I don't mind getting my chips in w/ TP good kicker 3 handed.

[mewsiclovr]

This is on the bubble of a six max game. And no I definitely don't like a preflop push here.

Check raise looks fine but I think I shut down to continued resistance.

[darinvg]

I see we're on the bubble but we're pretty deep. If we go for a check raise I think we'll be pretty tied to the hand. I don't think we can play it too weak just because we're on the bubble. Eh, more discussion would be good here.

[faquewdikhed]

Tough spot because of the number of BB that you have and the stack size dynamics.

Assuming all else is the same, if you had 1-15BB, this is a spot you absolutely have to get it all in. If you have 26+BB, you should probably be able to get away from it still alive. 16-25BB I really don't know, but I would have a very tough time not losing a large chunk of my chips if not all of them on this hand. The only thing that could save me is to know the button's limping tendencies. If he never limps, and he just limped all of a sudden, I would be able to get away from this hand, but for the wrong reasons (I would think he's limping a monster by the way he played the hand). If he had a tendency to limp quite a bit, I have no problem getting it in here.

I think my game could use a lot of improvement in spots such as this. I end up taking a similar line to OP, even though I have a very strong sense that I'm beat. It seems like villain usually turns over the same pair as me, but a slightly stronger kicker, (KJ, KQ) or some retarded two pair like in this hand.

Hehe I dont think that helped much, but that's all I got.

[crunny]

Reads? How has villain won his chips? Through being lucky or people being sticky?

Getting reads is a big problem i have late game. People tend to 'change gears' making early game reads almost useless. Additionally, it hardly goes to a showdown so you never get to see what they check, bet, raise with.

I probably check raise the flop since it's not dangerous

I almost never check-raise, especially with just a pair. Is it something i should add to my game? What should i be looking for before c/r. HU, dry board?

I think my game could use a lot of improvement in spots such as this. I end up taking a similar line to OP, even though I have a very strong sense that I'm beat. It seems like villain usually turns over the same pair as me, but a slightly stronger kicker, (KJ, KQ) or some retarded two pair like in this hand.

I also had a strong sense that villain had KJ, KQ. I was surprised to see him turn over two pair, most players would slow play this, even more so on a dry board. Good play by him i suppose.

Would a PF raise to 400 be horrible in this situation?

[sfustsh]

I probably check raise the flop since it's not dangerous

I almost never check-raise, especially with just a pair. Is it something i should add to my game? What should i be looking for before c/r. HU, dry board?

Check raise against opponents who have raised preflop, or shown aggression on the previous street. I don't checkraise without a strong hand unless I'm making a move. The drawy status of the board isn't that important, as you will need a read telling you that your opponent will bet a draw. Generally, the dirtier the board, the better place for a checkraise though, since your opponent usually bets to 'prevent' you from drawing. The point of the checkraise is to get 2 bets instead of one (betting out and then getting called). It can also reverse the momentum of the hand (which may or may not be a good thing).

I prefer to bet into pre flop raisers with a big hand, however. In cash games especially, it's a good way to mix up your play. Employed correctly, your opponents may fold highcard hands (AK that whiffs, for example) when you bet into them with nothing. Of course, provided you have shown down a good hand to give your play credibility.

I don't like the checkraise, though, I feel it has limited applications. Betting in places where a check raise could work is a good way to build table image also, so I almost never checkraise in a cash game.

[darinvg]

Reads? How has villain won his chips? Through being lucky or people being sticky?

Getting reads is a big problem i have late game. People tend to 'change gears' making early game reads almost useless. Additionally, it hardly goes to a showdown so you never get to see what they check, bet, raise with.

I probably check raise the flop since it's not dangerous

I almost never check-raise, especially with just a pair. Is it something i should add to my game? What should i be looking for before c/r. HU, dry board?

I think my game could use a lot of improvement in spots such as this. I end up taking a similar line to OP, even though I have a very strong sense that I'm beat. It seems like villain usually turns over the same pair as me, but a slightly stronger kicker, (KJ, KQ) or some retarded two pair like in this hand.

I also had a strong sense that villain had KJ, KQ. I was surprised to see him turn over two pair, most players would slow play this, even more so on a dry board. Good play by him i suppose.

Would a PF raise to 400 be horrible in this situation?

The check raise is for a strong hand but not one that you want to slow play. You want your opponent to put some chips in before you take it down. The check raise allin is also a good play vs a preflop raise when you have a very strong draw.
Don't raise PF here. You'll just build a pot.
As far as a read , if he has AK, KQ, KJ, he should be raising. He shouldn't really be playing Kx. The problem w/ reads at this level is your opponent doesn't even know what he's doing so it's impossible for you to figure out.
One final thought. Do you think if he had Kx (lower than KT but not two pair) he would have folded?

[ugignadl]

I push preflop here not because I think it is the absolute best possible move, but because our hand is good enough to push with and we are on the bubble with a good amount of fold equity.

Also, to avoid postflop situations such as these where I am very unsure what is happenning.

If I did check then... I'd probably be thinking what the hell have I done once I'm in the hand. *edit: I'd have most likely c-r all-in as others suggested, but that's already been said.

Just my opinion.