AMRN is a decent player, so I"m looking forward to his rationale behind the hand.
LOL - you must have me confused with someone else Dan!!
I think not.
OK so here"s what happened, and why I took the actions I did. glad to see that some of you would have done the same thing here.
Firstly, the level of play and value of stack was not a problem - I never play cash games in fear of my stack, and am fully aware that I could bust in one hand. So, my actions and decisions are never influenced by the value of chips I might lose.
When he re-raised from the button, I considered three betting, but was worried about what would happen if he called and I missed the flop, only to then be raised on the flop.... or if he subsequently re-re-raised preflop..... after all, I only had Ace high. At least by just calling, I was able to see a flop, and if it was nasty I could get away cheaply - I was more than prepared to check-fold if I missed the flop and wait for a better time in position. I was also prepared to go large if I hit the flop hard.
Nothing up with calling with AK out of position. Sometimes you can re-raise with it, sometimes call. All"s good here.
AK7 was the perfect flop, although I didn"t like the two clubs. I was totally convinced I was ahead now. The chances of him having AA or KK were slim given that I could see two aces and two kings. 77 was a marginal possibility...
I led out with a very small bet to try and look weak and to induce a reraise. If he had QQ/JJ he might think he could take me off the pot here...
I get your reasoning, but I still prefer to bet larger here and at least get him to call with a weaker hand (or fold one that"s not going to put any more in anyway). I can"t see QQ or JJ raising you here - but you"d played with Fred before, so maybe that"s his MO.
When he flat called, I convinced myself he had either a weaker ace - say AQ/AJ, or that he had a flush draw - perhaps QJ clubs. I was still sure I was ahead.
You"re definitely ahead most of the time here.
The pot bet on the turn was to try and make the pot large enough that I would be able to get all in on the river and still be called by AQ/AJ.... and also to make him pay if he had a flush draw. I was prepared to fold on the river if a third club came.
Makes sense, although I still think a larger flop bet helps to build the pot more effectively.
When he moved all in, I was absolutely sure he had AQ, AK, or flush draw..... I was ahead at best, or splitting at worst. I couldn"t believe he would have made this play if he had just hit a set of fours..............
You have to call his range here.
So............ I CALLED, and he flipped...... 77
That"ll be 50p in the pot for the bad beat story...
Experiment over for now - back to 0.50/1 with forays into 1/2. Busting 5% of bankroll is hard enough, but 10% in one hand was just plain hurtful. But hey, it was effectively freeroll - so not too bad.
Definitely an ouch. One thing though, Fred played the hand well. I think that once you get to those levels the players are a large step up from the 0.50/1 tables (where I play).
Interesting hand though. I"ll be interested in what others thought of it. I"ve been reviewing the way I play my cash games, and I"ve come to some interesting conclusions. Won"t be disclosing them on here though
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See you in Estonia at 8pm....
Sorry, didn"t hang around long enough