by Felonius_Monk » Tue Feb 08, 2005 5:42 pm
I don't think it's such a bad call either, but as star rightly says, it's a marginal one. In these spots you have to ASSUME your opponent has top set BUT give yourself some extra margin in terms of % that you predict yourself to win the hand on the off chance he has something different.
You do, however, have to worry that he could have something like a set with a flush draw (which would often be played in a similar way to how he played it, the possibility of which will weaken your hand somewhat.
I cannot see your call ever being a big +ve EV (expected value) move here, but then again I can't see it ever being a big -ve EV move either.
One additional point about this hand - AKT9 suited to the king is not that much of a hand and certainly not worth a raise. I would limp with this holding preflop - the double-gap means that it doesn't fill as many straights as you might imagine, and you have no pair to hit a big set or nut flush draw feature. The only reason to raise it up here is to steal the big blind, which is understandable (though it's not something I tend to do out of position from the small blind!), but from any other seat on the table you shouldn't really be raising this preflop.
Also, on the turn, you should bet the pot or check. Betting a little over half pot does not charge him to draw, it leaves you less money to bet on the river, and it allows him to make a big re-raise. Betting the full pot will encourage a fold if your opponent has less than a big set or premium draw and this would mathematically be the best result for you here, although checking is perhaps more conservative. In general, you should aim to always bet the pot in PLO except when there's a specific reason for not doing so.
Monk
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