ITH Poker Forum

[nsidestrate]

This hand is against a reasonably good, fairly aggressive player immediately to Huck's right. This is at the very end of the same level as the first hand, 100/200. Huck is sitting on about 9,000 chips and the other player has him covered. The other player raises to 600 on the Button and Huck tosses in a 500 chip in a big fat rainbow lob to call. The BB folds.

The flop comes down A93 with two clubs. Huck checks, the Button bets 500 and Huck raises to 1,400. The Button calls. The pot now contains 4,000 and Huck has 7,000 back.

The turn brings a Queen (not a club) and Huck leads for 2,000 chips. The button pushes all-in and Huck is looking at a call of 5,000 into an 11,000 chip pot.

What do they have? What do you need to call in Huck's shoes?

These two players have tangled a bit before -- the Button is pretty aggressive in terms of raising pre-flop and taking shots at pots where no one else has bet. Huck hasn't been seen to get out of line yet. When he has gone to showdown, he has shown a real hand. He appears to me to be willing to flat call in position in the hopes of taking it down on the turn. Once he folded to a second bet on the turn and once he took it down with a bet on the turn when it checked to him.

[nsidestrate]

Nobody likes to be the first answer, I notice.

[chrisjp]

I think Huck has AK or 33. I think the button has AQ or A9. Button could even have a set. Button looks like he is strong and protecting against a draw. That's why he could have a set, even QQ. But Huck's play doesn't look like a draw at all....

This is really read dependent at the time. But Huck needs better than AK to call...I think.

Definitely not sure about this one.


Chris

[chrisjp]

Nobody likes to be the first answer, I notice.

You always post while I am composing.

[mash_tun]

I'm very curious to see if the possible tells/player reads correlate or are opposite of what they hold.

The other player raises to 600 on the Button and Huck tosses in a 500 chip in a big fat rainbow lob to call. The BB folds.

Hmm...tell or reverse tell from Huck? Projecting strength...usually means weak...but he could be doing this against what he perceives as a good player...and actually be holding a monster...fun! I'd put the Button on a pretty wide range, given your description. Maybe A8+, any PP, broadways, higher suited connectors?

The flop comes down A93 with two clubs. Huck checks, the Button bets 500 and Huck raises to 1,400. The Button calls. The pot now contains 4,000 and Huck has 7,000 back.

The button puts in a pretty wimpy flop bet (1/3PSB) w. a pretty dangerous board. Could just be a cheap stab at the pot w. air, or he's hit a big hand and isn't really scared too much of the Ace on the board or the flush draw. [By the way, is the ace the ???] I'd expect him to bet a bit more if he had an Ace with a bigger kicker, or an Ace without at least a backdoor draw to a flush.

Huck puts in a smallish reraise. Button is going to call this with anything that's hit the board (either now or in the form of a draw). Based on this, I'd expect that Huck has a strong hand here...maybe a set of Aces or 9's...perhaps ? I'd think Ax for the villain...perhaps 2-pair like A9, or a set of 9's?

The turn brings a Queen (not a club) and Huck leads for 2,000 chips. The button pushes all-in and Huck is looking at a call of 5,000 into an 11,000 chip pot.

The turn should not have changed things too much unless the villain held something like AQ or QQ and has turned 2pr or a set. Huck bets 1/2 the pot, and Button pushes...

What do they have? What do you need to call in Huck's shoes?

Button better have a big hand, because I think Huck does. I'd put button on 2-pair, or a set...A9, QQQ, or 999. I'd put Huck on a set of aces, 9's or queens, or .

I think Huck is calling this with a set only. If he has 2-pair or TPTK, he's laying it down.

Of course I get the feeling I'm 100% wrong here...oh well!

[nsidestrate]

[By the way, is the ace the ???]

Yes.

[nsidestrate]

Last call before I post results.

[chrisjp]

These two players have tangled a bit before -- the Button is pretty aggressive in terms of raising pre-flop and taking shots at pots where no one else has bet. Huck hasn't been seen to get out of line yet.

So Button is aggressive in pots up for grabs. This pot is not up for grabs. Huck has shown to be very serious about this pot. Button is obviously a good player and knows Huck is a star. So for him to move in...he should not be fooling around. He knows Huck can have a set, although maybe he is reading him for as weak as AK.

Upon reflection I don't think button has two pair. He may, if he's not that good, but I don't think so.

I'll put him on set of Queens, most likely, or a set of nines. I think Huck is folding here. Huck may have 33, more likely AK. I don't think he wants to go out here.

Chris

[nsidestrate]

I found the outcome somewhat surprising. Huck called with A3 for top and bottom pair. The Button showed AQ for top two pair and eliminated Huck.

I wondered about this hand for a while. Apparently Huck considered AK or a flush draw to be within the Button's range here. I didn't think so, but I'm not as smart as he is. It made me wonder if being a pro means that people take more shots at you and this colored his perceptions.

In Huck's shoes, I think I lay this down. Maybe I have the pot size wrong and he was getting a bit better odds, but I know that he would have had a reasonable stack left if he folded.

[maalox111]

Nuts, I was about to answer. Great hand. I was thinking of AQ, 9s, or 3s for the button. I like Huck's play up until the turn call. He showed a lot of strength on the lop and turn, and unless the button is a AK donkey or very aggressive with his draws, top/bottom two pair is usually beat here against a solid player. I would only call with AQ or better. I'd be a little more apt to call the button's turn shove if a non-face card fell.

[Zool1]

Apparently Huck considered AK or a flush draw to be within the Button's range here.

If the is out on the flop, for the flush draw clearly cannot be considered part of Button's range

Unless I misread?

[nsidestrate]

Apparently Huck considered AK or a flush draw to be within the Button's range here.

If the is out on the flop, for the flush draw clearly cannot be considered part of Button's range

Unless I misread?

He couldn't have held . He could have held some other AK or some other flush draw. I personally didn't think that the Button would have played those hands that way, but I guess Huck did.

[Zool1]

My apologies dude - as you may have guessed, I misread "AK or a flush draw" as "AK for a flush draw" for some reason

[mash_tun]

I found the outcome somewhat surprising. Huck called with A3 for top and bottom pair. The Button showed AQ for top two pair and eliminated Huck.

I wondered about this hand for a while. Apparently Huck considered AK or a flush draw to be within the Button's range here. I didn't think so, but I'm not as smart as he is. It made me wonder if being a pro means that people take more shots at you and this colored his perceptions.

In Huck's shoes, I think I lay this down. Maybe I have the pot size wrong and he was getting a bit better odds, but I know that he would have had a reasonable stack left if he folded.

I'm a bit surprised as to the weakness of Huck's hand (and his call), too. I think that if I held top/bottom pair on that board OOP, I'd bump up the reraise a bit more that what Huck did...that's a pretty vulnerable holding, since villain can easily hold Ax...there are many cards that will counterfeit his 2-pr on the turn...if the villain holds Ax (w. "x" >3), there are 6 cards that will put him out front; Huck gives the villain over 3.3:1 to call his C/R. I understand he may have been trying to control the pot size and/or trap the button, and may also have been working off his image of showing down strong hands, but OOP w. top/bottom pair, I wouldn't be terribly upset to just end the hand on the flop. Too much could go wrong (as it did). With a queen showing up on the turn, a 2K bet gives the villain 3:1 odds to call (if he hasn't made a hand), and he could now have an even stronger draw...so I'm not sure if I'd bet out into that turn, either...

But then again, I'm not a pro and wasn't at the table...so I may be missing something!

[chrisjp]

...<twith his c/r on the flop> Huck gives the villain over 3.3:1 to call his C/R. I understand he may have been trying to control the pot size and/or trap the button, and may also have been working off his image of showing down strong hands, but OOP w. top/bottom pair, I wouldn't be terribly upset to just end the hand on the flop. Too much could go wrong (as it did). With a queen showing up on the turn, a 2K bet gives the villain 3:1 odds to call (if he hasn't made a hand), and he could now have an even stronger draw...so I'm not sure if I'd bet out into that turn, either...But then again, I'm not a pro and wasn't at the table...so I may be missing something!

The c/r amount seems strange to me too.... Maybe he figures button will interpret this wimpy check/raise as a weak Ace and will pay him off all the way with AK-AT or so. This is before the fateful Q.

So if Huck thinks that Villain thinks that Huck has a weak Ace then villain might be moving in with AK on the turn....Huck's thinking anyway..

I don't buy this multi level thinking. I think he needs to make a much bigger raise on the flop. He has an awkward stack size though. If he makes a bigger raise then he's pretty much pot committed, right? So maybe his raise is appropriate.

There's often a lot of bluffing and weaker hands than expected in these late position/blind battles. I don't know. Maybe Huck did play it right.