Tough Hand of the Day 08.21.06

This one is a doozy.

STAGE #430904521: HOLDEM NO LIMIT $1 - 2006-08-21 21:11:57 (ET)
Table: FREDERICKSBURG (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 5 - LILJOEY2PAIR ($114.05 in chips)
Seat 6 - SYNODIC ($232.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - UCJAMIE ($111.40 in chips)
Seat 2 - DA_BAUM ($39.30 in chips)
Seat 3 - HAEMATO ($200 in chips)
Seat 4 - VASQUIRE ($80.40 in chips)
SYNODIC - Posts small blind $0.50
DA_BAUM - Posts big blind $1
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SYNODIC [Ks Kc]
HAEMATO - Folds
VASQUIRE - Raises $3 to $3

Vasquire comes in for a raise, and I don't have a strong read on him. He seemed like your standard donkey. 53 VPIP, 19 PFR. So I'm not really putting him on a hand yet...he could have a lot of hands.

LILJOEY2PAIR - Folds
SYNODIC - Raises $8.50 to $9

Standard reraise to see where I'm at and isolate.

DA_BAUM - Folds
VASQUIRE - Calls $6

Now his range is narrowed just a bit. He atleast has a hand he's willing to raise and call a reraise with. But he's very loose, so he still could have quite a few hands.

*** FLOP *** [10c 7s 6h]
SYNODIC - Bets $10
VASQUIRE - Calls $10

I lead out with a normal continuation bet. I'm careful not to put in too much, because I want action if he caught a piece of that. With a $10 bet, he might think I'm following up with AK or AQs.

*** TURN *** [10c 7s 6h] [9c]
SYNODIC - Checks

This is a rough turn, and I check it to him. I'm out of position and I feel like I'm probably way ahead or way behind. I also wanna see how he reacts to this card before I put in any more money. (Note: Betting here is probably a better play.)

VASQUIRE - Bets $16

This bet says "I have the straight." And I was ready to fold my hand. But I couldn't figure out what hand he could raise preflop, call a reraise, and then call a flop bet that has an 8 in it. 88 maybe.

Here's the thing about weak players though. As I wrote so in depth about in my last post, they LOOOOVE to slowplay. Does he really have the straight here? I dunno, but if he does, he'd probably check it. Or at the least, bet an amount he thought would get called. $16 is a strong bet, and I just showed weakness.

I feel there is a chance he is trying to muscle me. And I make a call.

The plan is to see a river, check it to him, and reevaluate if he bets.

*** RIVER *** [10c 7s 6h 9c] [3c]

The river brings the third club. This is actually a good card for me! If he has the straight, this will likely slow him down and I might get a free showdown.

SYNODIC - Checks
VASQUIRE - All-In $45.40

This was a puzzling bet. His turn bet represented the straight, but now he is trying to represent the flush. This doesn't make a lot of sense. I felt that if he had the straight, he wouldn't shove all his chips in here when the third club hits. Even if he doesn't think I could have 2 clubs, it's another card that is going to scare me and make me less likely to call...so a value bet is much more in order.

Plus I just can't shake the feeling that he is trying to muscle me after I showed weakness. I did check the turn and river afterall...which is another reason an all in on this card makes little sense. If he had a big hand, why would he move in after I check to him twice. I can't have a hand I like.

SYNODIC - Calls $45.40
*** SHOW DOWN ***
VASQUIRE - Shows [9s Ad] (One pair, nines)
SYNODIC - Shows [Ks Kc] (One pair, kings)
SYNODIC Collects $158.80 from main pot

This was a very satisfying pot to take down. Hand analysis can often overlook something small. He still could have had a better hand than me, so I feel fortunate I made the right read. It's also nice to be analyzing a hand I WON for a change.