Could I have made more here and of so how? Playing NL Hold 'Em, myself and opponent both have approx 100BB stack.

I am in mid-late position and raise an unraise pot to 3BB with:



button minimum reraises to 6BB and I call.

Flop



I bet out 2/3 pot. (I am putting him on AA/KK and feel that by betting out I commiting him to raise me,however I may be wrong - should I have bet more?)

He then minimum raises and I call (should I here push all in?)

Turn was

I really didnt wantto see this heart incase he now puts me on flush draw but I check, hoping he will now bet, he checks.

River is a blank and I then bet out around the pot (half his stack).

He calls and I win. Any comments?

preflop - his min re-raise shows AA, and that he wants to keep you in the pot and go heads up with his AA.

flop - i probably would have bet around 3/4 of the potsize here (hoping that he will raise me here) so that I can build the pot with him on the flop. He min raises you back on the flop right after u bet into him - showing you that he has an overpair to the board: either AA or possibly KK. At this point I would re-raise, knowing that he will probably stay in the pot with me. Most likely i will re-raise to about 2.5 - 3x his min raise. If he calls, then I push all in on the turn.

The trouble is though assuming he is a fairly good player, he may well have folded to a reraise on the flop. That board fits to so many possible holdings,

TJ for straight
3 potential sets of trips for 9s 8s and 7s
even 2 pair for hands like 89s or 78s

These are all possible hands someone could be playing in the way I played and I feel a reraise on the flop may get him to lay it down.

However on the river he may feel, oh well I cant lay down AA to potsized bet and make a reluctant call. This may have been the way to get the most money in this case even if not always correct.

I check the flop, let him bet into me and depending on the bet size, go from there. with AA, with the flush draw and 3 to a str8, he's going to want to take odds away from you so I'm guessing he comes across with a hefty raise (say pot sized). I also let him bet into me on the turn...because of the flush, I'm expecting a half sized bet here...again, a hestant call...I want him to think that I made a pair of 9s on the flop and I don't give him credit for a hand...

When I flop a powerhouse hand like this, I want him to bet his chips into me, especiallyl if he can beat the board and I want him to think he's ahead. If he hasn't been playing with you long, he may think your a fish and your calling with nothing. He may also think you have a TP or some such crap and you just aren't putting him on anything...

If you've been playing with him for a while, and he knows your a solid player, then you may have gotten all you could from him...if either of you are new to the table, I let him bet his chips off...

well, im assuming here that if he is going to be calling a potsize bet on the river, then he will most likely call a re-raise on the flop.

Another reason why i re-raise here is because theres a possible flush draw on the board. I feel that there is a need to protect your hand whenever it can be outdrawn - however slim it is, there is a chance this guy could also be holding AK suited of hearts. This is why i re-raise.

Also, I would have bet this turn as well instead of checking. If this guy has pocket aces, and has the ace of hearts, then ur just gonna be giving him a free card to make his flush. If this guy has pocket kings, that would mean he just hit his set, and would probably raise you on the turn (therefore helping u to build the pot on the turn). I would say that on the flop, if this guy was a good player, he would have put you on either a set or QQ. From the way u played that hand preflop, and on the flop, it is hard to put you on TJ, or 2 pair.

Would you base this primarily on the fact that I raised and called the minimum reraise, or the fact that I bet out the flop?

Hoping this isn't a stupid question, but why not just call preflop? j10s is a hand you'd want to play against as many opponents as possible, right?

Thats a good point Razorburn. I tend to raise if I am first to enter the pot so that:

I may win it if everyone folds

I have represented strength to take ot down on the flop even if I miss

It is harder for people to read when I have a big hand.