1/2 NL Prima

opponent- 200
me - 500

opponent is very tight preflop.


I'm dealt [Kh] in MP. UTG limps....UTG+1 limps as well (tight opponent.) I raise to $10. only UTG+1 calls.


FLOP $22
[6c][7d]

seems decent enough. Opponent checks. I bet $20. Opponent raises to $40. I call. (a mistake I think)

TURN $102
[6c][7d][2c]

Nothing card. Opponent bets $44. I call.

RIVER $190
[6c][7d][2c][Jc]

Backdoor flush hit and AJ is now beating me. Opponent bets $34. I obviously call.


Results
Opponent has 77 for a set on the flop.


I'm glad I didn't lose $200 here but I still lost around $120. What do you guys suggest to do here? I suppose I could reraise the flop. That's what I usually do. I think I would have saved $30 or $40 dollars that way.

Suggestions? All advice appreicated.

I think you call the flop and drop it on the turn.

I hate this kind of hand. It's hard to pick out any particular moment in the hand when you should fold, but at the end you're like "How did I not fold?"

Let me ask one question: How does a re-raise on the flop save you $30 to $40? Are you presuming that he would re-re-raise you so that you can drop then? Or are you done with the hand (check/fold) even if he just calls your re-raise?

For example. You bet $20, he raises to $40, you re-raise to, what, just $60? Or $80-90?

Let's say you make a real re-raise to $90, and he calls. The pot is now $202. Are you really going to fold to a tiny bet on the turn -- say $20? Are you now 90% sure you're beaten so that you can fold? And then what if he then bets just another $20 on the river? Hard to fold to those bets, and yet the final pot is now bigger, not smaller, than the way the hand actually went.

Maybe you just re-raise to $60? I don't know.

Honest questions from a confused newbie trying to learn. Thanks for any help here..

Very interesting hand. I loose a lot of $ on hands like these. How to play them depends a lot on the opponent.

Regarding a reraise on flop I agree with K3nt. I wouldn’t reraise on flop. If you do and he comes over the top you can fold. But most players would just call with a set (in my experience), then you both check turn and he bets river (a big bet if he is good) and you face a tough decision. If you play it like this (reraising to $80 on flop) you loose $40 less (if you fold to his river bet) but you don’t get a showdown.

Recently I have tried to play TPTK more cautiously. I think: How often do I get action and win with AK on a flop like this? Not very often. And if I get action from a worse hand it’s usually because the player with Ax calls my bets. Few players that I play with would raise with AQ here. They call.
Therefore I think the right play is to fold on turn when he bets again. Sometimes you fold the best hand but that’s poker. But I know it’s hard to fold when his bets are so small.

My thoughts...

Something no-one else has mentioned is that a tight player limping early and calling a big pre-flop raise is very likely to be a pocket pair. That, together with the (dreadful!) min raise on a relatively draw-free board...

Against a player who I read as tight post-flop I drop this (it doesn't hurt my image, since I could have been betting KK-TT). Is that too weak tight? I mean, if it's a rubbish player or I've seen them bluff like this before, then I'll play...

I'm not sure I like a reraise on the flop - AQ, AJ, or a bluff have to be the most likely hands you're ahead of (I'm assuming somone who you perceive as a tight pre-flop player would rarely play 89s or 45s that early heads-up in a raised pot), so a reraise just forces them out and leaves the sets in.

Presumably you fold the river if he bets it like a man?

I think I would fold here actually. At least check/fold. No matter what he has, I would guess TPTK isn't good enough. And even if marginally so, that's no reason to stay in the hand.

But maybe I'll get more aggressive as well, as I improve.

Folding was def. an option here...epseically with this being my last round at the table
I decided not to because I thought AQ was a strong possibilty. I know if I had AQ I would put in a raise on the flop...(though a bigger one) to see if i could win the hand right there. I'm sure this guy knows I play fairly aggressively.

Anyway..my thoguhts on a reraise are like this. I raise him another $40 on the flop. If he calls or reraises that bet...then I check/fold the rest of the hand. I might call a $20 bet on the river but that is it. Anyone as tight as this guy is not gonna call an overbet of that size without a hand that beats..or at leasts splits..with AK.

What do you guys think about that?

I absolutely hate the idea of re-raising the flop. You will lose more money when you are beat and make less when you have the best hand.

If he's got AQ/AJ he's not calling your re-raise. If you smooth call and he's got AQ/AJ, he'll check to you on the turn. You can check back and make a decent chunk on the river.

If he's got a set or two pair, he's calling or re-raising. If he calls you have to assume you are beat but that costs you $40 more than calling his checkraise and acting after him on the turn. He might checkraise with AQ/AJ or a set/2pr but by the turn you'll know what he's holding, being that he is a tight-predictable. If he's got AQ/AJ he most certainly isn't betting the turn once you call the checkraise, so you can fold the turn and save $40. Basically, you want to get to the turn as cheap as possible once he checkraises so you can see what he does on the turn and act accordingly. 90% of the time if he bets the turn it means he's beating you and if he checks you are beating him. At least if he is as predictable and tight as I think he is.