1/2 NL Royal Vegas Max Buy-in $200
All stacks are around $200.
BB opponent is weak/ calling station etc.
UTG opponent is ABC
couple of limpers to me in cutoff. I call with [5s]. blinds call

FLOP pot: $11
[4s][3h]

I have flopped top pair with a weak kicker...openended draw and a backdoor flush draw.
Big blind (weak player) bets out $2, ABC opponent (UTG) raises to $12. I don't think my hand is winning...but I have outs and position. I call. Folded to the BB who also calls.

TURN pot $47
[4s][3h][Kd]
well obviously this card is not good for my hand. But i'm thinking that has to be scary to both the blind and the raiser...unless they are holding a monster. BB checks, UTG bets out $12... I raise to $36. BB folds instantly and UTG thinks awhile and folds.

Obviously the play worked this time. I figured UTG probably had pocket 77s-10s and that king was a great scare card. I also thought my raise might look like a flopped straight or trips.

I love position.

What do you guys think of this play? Plays like this work a lot better for me on 1/2 NL then .50/1.00 I've noticed. The money factor changes things.

I've been talking about when to push draws with some of my friends who play, and it just seems better to make the move on the flop. Why not re-raise when it gets to you since you have position? It goes bet-raise, REraise. That's a strong move on that flop, and you might have gotten them to fold there as well. The thing is that if your opponent is thinking things through it doesn't make sense for you to have the king--he can't be worried about the king being an scare card to his pair. What did you cold call a bet and a raise with on the flop? K-6 for an overcard an an open ended draw? Year right. Really what you are trying to do is convince your opponent that you've flopped a really strong hand on this flop. I think your cold call followed by the raise on the turn is believable as a slowplay, but I would think it would be better to make the re-raise on the flop. If someone comes over the top of you you obviously know to fold and if they fold, hey, you're a winner. If they call you that is definitely weak (or they have flopped the straight themselves and are going to trap you) and you can decide whether you want to use your position to try and take the pot again on the turn and river. Playing draws in no limit is definitely a weak point in my game and something that I need to work on, but that is my take on this situation.

Nice play Kenny...I love plays like this. You are in control of the hand and usually they will have to lay down their hand here unless they flopped a set, which is not that likely given the way the hand played out. Sometimes I may mix it up and smooth-call here, but then you don't give yourself a chance to win the pot outright with what is likely to be the losing hand.

Bob,

My feeling is that my cold call on the flop and then raise on the turn looked much, much stronger then a reraise on the flop. A flop raise in this kind of hand, usually signifes a straight draw. Considering this guy is ABC...I assume he would either call or reraise me in that spot if he is holding a decent pocket pair.

A raise when that offsuit king comes out...that is so scary for him. The board is already very coordianted...then an overcard hits and I make a reraise. It's a very tough call for him. And he still has to call the river as well (assuming I have the balls to fire another shell.).

MG,

Thanks for the good words on my play. I'm confused as to why you would "mix it up" and call the turn here. TJ Cloutier says that you shouldn't call a bet in NL unless you are setting them up on another street. That's what I did on the flop.

Granted the guy only bet $12 in to the $48 giving you 1 in 4. But if you call the turn and hit your draw on the river...you will not win any additional money because the 4 to the straight will be out.. Matter of fact you may even split the pot with the weak BB player.

Just my reasoning...maybe you can tell me what you meant to do by mixing it up like that?

I still strongly disagree that the K should be a scare card for your opponent for the same reasons in my original post. What does your opponent put you on that you called the flop and would raise with now? The straight? 2 pair? A set? There was a bet and a raise in front of you and you cold called. You don't make that play with A-K, K-Q, or K-J, so why should your opponent be afraid of the K? If you had K-K I'm sure you would have been pushing much harder on the flop. If your opponent is thinking clearly at all he is folding because he thinks you hit something on that flop, the king should be irrelevant.

Bob,

I don't know if you realize this..but Royal Vegas is full of calling stations. They will call down AK and the like..and raise when they hit. It's just the nature of the games there. Granted, I don't know if this guy had notes on me or not...but if he didn't he could very well think I called down with something like AK or QK.

Anyway,
Maybe I put too much emphasis on the king in my original post. The king is a good scare card ALONG with everything else that is out. He now has to consider I may have the king, a straight, trips, two pair etc. etc. The king just added to the crap he had to look out for. With a cold call on the flop and now a raise to him when he is out of position..with that much stuff out..unless he has a monster, it's a fold for him.

I still don't think he was folding to a flop raise... The turn raise just made my hand look ultra strong. Whereas a flop raise could mean anything in this situation.... but most likely a draw.

Right, your second post made sense when you explained how a turn raise looks more like a made hand than a flop raise. How is Royal Vegas for deposit bonuses and ease of depositing/withdrawing?

BB opponent is weak/ calling station etc.
UTG opponent is ABC
couple of limpers to me in cutoff. I call with 6s5s. blinds call


If limpers raise say 8% of their hands and are loose pre-flop then I think I'm raising 5xBB from the button