2/5 casino game.

The player to my right is a horribly over-aggro kid who makes it $25 to go on all kinds of crap as well as most PPs and some premium hands (I did note he made it $50 on KK a while ago). He's gotten caught several times and just before this hand got caught big, hence has only $55 left in from of him. I have around $1,000, as does another youngster to my left, who is also pretty aggro but doesn't seem quite so stupid.

I limp UTG with 99. Since over-aggro short just got stung and is in BB, I think he'll push almost anything probably, and I intend to call. Several other limpers, then sure enough, here comes the push for another $50. I call. Then so does deep kid to my left and 1 other fairly non-descript MP player who respects my bets but can also bluff kind of semi-passively. Flop pot is $220 or so.

The flop comes great for me: K96. Ok, I've got shorty for sure, but I'd like to get some more out of it. I think one of these guys will bet something anyway, and the pot is so inflated that any something is likely to be moderately sizeable. So, I decide to check it.

I'm not completely sure about that decision, but it had to happen fairly quickly. I think if I hem and haw around here too long, I'm likely not to get a bet.

Deep kid checks and non-descript MP player who respects my bets fires $100 at it. I figure he has KQ or something. He only has $460 left, so I put him in. This was all done fairly reflexively, and it was getting late, so I was a bit tired. But after the hand, I had some major doubts about pushing like that.

Also, a side note: While there's definitely a straight draw out there, I simply can't remember if there was a flush draw out there or not. Regardless of that, I do put MP on KQ. That's just my sense from the way he plays. I rather think there actually was a flush draw, but I also don't remember whether the K was part of it or not. If it wasn't (like Kh9d6d), I think that does speak a bit for the way I played it... although I'm also not sure that I like the CR. It's definitely mixing up my normal play of this hand, but I think KQ is probably calling here if I fire $150 at the pot. He's also going to have a lot more trouble getting away from it.

Also, if one is going to CR here at least sometimes (and there are surely worse plays), I think at this game a mini-raise might not have been so bad. The only problem is that I'm going to have to push into a flush or straight board if either gets there--and that can be scary for me as well as my opponent, although I'm willing to take my chances that he doesn't have it. It's just that if I'm betting into the flush, it gives him a good excuse to go away.

I guess on the positive side for the way I played it: It was a big pot very much worth taking down right there. Then again, if I have someone drawing dead a large percentage of the time, I could at least mini-raise to $200. Then we have a turn pot of $620, and he has $360 left. He's going to have major trouble getting away from his hand on a blank turn, I think, although he might chicken out due to the absolute amount, even though the bet actually isn't that big given the way the pot was inflated PF.

Opinions?

I prefer you to just call and evaluate turn...either lead or CR. There's NO WAY someone has JT...KQ is most likely. The CR lets the deep stack off the hook...leading flop and CR turn is also possible.

I've been thinking about that line a lot...what do people think? If you didn't PFR, and you lead...get called by the OR (you have a monster)...is the turn CR a decent idea?