06- 6-06, LearnTexasHoldem:

Nut Flush Draw In Tourney Too Passive?

Question: I've been trying to play more aggressively. I don't know if I was too aggressive this hand or not aggressive enough.

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

It's a $20 SnG, we're down to 5 players and the blinds are 100/200

ME (4672)

..... (4249)

..... (3172)

SB (4545)

..... (3362)

My opponent is the SB. He plays aggressively. He always raises preflop, if players before him limp or make a min raise. Postflop he'll raise if his opponents show weakness.

I'm dealt Ad Ks UTG. I raise to 600. It's folded to the SB who calls. BB folds.

I figure he has a middle pair, a strong Ace, or suited paint.

Pot is $1200. Flop is 3d 6d 9d

SB checks. I have the nut flush draw and 2 overcards and bet 700. SB calls.

I'm still not sure what he has. He could be slow-playing KdQd, he might have an overpair with a diamond, or he might think the flop missed me and is looking for a chance to steal the pot.

Pot is $2600. Turn 9c

SB checks. I bet 1500. He calls.

At this point, I figure I'm up against a flush, a pair with a diamond or a set.

Pot is $5600. River 4c

SB checks. I check.

I was shocked when I saw his hand. He had 5c 5s! My previously aggresive opponent had become a calling station!

I think that I made my mistake with my turn bet. My 1500 bet was nearly half my remaining chips. I think I should've pushed there. Another possibility would be to check and take a free card. However, I felt that my, normally, aggressive opponent would push the river and I'd have a tough decision if a diamond, Ace or King didn't come up.

I, also, thought of pushing the river after he checked, but figured that he'd call if he had a pair or better.

So, how would you play this hand?

What about my opponent's play? Initially, I thought he was an idiot. In his place, I would've folded the 5s figuring that I only had 100 chips in the pot and had no desire to go up against someone who could bust me. It's his call of my flop bet that really confuses me. If he's confident in his read of me that I just have overcards, then I think he should have check raised me All-in after the flop. Even though I'm a slight favorite after the flop, I'd probably fold and he'd pick up the $1900 pot. Again, his call of my turn bet seems wrong. It seems that he misplayed this hand from start to finish, but ended up winning most of my chips. So, was he the idiot or was I?

Answer:

From his perspective, he probably assumed you had exactly what you did: a big hand like AQ or AK with the draw. After the board paired on the turn and you bet again, about the same as you bet before (relative to the pot), he probably was fairly sure his hand was good. I'm guessing the reason he didn't want to raise you is because the money would likely go in right then, and you would have overcards and the draw. I'm sure he preferred to just limp along and hope that no diamond hit and you would check the river.

My problem with the way you played it is it made it easy on your opponent. First of all, you mentioned he was really aggressive. When someone is really aggressive, they don't need much of a hand to raise you. Then logically, the flip side of that is that when that player just calls, they most likely aren't that strong.

You have to be careful about how you read opponents. You don't want to start out always thinking they have you beat. Most of the time you aren't up against the nuts. You want to keep an open objective mind, not pessimistic, because that causes you to play scared poker. Secondly, this reminds me of how sometimes it's easy to under play huge draws and end up losing the pot. A prime example of this concept is when you have a strong draw like an openended straight flush draw and you don't play it strong enough and you let some guy with bottom pair or Ace high win. Your situation may not be quite this extreme, but you might have wont the pot by betting more. Third, as far as semi-bluffs go, this is a monster.

Even if the guy has a hand like a mid pair like TT or JJ, you still have tons of outs. I would have liked to have seen you bet the flop and then push all-in on the turn or some other combination to make this guy question calling with something weak. You have plenty of ways to win even if he does call. Lastly, with a hand like this it would be very hard to get any action if you do end up catching the draw. If you catch your diamond, a King, or an Ace, it is unlikely he will call with anything. Because of this, I would say get your money in early. You don't a lot of big hands like this in a short tournament, so when you do get them, don't be afraid to put the money in and let the cards fall where they will.

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