Am I nuts for raising this hand? I got called a fish by the player I beat in this hand, which was surprising, because I play with him a lot, and I thought I had his respect. Guess not.

As a side note, I've got this guy read like a book when it comes to sets. He min-raises every time. He doesn't min-raise with anything else. If the board paired on the turn, I would have folded, with no hesitation.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (9 handed)

UTG+1 ($2025)
MP1 ($2232)
MP2 ($1000)
MP3 ($2949.5)
CO ($499)
Button ($1905.5)
SB ($2414.5)
BB ($430)
Hero ($2637)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with , . SB posts a blind of $10.
Hero raises to $80, 2 folds, MP2 calls $80, 3 folds, SB (poster) calls $70, 1 fold.

Flop: ($260) , , (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $250, MP2 folds, SB raises to $500, Hero calls $250.

Turn: ($1260) (2 players)
SB bets $700, Hero raises all-in to $2057, SB calls $1357.

River: ($5148.50) (2 players)

Final Pot: $5148.50


SB has 5d 5s (three of a kind, fives).
Hero has 9c 7c (straight, nine high).
Outcome: Hero wins $5148.50.

Love it when raising connectors works out like that. Good play.

Obviously you're not a fish.

Wow, that play was so sweet. He was on the losing side and didn't even know it. I can see him being annoyed about being outplayed like that, suited gaper raised UTG. Very nice pot.

I'm curious, how often do you raise suited connectors early, and what do you do if you miss? First if you miss completely, or if you got a piece of the flop like 77+9 on a small flop. Are they profitable on the normal small pots or they are only profitable because of super-flops like these when you make a good amount of money?

I watched a 2000NL table on party last week, and the two large pots I've seen were suited connectors limped early, someone with a PP raised after that, and the suited connectors hit the flop very well. Is that a standard advanced play at higher limits?

As you know, I love that play. What Im wondering is why you didnt push all in on the flop?

You know he has a set...he "knows" you have an overpair. Why not push it in now?

What can I say? Great play and perfect timing... I think the turn is exactly the right spot to put it all in--particularly against the set, where the river outs significantly increase.

I have a follow-up here to your raise, but I think I'll put it in a separate thread.