Middle two pair in High Stakes Cash

Thanks to HighStakesReport for the hand history.

Game type: 200/400 NL
Your image: Aggressive
Opponent’s image: Aggressive
Your hand: Q♦T♥

This hand is taken from actual game play at the 200/400 NL holdem table at Full Tilt. This hand took place between ‘Pokerface McGee’ and David Benyamine. You’ll be standing in for David Benyamine

The setup: your opponent is a fairly shrewd player and he is capable of making big moves when he senses weakness. In this hand you raise to $1200 and McGee calls. The flop gives you middle pair:

K♠7♥Q♥

McGee checks and you check behind. The turn brings middle two pair with the T♣. Now McGee open pushes for $36k more. Do you call this?

12 COMMENTS (Jump to comment form)

Jeremy Fisher

Insta-call.

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Anonymous

Call or fold….. Where was the reraise button?

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Anonymous

cuz the other guy went all in -_-

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Gijs

Making this call is tricky, because man, that is a BIG shove and you only have two pair. Still, I don’t think most players would make this kind of move with a set or made straight either. So I’m going to pull myself together and make this call, but wouldn’t be surprised if I’m gonna be beat.

@Anonymous: you can’t re-raise, this guy is pushing all-in.

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KetszeriCs

If I know my opponent is really agressive, i’d assume that he may slowplay some almost-monster hands if there was a raise before him, and play like a bluffer if the board helps him a lot. I’ve got broken sometimes against this kind of play.

I’d count the money already pushed by me into this pot, and the chance he played like I wrote above with hands like AJo or TT. _This_ odds forces me to fold.

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matt tag

Two pair are the hardest hands for me to play in hold’em. Am I ahead of top pair/good kicker or dead to a set/str8/higher 2 pair? I often seem to make the wrong decision – folding the better hand and pushing when behind. ugh.

I figured he had a J – I put him on JT with the turn T pairing him, and the flop giving him an open ender. Didn’t see the K though since the board had 2 hearts.

I voted call here, which looks to be correct (check my math, plz) – 1.64 pot odds means you have to win 38% of the time – opponent has 14 outs (3 7s, 3 Js for higher 2 pair, 4 9s, 4 As for str8), meaning he wins 28% of the time, so you win 72% of the time.

So, I made the correct call and lost anyway. I told you 2 pair were hard to play!

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matt tag

oops, add the 2 other Ks as two more outs above, still makes the call correct, though.

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anon

lol does benyamine ever win at hold’em?

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Anonymous

I knew I shouldn’t of folded my A rag… damnit

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matt harrell

when your playing against an maniac and you hold anything better then top pair top kicker with out a scary board it is almost a no brainer to call. i asume with no reraise he is not holding a hand that beats mine. ace jack is a reraise hand along with aces kings queens and tens. i think since he is agressive and he checked he is holding top pair and he is trapped. in poker i feel like it is always good to trap top pair because of the reward you get from it. top pair is just a pair and people over play it all the time. I read a pro tip from allen c, on fulltilt pro tips that said ” stay out of big pots with out big hands” medium 2 pair vs top pair has a 75% chance of taking the pot down. unless i really felt like he had the nutz here i would call right away.

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Geronimo

He might have checked to check-raise with a monster because you’re agressive too, but then you showed massive weakness checking behind him. If you’re truly weak any bet he makes will make you fold so he might as well go all-in hoping you see this as a big bluff and make you call with top pair weak kicker. Given his image I would insta call with a set, but not with 2 pair which is beat by the better 2 pair, a set or a straight. I think the odds are really bad and although it’s quite likely you have the best hand it’s not likely enough to risk this much. FOLD!

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Ally

Don’t like to call such a massive overbet without a monster, but here I think two pair is good often enough. Looks to me as though our opponent has a combo draw or a pair and a draw or possibly a pair and a combo draw.

KJ/QJ/K9hh types of hands make sense here.

Unless he’s got a better two pair or the straight or a set, we’re already ahead despite his draw outs. And, I doubt he plays the nuts this fast or that he plays a set like this. I don’t think he’s going to let us check behind on the flop if he did flop a set. Yeah, two pair is a possibility, but I’d think it’s more likely to be a pair and a draw which is exactly what he had. Good call, bad results.

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