Some heads up hands and a river decision

[PokerWoody]

Hi,

Some hands I would like some feedback on from a $0.50/$1.00 blind PL cash game last night. I have included the first 7 hands we played so you have the complete picture. I would like to get your thoughts on the river decision on hand 7 but also on any of the other hands.

I feel my heads up game is getting much stronger but I am always keen to get input from a different prospective to make it stronger still

Hand 1 (Hero $100, Villan $26.00)
Ks Qd OTB (on the button). I raise pot to $3, Villan Calls. Flop is 2d 6c 4s. Villans bets $6, I fold.

Hand 2 (Hero $97, Villan $28.75)
6d 9s. Villan raises to $2, I call. Flop Jd 2s Ah. I bet pot ($4) Villan folds.

Hand 3 (Hero $99, Villan $26.75)
4d 4c OTB, I raise pot to $3, Villan folds.

Hand 4 (Hero $100, Villan $25.75)
Ks Jd. Villan raises to $2, I call. Flop Kh 3s 3d. I check, Villan checks. Turn 7d. I bet pot ($4), Villan raises to $10, I reraise to $34, Villan folds.

Hand 5 (Hero $111, Villan $13.75)
Ad Qd OTB, I raise pot to $3, Villan calls. Villan bets $2, I raise to $7, Villan folds.

Hand 6 (Hero $115.50, Villan $28.75)
Kd 3d, Villan folds.

Hand 7 (Hero $116, Villan $28.25)
Tc 2h OTB, I call big blind, Villan raises to $2, I call. Flop Qh 8s 2c. Villan bets $1, I call. Turn 3d. Villan bets $4, I call. River Qs, final board is Qh 8s 2c 3d Qs. Villan bets pot ($14), I .....

[Gus Mango Fish]

... Fold? That's what I'd do in that situation.

However, I expect the answer is that you called and he was bluffing, my reasoning being the 'fold' answer wouldn't be interesting enough to post..

As for heads-up, that is a major weakness in my game so I'm not really qualified to give any advice...

edit: having thought about it for a while and re-read your post, can I change my answer to: I think you raised to put him all in, and he either folds or calls. Either way I think you end up winning the hand. Am I right?...

[7-2offsuit]

Originally Posted by PokerWoody

Hand 7 (Hero $116, Villan $28.25)
Tc 2h OTB, I call big blind, Villan raises to $2, I call. Flop Qh 8s 2c. Villan bets $1, I call. Turn 3d. Villan bets $4, I call. River Qs, final board is Qh 8s 2c 3d Qs. Villan bets pot ($14), I .....

Erm...

Who knows?

Was a minimum raise your SPFR at this stage? HU people tend to raise with any Ace, any paint or any pair, quite a range to consider. In my experience it's not often that they raise with absolutely no value. Additionally, you have him covered 4-1, so I would credit him with some kind of a hand. Min-raising always look a bit suspect to me, especially pre-flop.

His weak bet on the flop ($1 into a $4 pot?) could suggest he either has nothing or he has a monster. Many good players will lead out if they hit trips rather than checking them, and most will lead out anyway if they were the aggressor pre-flop. His bet's small enough to invite most players to call regardless or not whether the flop had hit them, but if you believe you have the lead here why not raise? Bottom pair, especially 2s, is not a flat call here because unless you hit your kicker or trips you're likely to be looking at 4 overs by the River and an awkward decison if you're facing any kind of bet.

It's fair to assume the 3 on the Turn hasn't hit him but the 1/2 PSB could suggest the flop hit him or he has a medium PP and is now betting for value. Put simply, you still don't know where you're at, and a flat call again here compounds that. If you think your 2s are good here you're better than a 6-1 favourite with one card to come - either find out where you're at or make him pay to see the River if you're convinced you have the lead.

You don't put him on a Q so you figure the River can't help his hand, yet he bets $14 into a player who has shown throughout the hand that he has something. Do you think he's trying to buy it? There's the possibility he also might be a bit savvy and know that you'd think that. What hands have you beat? Any Ace-anything hand or any non-Queen paint hands that has missed, if that's the range of raising hands we put him on. That's it. Any PP has you beat. Any Ace King or Jack (less likely), with a 2, 3 or 8 has you beat, and obviously any Q has you beat.

So what's most likely for him to have? If he raised pre-flop with pocket 8s or pocket 2s and thinks you've been calling him down with a Q in hand that would make the most sense. The big bet on the end would then be a reasonable value bet as he thinks you just hit trips and will be tempted to look up his boat. Then again he could have nothing but an Ace or a King. Tricky. If you're calling here I'd say you're gambling.

Having said that, the way you played the hand here I reckon you still saw your 2s as being good and called. Then either he showed you A/7 or some other cheese and you took it down. If this was my post that's how it would read anyway, and I'd be giving myself a big pat on the back for my great poker instincts and uncanny ability to make reads on others aided only by the size of their bets and seeing how long it took them to act. But I'd be kidding myself, 'cos that just never happens to me. Whenever I call with bottom pair they always have the nuts

Either that or you called and he had pocket 8s for the boat and filled the chat box with 'LOL' when you showed him the ten-deuce.

Or you folded and he threw down 7-2 offsuit face up. That would also make a lot of sense.

Do I win anything?

p.s. I don't think you AI here. What's the point? If he has a hand of any kind, he's calling your AI here with his last $7.25 for a chance of winning $49.25 (unless he's more than 85% certain you have him beat). If he has any kind of a hand other than a lonely deuce, you're dead, and you lose more money. Fold or call.

[higgi17]

Personally I would say fold in that situation but sometimes its timing making them calls and finding him to be holding only a high card. Tough call really.