Here I am playing 7 handed $1.50/$3 NL Hold 'em. Villain seems fairly loose aggresive but I haven't been sat down long.

Stack sizes are all over $200.

I limp in EP with 88, another limper and then the SB completes and BB checks. 4 way flop of:

(Pot is $15)

Not the worst flop in the world for a pair of 8's. I decide to check and see what happens. Depending where bet comes from I may raise or i there's a lot of action I can fold.

Second to at bets $10
fold, fold.

I dont think that this player has an Ace so I reraise to $25 and he flat calls.

Turn (Pot $65)

I check - Is this a mistake and just inviting my oppnent to take the pot?

He bets pot, I fold like a girl.

He shows pocket 5's. Seems about right. Does this illustrate the value of position or was my turn play weak and perhaps I should throw out a 2/3 pot bet and fold to a reraise?

I think you have to put out a decent size bet on the turn there after your flop check/raise. He's re-raising the flop with an Ace or 33 since he already has the action I would think. The only hands you can be worried about on the turn are 99/TT types, or 77. The 77 seems unlikely to me since he probably would have folded to your raise on the flop. I really don't see him playing a 99 like the hand played out. Granted, I am folding to his pot bet most likely, but I would have come out firing.

This is the are of my game I am working on.

I have a tendency to be weak on turn.

For eaxmple I maybe raise JJ and get a call. An ace flops so I make a continuation bet and the guy just calls.
I then check turn, he bets, I fold. Of course he has an ace right?

Now occasionally I will fire a second bet on the turn or even check raise and watch the other person fold. He has probably correctly read my hand as JJ-KK and seen I am scared of ace so takes pot away with a hand like 99 or a flush draw.

The turn is the most important street of NL-Hold'em, if your gonna play any street weak dont make it the turn. I have no problem with the way you played your hand I would have done exactly same (depending on table image and players mighta raised preflop and come out firing on the flop)

In those types of situations I usually bet the potsize on the flop. If its flat called then i check-fold, if its raised then i fold.

The thing with that Eclipse is I feel a check raise looks stronger. People will think when you bet out, I dont think he'd bet an ace there. Then when you check turn they sense weakness and take pot away.

yea true..

but i also dont like to get involved in big pots with marginal holdings OOP. And by check-raising the flop, that is exactly the type of situation that u get urself into.

If u check-raise flop u create a big pot for urself that will be very hard to defend confidently on later streets OOP, especially if u have a marginal holding. This is why I usually only cr with strong hands, like 2pair, a set, trips with a high kicker, etc.

If cr that flop and are called, and continue to bet out on that turn, then u would have just commited like 1/4 - 1/5th of ur stack size into a hand that u could easily be drawing nearly dead in.

Just wondering, how would u have played River if u bet out 2/3 potsize on the turn, and it was flat called?

In the game Go there is a term - "sente" whoever has sente is making moves that his opponet has to react to its obviously good to have sente. Your check-raise on the flop earned you sente in this hand. You gave it away by checking the turn here. On the flop your raise says "you dont have an ace, and I have a better hand than whatever bullshit you have" but on the turn you say "opps, you might have an ace... do you?" and of course he says "yes".

I think I fire about 40-50 on the turn and check-fold the river if he calls. I think check-raising the turn again would show some real strength if your really (and I mean really) sure he doesnt have the ace or 33.

Just my thoughts, I dont play this high of stakes tho, so may not apply.

Fold the flop or bet the turn...

Best play would have been to bet the flop IMO.
I dont hate the Check-raise on the flop, but raise more than that if you do... he only have to call 15 to call in 50$ pot... you will have problems to kick players out of the hands. Especialy after they see your turn play...

KJ

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Originally Posted by Girevik
Heck, I've seen people go nuts with middle pair!

Thats great thinking Fish. You would win at the $200 game with an attitude like that.