Check or bet?

Having folded the first few hands of a session, I am sitting behind 3.80 when I pick up Jc/Qs in the cut-off. If anyone raises, it is another fold, but when it is folded to me I open to .30. The small blind calls, big blind folds and we go to the flop heads up with about .65 in the pot.

If I am going to raise a trash hand like that, it might as well flop a draw…like 10s/9d/5s. I put in a .50 bet, a little high for normal...it was actually a mis-click. I meant to bet .40.

That sounds like a minor detail, but it is not. I am trying to keep my odds where I want them, to control the pot. If I make a half-pot bet on the flop, a half-pot bet on the turn is a third cheaper and the same with the river...yet each way gets me close enough to get lots of chips in if the situation warrants.

But the larger flop bet will require larger turn and river bets...and lead to more chips in the center when I do NOT think the situation warrants based on hand strength, but the pot odds will be more favorable.

More favorable pot odds when I think I am behind do not mean I am happy...if I think I am behind but calling because I will be wrong x amount of the time, I want the call to be for fewer chips, not more.

He thinks about it for quite a while, then raises to 2.25 all-in. I am getting basically 2-1 on the call.

I know I have 6 clean outs…any non-spade K or 8. I might have an over card…but I suspect he is either top pair/top kicker or flush draw. Maybe a set.

I should fold…I usually do…but inexplicably, for reasons I still cannot explain…I call. He has Jh/9h and I am drawing better than expected…11 clean outs. Still an underdog but not as bad as expected.

The turn is the 2h and then my poor play is rewarded when I spike the King on the river.

This looked like exactly what it was…two fish battling it out, playing poorly, making bad calls and taking turns getting rewarded. I stunk up the joint on the hand…but got paid off unlike when I actually have good hands.

Oddly, I am finding this lately…when I play what I believe is well…pushing good hands, charging for draws, betting monsters…I end up with losing sessions.

Conversely, when I play maniacally…chasing draws in the face of odds, for example…I have good results. This is counter-intuitive and dangerous.

It also leads to brainless aggression. Like sitting behind 6.15 as a result of sucking out on that guy, when the small blind with 7.31 opens to .30, I call the extra 20 cents with Kh/10c.

I do not mind the call…I have an above-average hand, have position, and he could be betting position. I will most likely call the expected continuation bet on the flop, then raise his checked turn and take own the pot. Hopefully. That is the plan.

And helping the plan along, the flop is 9d/Jd/8c, adding an up and down straight draw to my over. He bets .60, I flat-call it. No need to build a pot with a draw in play.

The 4d falls on the turn…perfect bluffing card. He checks, I bet, he folds. Thing is, if I was not planning to bet the turn, I should not have called the flop. Or, arguably, the pre-flop.

At the same time, if he is a good player and has the flush, he wants to check-raise me here. I am only ever getting called by a better hand...or a horrific player.

Very next hand I pick up big slick in middle position. Guy in front of me raises to .30, I re-pop to 1.05, he folds. Nice.

I then fold 21 consecutive hands before picking up Ah/Qh in the hi-jack. At this point I have 7.23. A middle position guy takes time, then raises to .30 sitting behind 12.24. I ponder re-raising, but decide to flat call.

A/Q suited is, in the way I play, a drawing hand. I might get a couple more calls and perhaps win a nice pot should a flush hit. Sure enough, a guy with 5.79 calls on the button, the blinds fold and we take a three-handed flop.

The flop is Ks/7c/2h. Checked around. Turn brings the Ac, I bet, they fold.

A few folds later, I pick up hockey sticks in the hi-jack. With 8.35, I am feeling frisky and make it .30 to go. The small blind, with 9.95, calls and we take the flop heads up.

I am not real excited about the Jh/Kc/3s flop. That hits a trainload of hands the small blind would call with. It also misses a truckload of them, and when he checks, I continuation bet .40 into a .66 cent pot. I actually expect him to call and then check-fold the turn, but he ups my happiness meter 2 points by meekly folding.

This illustrates to me again the power of position. If he comes out firing, I am going to have to think long and hard about what to do. If it is one of those idiotic 1 or 2 blind bets into a 6 blind pot, I probably re-pop him. If it is a half size bet, I am on the fence over whether to call, fold, or raise. If it is a pot-size bet, I probably fold here.

Conversely, when he checks, I am pretty much locked into raising here. 7s are nice, but unlikely to win a show-down unimproved. Therefore it behooves me to put pressure on the opposition, best done by betting when they show weakness. It is easier to see their weakness if I see their move before I make mine.

The next hand I fold the small blind to a min-raise holding 4s/6d. Too bad, the flop was 6h/6s/4c. Would have been my second flopped boat with a trash hand in this session…but I folded them both. Wisely. Especially wisely as the turn and river were both tens and I would have lost to the A/10 holdings that boated up…

Which, by the way, leads indirectly back to one of my weaknesses. If I flop 6s full, I would be very tempted to slow-play. It feels like a pretty safe hand. If someone wants to beat it, they need pockets that pair or something unlikely like running cards that pair the board.

But when I slow-play, I seldom if ever manage to get the chips in by the river…UNLESS the opponent not only catches up, they pass me…and I get stacked with flopped 6s full verse rivered 10s full. This time I avoided it by the (correct) pre-flop fold…does anyone think when I checked the flop and bet the turn that the A/10 is folding?

Fresh off the smart fold, I pick up 10c/8d in the big blind. The small blind, with 6.84, click-raises. Often I have folded this lately, even though it looks, feels, and plays like something he could do with…well, there are 291 starting hands, my 10/8 block very few of them…any hand NOT containing the 10c/8d are in his range.

This time I call planning to call his flop raise, raise the turn and take it down.

The flop is the generic Qd/7d/3c. Hits a few hands he holds, misses most of them. He raises another .20, I call.

The turn is the Jh, hitting a few more hands I believe. He checks, I bet .50 expecting him to fold, he hesitates…almost times out…and calls.

Hmm. Did that Jack hit him? He on the possible but unlikely diamond flush draw? He have the 3, or a pair smaller than the Jack… 9s most likely as I hold a ten and eight, somewhat reducing his possibilities for those.

Regardless, I am going to tread carefully on the river. Barring the miracle non-diamond 9, there is really no card I am ecstatic about and I am kicking myself for wasting 90 cents…well, okay, 50 cents. Well, okay, not really upset…the hand went according to plan outside of his call. I built a plan for the hand, played the plan, and my opponent refused to co-operate.

The river is the 10h. I am not super excited about that. K/9, 8/9, 10/9 are all believable holdings that love that card. He checks.

Now…I have a marginal hand with marginal show-down value. Check behind and see what happens? I know if I raise and he re-pops I am folding so that is a wise course of action.

But the more I think about it, the more I think he has a missed draw. The hesitant call on the turn followed by the river check indicates either a weak hand that will fold…or a monster that will re-raise.

He has a couple hands he will fold that have me beat…a couple in his range that are weaker he will call with. Ultimately I am not sure if betting here is the right play or wrong play. I need to think about this a bit more.

As it turns out, on the hand, I bet another .90 cents into it. He expends his full 20seconds, asks for time, and finally folds.

Sitting behind 9.14 I open to .30 from utg+2. The button calls with 3.03 and we go to the flop heads up. The flop is 2c/Jh/6s. As the pre-flop aggressor, I am going to continuation bet here something like 99% of the time and I do so, leading out for .40cents.

He flat-calls and it is time to start putting him on a hand. A/K, A/Q, A/J, K/Q, K/J, maybe tens or similar pockets.

There are really no draws. He might be slow-playing a set of 6s or deuces, but I think that is unlikely. I think the most likely hand is a couple overs or something like A/10 suited where he is playing his Ace.

The turn is the 4d. This hits exactly zero hands he was playing…well, okay, if he has the 3/5 it hits him and I am going to get stacked. I bet pre-flop, I bet the flop, now I have a choice. I am pretty sure not only that I am ahead but that he is not going to catch up. So check or bet?

This is me. Clear answer; bet. I lead out for .80 and he again flat-calls. The river is the qd. There are now precisely 2 hands that beat me…pocket queens and 3/5. I need to figure out if it is better to bet or check.

There are no obvious draws here. He has something…but he seems more interested in seeing a cheap river than raising since he never re-popped me. I do not think he will bet, so I again half-pot it…which would still put him all in. He folds, sadly for me.

Now, going back over the hand, I wonder if I should have played it different. I had pocket Jacks so I flopped the nuts and ended with the third nuts. Not sure how to play them differently to get his whole stack. I actually like how I played it.

Perhaps the reasoning can be explained by the next memorable hand I play. With 10.88 I am in the big blind with Ad/2h. If anyone even click-raises I will fold in a heart-beat for reasons I have discussed elsewhere. There are 2 hands that can flop I love; 3 aces or 3 deuces on the flop. Otherwise, not too happy.

2 middle position guys with 7.20 and 23.20 limp, everyone else folds, and I check. A raise could be argued for here…but I really do not want to play a big pot out of position against 2 players with A/2.

The flop is pretty decent…2c/Ac/Jd. I am behind pocket Jacks which I believe would have been raised pre-flop but not much else. A/J...more believable, but I still would expect a pre-flop raise from that. I almost bet, then decide to check-raise instead.

This was a mistake. Both players limped…there is no reason to believe this hit either, so no reason to believe they will raise. Both check and the turn is the 9c. I check-fold to a bet.

I played this hand about as poorly as possible and instead of picking up a small pot, I won nothing. On the bright side…I lost just the big blind…but that is small consolation.

Sitting behind 9.78 I pick up pocket 4s on the button. I open to .30, the big blind calls with 2.80 and we see the 10c/9c/2s flop heads up.

This is a decent flop for me…A/10, A/9, K/10, Q/10, J/10 are really the main hands I think Trish1969 could be playing. I am not overly worried about that…she checks, I bet, she calls. Lots of people do, I expect her to check-fold the turn.

The turn is the Js…changes nothing. Unless she has something like K/J, if I was ahead before, I am ahead now. I guess a couple draws get there. She checks, I bet…she flat-calls.

Now I think the most likely hand is a flush draw. I will be very careful on the river. The river is the irrelevant 3. Unless she has pocket treys, I am in good shape. She checks and it is time to choose between checking and betting.

If she has the Q/K or a set, she will re-pop me. If she has the busted flush draw I suspect she will fold. If she had something that tagged the 9 or 10 and just wanted to see a cheap river, it is 50-50 what I should do. Ultimately I get the feeling she either has nothing or a huge hand…either way a bet wins nothing, but could lose a lot.

I check, fully expecting to see A/x and take down the pot. Instead I see her turn up…7d/Jc? What?

Let’s see. I guess the pre-flop sort of makes sense since a lot of people will defend their blind with about any two cards. Fair enough.

And a lot of people will also “just see what happens” on the turn…a move I use myself to take down a lot of pots by calling the flo and betting the turn…but that relies on calling in position.

In fact, that is exactly what I did myself earlier with the K/10. Of course, I did it in position...I seldom if ever do it out of position.

So on the turn, she suddenly hits a jack and now has top pair, gut shot straight draw. On the river, I have bet every step of the way, so there is no reason for her to bet. She has a marginal hand that wants to see a cheap showdown.

I do not like the pre-flop or flop play, but upon further review I sort of get her turn and river. I do not know I would have played it that way...but I am glad she did.

So here is a hand I think I actually played pretty well…and ended up losing 1.40. But I am okay with that much more than the hand I played poorly and “lost” .10 because I should have won a small but worthwhile pot.

So for the session, I think the lesson is clear. I really need to work on when to bet and when to check on the turn and river.