PokerStars Game #1078688089: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/01/14 - 19:40:59 (ET)
Table 'Clavel' Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Poosta ($63 in chips)
Seat 2: VisitVenus ($76.95 in chips)
Seat 3: FelonusMonk ($131.60 in chips)
Seat 4: lincoln65 ($202.20 in chips)
Seat 5: a_doludino ($12.10 in chips)
Seat 6: assassin76 ($66.85 in chips)
Seat 7: skrapy ($120.55 in chips)
Seat 8: J2REGULATOR ($109.55 in chips)
Seat 9: McCranky ($99 in chips)
a_doludino: posts small blind $0.50
assassin76: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FelonusMonk [Js 9s]
skrapy: folds
J2REGULATOR: folds
McCranky: folds
Poosta: folds
VisitVenus: calls $1
FelonusMonk: calls $1
lincoln65: folds
a_doludino: calls $0.50
assassin76: checks
*** FLOP *** [Ks 5c 6h]
a_doludino: checks
assassin76: checks
VisitVenus: checks
FelonusMonk: checks
*** TURN *** [Ks 5c 6h]
a_doludino: checks
assassin76: checks
VisitVenus: bets $3
FelonusMonk: raises $9 to $12
a_doludino: folds
assassin76: folds
VisitVenus: calls $9
*** RIVER *** [Ks 5c 6h 2s]
VisitVenus: checks
FelonusMonk: bets $25

What do you think of the turn CR and then bet on the river? Routine, good, bad? Opponent was (so far) fairly solid, not one to bet on crazy stuff or make very loose calls.

Monk
xxxxx

If Im reading the history right, you didnt check raise the turn. You acted after him so it was a regular raise. I personally dont like it.
I would bet that flop though about 3/4 of the time.

ummm..play is fine I guess. Though you're risking a lot for a fairly small pot. Also..the raise on the turn...the doesn't look like much of a scare card which gives him more reason to call.

J9s ??? lol..why even play it in the first place?!?!

I dunno really I think I was having a mental holiday during this hand

I guess I felt he was very weak with his turn bet (thinking he might have a flush draw of some variety) after checking the flop. Surely he'd bet a K there, and two pair seemed impossible. Of course, I'd managed to ignore the possibility that he had a set and he called with 66 lol....

He butchered this quite poorly on the turn I think and should have re-raised me. Had he done so, of course I'd have got away from it cheaply, but I felt by the river he had very little (TP no kicker, busted draw, middling pocket pair etc etc) so the bluff was reasonably well placed.

Monk
xxxxx

I'm pretty sure he was planning to reraise you on the river...but the 4 to the straight card was too ugly.

Kenny,

Maybe we have a difference in opinions here but I don't think there is anything wrong with playing J9s in the CO in an unraised pot with 3 others in the hand. I don't like it as much as lower suited connectors/1-gappers but it essentially plays like T9s/JTs and could make a medium or TP that could take down a small pot so I don't see why you can't play it, especially in position. Does this mean you also don't play T9s and JTs in ideal position?

As far as the turn raise goes I don't like it. It's such a small pot that at that point I don't see any reason to make it big with only 1 card to go. You sense weakness in him so rather than raise on the turn I would bet the river regardless of what came, assuming he checked. This seems like a less risky way of taking the pot, at the same time keeping it smaller. He can probably put you on the flush draw and if the spade comes you can't expect to be paid off but since you thought he was weak you should have realized that you could take it away on the river just as easily, and risking far less chips. Of course this is all moot since he had a set, but based on your read that is how I would have likely played it. Calling the turn and checking a missed draw on the river isn't horrible, either, since you have only invested $4 in the pot but I hate giving pots to people with bottom pair or middle pair so if that was my read than I would go ahead and bet the river more often than not.

Since I've started playing full time and 4 tabling....I try to avoid mediocre situations like this, because I have too much going on to worry about a J9. My VP$IP used to be 25% so I know I damn well used to play hands like that in LP. Right now my VP$IP is around 13.5 so my strategy has changed a lot since then and I beleive it's help my standard deviation a ton.

I still call JTs or JTo on the CO and Button, but right now I'm down with the hand. I may need to adjust my play a little. I tend to get overaggressive when I catch a piece of the flop. But like I said..my goal this month is to try and avoid marginal situations, so J9 is not in my repitore at the moment.