10- 2-07, LearnTexasHoldem:

I misread and lost - what went wrong?

Question:

Your insight would be much appreciated here...

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Cash game at local card room. Blinds 2/3 with 7 players at table. Most have been playing good poker with a mixture of tight and aggressive play. Most players have a few hundred in front of them.

Situation:

I'm UTG with AQs and raise to $9. Folded to button who re-raises to 25$, blinds fold. I elect to call as I have seen this player check down some hands earlier. Pot $55.

Flop J35 rainbow. I check to the raiser and he bets $50. I put him on a steal, AK, or a pocket pair below Jacks. I call and pot $155.

Turn is a blank and we both check. Now I stay with my initial read of a big Ace or medium pocket pair.

River is another Jack. (J958J without flush). Now within the last half hour, I have won 2 big hands to put me over $700 (bought in with $300). Because of my recent wins betting big with the nuts, I bet out $125 thinking he would never call with AK or pocket 10s. He stands up and asks if I have a Jack? I am frozen! After about a minute he calls and takes the pot with KK.

His check on the turn through me off, but I thought I could still buy the pot not putting him on a Jack. I commend him on a great call and still ended up ahead on the night.

As always, I read your articles for future insight.

Thanks!

Mark

Answer:

Hi Mark

I think your pre-flop call is ok but I am not too fond of it. AQ is exactly the kind of hand you easily get trapped with in re-raised pots. I would rather call with any pair or a hand like 76s in this situation, because they are much easier to play post flop. Either you hit hard or you fold. But still, the call is ok because AQ is after all a strong hand.

What I don't understand is the reasoning on the flop. If the player often checks down his hands, the hands you put him on (AK or a pocket pair) are exactly the kind of hands he would check down. There is no good reason to call on the flop and this should have been the end of this hand.

Since you called you might have had a read that you don't mention here. Another thing that is unclear is what the flop was. You first wrote it was J 3 5 and then that the whole board was J 9 5 8 J. In any case, when the jack comes on the river it is a good time to try a bluff. The jack is obviously a scare card, and if he can't beat trip jacks it is a tough call for him to make.

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