Top pair facing a lead bet on the turn, high stakes no limit cash

DailyHandQuiz

Game type: 50/100 Heads up no limit, Full Tilt Poker
Your image: A little tight
Opponent’s image: Very aggressive
Your hand: A♥J♠

This hand is based on one that took place between durrrr and Staalmusa85. You’ll be standing in for Staalmusa85. Thanks to high stakes report for the hand history.

The setup: It’s early in this heads up match, but you’re already down a bit and have probably been playing a little too tight. This hand you’re dealt AJo in the SB and you raise to 3x. durrrr re-raises you to 950 and you call. The flop:

9♥8♦3♠

durrrr checks and you check behind. You turn top pair:

J♣

Now durrrr leads for $1,450. What’s your play?

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6 COMMENTS (Jump to comment form)

DHQ Staff

Your tightness results in a couple of conclusions. First, it seems like durrr would stab at the flop with most of his range, since this doesn’t look like a flop that helped you. The only hands he would probably check are weak draws that can’t stand a raise that he’d like to see a free turn with, like gutshots or overcard draws, or very strong hands like sets or big overpairs.

The stab on the turn doesn’t give a lot of info, but if you raise, you’ll probably only get called when you’re beaten, since you’re tight. If you call, you give durrrr a bit of a cheap price for a draw, but that’s a welcome alternative to getting all your stack in drawing dead or close to it. You’re probably only fading 5 outs on average, as you’d expect most of his hands with tens in them to have bet the flop. I like flat calling and re-evaluating the river.

What actually happened: You raised all in and durrrr called, showing QT for the nut straight.

[Reply]

jhs

lol sick turn card i like a smooth call but it looks like we will get stacked off if he has better unless a scare card comes on the river. the message here is dont play heads up high stakes as soon as a drop of blood goes in the pool the sharks are all over u.

[Reply]

5types

I hate hands like this.

Hitting top pair of the J or Q with AQ AJ after a re-raise. Playing them is so tricky, so you have to rely on the read of your opponent.

Early on, I would fold AJ to a re-raise until id sussed out how the opponent plays. If I think hes likely to be making moves with weak hands ill call and see a flop.

In this case for me its just a call. A raise is likely to get called, then you are commited anyway. Check-call a small river bet if I didnt improve, otherwise seriously consider whether you really want to risk your whole stack with only one pair. Not likely.

[Reply]

kaimano

His check on the flop after a reraise preflop is very suspicious…it smells like a check-raise tentative with an overpair…but now that we hit the jack we have to call…not raise because we’d be called only by hands stronger than top pair. Call and use the position. If he leads strong on the river we can fold.

[Reply]

OnlinePokerIncome.com

This is a call, not a raise. A call looks a little weak and should induce a continuation bluff on the river, or possibly even a miscalculated value bet. Also if you are beat you will lose less by calling because he will try to sell his hand on the river.

Good quiz today, as this is a standard situation that must be mastered in order to win at poker. If you are raising here your game needs work.

[Reply]

HarmonyM

I would have reraised all in at the turn and let him decide whether it was worth the chance to draw out. The problem here looks like too passive post flop play. This player would have likely backed down to a reraise all in putting you on pocket js. Just my 2c…

[Reply]