Hand of the day II?

Question

here's my next hand of the day, cash game this time:

it's an 8-handed $1-2 cash game with no ante, and effective stacks in the hand are $1,000(very deep game indeed)...the player from first position opens for $6, and you have played against him a lot and know him to be a very LAG player, bordering on maniacal...with this info, you re-pop him to $20 with 9-9, and he is the only caller...the flop comes down 9-7-2 rainbow giving you top set...he checks to you, you fire out $28, he c/r you to $91, and you just call, looking to set the trap...the turn is another 2 putting a backdoor flush draw out there, and now he makes an underbet of $84, and you just call him again, still trapping him...the river is a jack that fills the backdoor flush, and brings up these questions:

1)how much do we bet if checked to?

2)suppose he makes a bet of half the pot...do we put him all-in or just call?

3)if we get c/r all-in, do we call?

Answer 1

To answer the first question we have to know his range of hands that he can call with here, and since he is a pretty losse player he can have a pretty wide range of hands. If he has made a flush then i don't think he would check it to you on the river since he tends to push the action. If he has the flush he might bet half the pot to try and get a call. The board is pretty dry so i don't see you gettingt payed off unless he has either also made a boat or flush here as well. So if he checks he has nothing and is waveing the white flag. So if he checks i do think we bet out like 1/4 of the pot if he checks, and if he makes a re-raise we just call since we are so deep stacked there is no need to risk 1k on 3rd nuts.

As for the 2nd part of the question i think its ok to re-raise or just flat call in this spot. Flat calling is a bit tight here, but i tend to play careful, the last thing you need is to get all-in with that huge stack in a 1-2 game, and go broke when the other guy shows you quads or jacks full here.  The flat call is fine, but a nice heathey raise is ok to do as well in this spot. I know not to many pros would just flat call a bet from a loose player with 3rd nuts here, but thats just what i would do. If my chips were short i might move in, but with such a huge chips stack why risk it.

As for the 3rd question that is a hard one for sure. I wish i could say i would fold, but i would be a big fat fibber. Even loose players make hands every now and then, thats the great thing about playing aggresive loose, when you have the nuts you will get payed off for them. If he goes all-in im sure i would think for a very long time about it then call. If he has the quads or jacks full here then your just in a world of hurt. If i had to put him on a hand i would say middle flush or quads.

Answer 2

Preflop: pot is 43

Flop: pot is 225

Turn: 393

On the flop when he c/r you I assume his range is pretty wide because this flop didnt hit much so he is trying to steal it from you.

On the turn, I think his bet sizing is narrowed down alot. If he was bluffing he would bet more because 1/3 the pot isnt going to do ****. If he had a real hand, usually these manaics continue potting it unless he has a monster (set). Of course, these bet sizing reads arent an exact science, but they make sense. The only hands left are draws. The 84 looks like a blocker bet. So we can conclude that his hand range is most likely: 22, 77, 8T, 68, a weak 9, middle or bottom pair and the random flush draw.

1. If the maniac was smart he would continue betting the river if he had a real hand. First of all, he is agressive so he will get called down lighter. Second of all, it would be very suspicious for him to check the river after he bet two streets with his image. Thirdly, a c/r would rarely get paid off if he attempted it. A c/r on the river only works if his oppenent bets. Would we bet here with a 9 (top pair)? Probay not, as we dont get much worse hands to call. Another reason is because putting another 250bb  (around) on the river with top pair isnt very smart. So if we wont bet the river, there is no point for him to c/r it. Therefore, if he is a logical oppenent he would bet the river himself. When he doesnt do it, we can assume we have the best of it. Bet 250.

2. This comes down to what we worse hands call with if we go allin. I think a good LAG calls with 77 there 50%of the time if we do push. 8T calls 50%, 9J if you are lucky, weak flushes 50%, strong flushes 75%. The hands that beat us are JJ, 22. 22 he has there so rarely and I dont think he would even play JJ that way. Therefore we put him allin instantly

3. Insta call. The only hand he can have is 22 that beats us and as I said above he bet into us on the river if he was any good.

Answer 3

1) bet the pot

2) put him all in

3) call the c/r all in

Answer 4

The only important piece of information you left out is YOUR table image.  Given that missing piece, I'll just analyze it as if it were me in this spot.

My image at a cash table is usually DMF (Dead Money-Fish,) which makes it unlikely that I'd have built up a $1,000 stack at a $1/$2 table, but I'll try.

1) If he checks, there's no way he has us beat.  We made a pre-flop raise which has a very wide range, and only called his reraise on the flop and his bet on the turn.  He can't count on us to bet for him, so he'd bet if he had a hand.  Therefore, I'd bet around $250, and hope it looks like I'm buying and he has enough to play.

2) I don't see the need to go all-in here.  His betting is consistent with a 22 and, in my opinion, a JJ also.  It's also consistent with an overpair, a 77, or possible even an A-flush or a nearly missed straightflush (80 suited, hitting the flush on the river.)  Given the range I feel very good, but not enough to put the rest of my chips down.

3) Yes.  If he pushes, I'll call easily.  I just don't believe he'd risk no action on Js full or quads by checking when I've been playing the hand so passively.  I've given no indication that I'm strong and I could easily check it down and be happy with a $400 win, so he cannot trust that a check will give him action.

4)  I may be a fish, but I could make a living at this game if I could get guys like Craig to sit down at the table with me.  If there's anything more profitable than a loud, angry poker player, it's a loud, angry poker player who is convinced everyone else is playing wrong.

I imagine Craig spends a lot of his time walking away from tables, swearing.

Answer 5

Heck of a game being a 1/2 with stacks that big, putting that aside, if I know him real well as a LAG player and he bets 6utg, and flat calls my re-raise.....I rule out the J/J because I would have expected a bigger raise preflop with those.  I have a hard time putting him on 2/2 also, even a LAG player.  His check raise on the flop says something to me, he is either semi-bluffing with staight draw, which I really don't see because of the call of my re-raise or he has a set of 7s and betting on me having an over pair because of my pre-flop reraise (what is my table image, if it is solid that would be what he had to put me on) because he probably wouldn't see me making a bet on the flop with top set and rainbow board.  So my flop action was deceptive to him, I have an over pair, or big suited ace and was making a continuation bet.  (I do have a question, does he have a knack for playing the player, or does he only play his cards, as a LAG player I am going to assume he tries to play the player).  The under bet by him on the turn would do more to confirm to me he flopped a set of 7s,  or, being the LAG player you described, I might could put him on an A/2 suited now, but not quad 2s still, I might also put him on a big ace suited now also, with the back door flush draw.  (Whith those assumptions though, is he the type to bluff w/a substantial check raise...as a lag, he just might be)

Now the Jack for the flush, I still do not see him with Jacks full now, nor do I see him with quad ducks, and I have a hard time seeing him holding a flush.  The hand I most likely put him on is going to be 7s full, and remember, I am not seeing him play this hand and if I know him well I should have some type of tell on him by now, but without that, 7s full is his most likely holding and my answers are going to based on that.  

If I am checked to, I am going to value bet the pot for about half or around 200 dollars.  At this stage, if he has a flush, which I give a low probability to, or a straight, once again doubtful, he will call.  I really expect him to have 7s full so I expect a re-raise....which I will get to in a second.

If he leads out for around 200, there is now almost 600 in the pot, I am going to re-raise him all in.  I probably don't expect a call, but if he has what I think he does, 7s full, I might just get it.  If I was wrong with my hand ranges I put him on, so be it, I lost my stack, I still played the hand right.  If I am beat, it is my fault by not re-raising his check raise when I did have the nuts. But if he is the lag in your description, I truely don't expect a call....but I still take down a nice pot. The 200 doesn't seem like a value bet to me from a LAG player, it is more like a half assed bluff on the river.  If you are trapping, at least me, I seldom have second thoughts with a bet by a LAG/bordering maniac on the river.  

As for the c-r, yes I call, all along I have put him on a set of 7s, there are two hands that beat me and I just don't see him with those for the reasons I stated earlier. Once again, if I am beat,

it is my fault for not reraising his c-r on the flop.

Answer 6

Here you go putting yourself in a bad spot again. Do you have any questions were you play smart at the begining?

1. You have to bet close to the size of the pot. Making a bet that is half the size of the pot opens the door for another raise. So by raising higher he is less likely to reraise. So if he were to reraise, the only move for him would be all in. And you have to call and hope he didnt back into a higher boat. SINCE YOU LET HIM CATCH UP.

2.just call. Someone would make those bets and stick around with that flop with pocket Jacks. $1,000 is alot of money at a $1 / $2 cash table. And you lost the nuts.

3. No, you no longer have the nut hand. If you do not care about money than make the $800 call.

If you are playing for high stakes at a cash table ($1000 is high stakes for most) then you need to make more aggresive bets when you have the best hand. Slow playing and trying to set traps is very dangerous in cash games.

You had a question like this yesterday. Were you explained a sloppy play early and we play clean up crew.

I really hope that most of these are from a book.

I'm sorry if i feel $1,000 is alot of money.

I'm just really really unlucky.

Everyone seems to be saying no Jacks. He raised 3 times the blind UTG. The board is lower than Jacks so the betting looks about right for a crazy person. They want you to think they dont have a hand when they do.

The main problem I have with it is the low bets and calls on flop and turn. These should be higher. Make them pay to out draw you. He check raised the flop and we just called??

Answer 7

1) about the size of the current pot

2) all-in baby, he'll be pot committed

3) of course call