How badly did I play this?

[briachek]

My least favorite hand in Omaha is when you flop trips (not a set) because you never know if someone has you outkicked or boated up.

I know I opened up the river bluff by checking so he could just have a J but does he have AJ or a boat?

Party Poker Pot-Limit Omaha High, $0.5 BB (9 handed)

SB ($37.35)
BB ($53.05)
Hero ($59)
UTG+1 ($49.5)
MP1 ($47)
MP2 ($44.1)
MP3 ($109.78)
CO ($19)
Button ($46.5)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with , , , .
Hero calls $0.50, 1 fold, MP1 calls $0.50, MP2 calls $0.50, 1 fold, CO calls $0.50, 1 fold, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($3) , , (6 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $2.85, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, CO folds, SB calls $2.85, BB folds.

Turn: ($8.70) (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.

River: ($8.70) (2 players)
SB bets $8.3, Hero folds.

Final Pot: $17

Results in white below:

Outcome: SB wins $17.

[Felonius_Monk]

I think you played it about OK except I think it's probably necesarry to call that river, though I expect to be shown AJ quite often. He's a fool if he didn't raise J5 on the flop, and those running deuces are about as blank as you could see on the turn/river. It'd be an odd hand (albeit a very possible one, given he's on the SB) for an opponent to have a J with a 5 or a 2. That said, you'll probably lose a good % of the time when you call the river, but as you only need to win about 33% of the time here to make money, I think it's fair enough. Lots of overpair hands, or stuff like JT87 or something he could easily have, and as you're closing the betting I'd reluctantly call.

I think you have to be more scared of AJ than anything else, but there's surely more than a 35% chance he doesn't have that?

[briachek]

AJ was what I was worried about as I did think the 2's were blanks. If I had AJ, i would call no question. Should I have bet the turn and hope to just check down the river as not betting the turn also allowed him to bluff at it?

[Felonius_Monk]

Possibly, I think you could go either way on the turn. Probably marginally correct to bet there. Some would say it's a big mistake not to bet, though I must admit I often take a similar line on these hands to you. What do others think?

[Hofstra]

Ideally, I check down trips with 2nd kicker and keep the pot as small as possible, because without a clear read on your opponent you never know where you are in the hand.

However, checking behind on the turn shows weakness, and I think you have to call the river. On the turn, you know that you will call the river, so why not use that money to bet on the turn? If you get raised, obviously you fold. If you get a call, it is likely checked to you on the river and you have the same result. You might also win the pot without showdown. What I like about this line is that it makes your decisions more informed. On the other hand, you don't want to do this if your opponent likes to checkraise.

I find playing trips very hard, especially if I don't know my opponent. Out of position, I am a big chicken and usually check-fold the turn in these situations if I don't have top kicker. In position, I will sometimes check behind and sometimes bet. I don't think you always have to bet the pot. On a board of, say AAK4, you can easily bet 1/2 pot, representing the top boat.

I hope we can discuss this a bit further by looking at various situations. What factors do you take into account? I try to look at

- position
- is the pot raised preflop
- size the board pair and third card
- kicker
- how passive/aggressive is your opponent
- how much money can you lose on the hand
- will you extract anything if you hit your boat

For example, if the pot is raised preflop, you call with AKK3 and the flop comes 233, then against one opponent I don't mind playing for my stack. If the flop would be AAQ then I might take one stab at it but then fold against too much aggression. Also, if the third card is higher than the rank of the pair, I always err on the cautious side.

Finally, what do you think about the following:

1) When two decent players both have trips then the player who is least scared and most aggressive will usually win the pot. Thus you have to play trips aggressively until you meet resistance.
2) It is not a wise idea to invest a lot of money on dangerous trips hands. Better give up a small pot than play a big pot where you don't know where you are.
3) You can make a lot of money when you have a boat and your opponent is overplaying trips. Wait for those situations and avoid being the opponent overplaying trips, even if that involves folding the best hand sometimes.
4) If you only give action on a paired board when you have a boat you make life too easy for your opponents.

Sorry for the rant, but I think this is an important and difficult subject, and I'd like to hear more ideas.

Pieter

[Felonius_Monk]

Makes a lot of sense I'd say. One other vitally important factor to take into account on the turn is whether your sidecards are higher than the boat card(s) on board, thus giving you nut outs against a boat.

For instance, on an AAK flop, trips top kicker (AQ) has no outs against the top boat (AK) whereas if the board flops TT5 and you hold TJQK, at least you have 9 outs to beat someone with T5.