Automatic?

SirWatts

109 PL Holdem.

PokerStars Game #2648906483: Tournament #12672583, Hold'em Pot Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2005/09/24 - 09:57:54 (ET)
Table '12672583 4' Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: check_kills (3886 in chips)
Seat 2: lowthenbig (1810 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 3: !!!YAJ!!! (5707 in chips)
Seat 4: SirWatts (3639 in chips)
Seat 7: dealer7777 (2392 in chips)
Seat 8: SL6767 (4935 in chips)
check_kills: posts small blind 50
lowthenbig: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to SirWatts [Kd Kh]
lowthenbig has returned
!!!YAJ!!!: folds
SirWatts: raises 200 to 300
dealer7777: folds
SL6767: calls 300
check_kills: folds
lowthenbig: folds
*** FLOP *** [Jd Td 5d]
SirWatts: bets 500
SL6767: raises 1750 to 2250
SirWatts: ?

the_main

I think it is pretty automatic

with no solid read, you have to assume you have the best of it

either way, you're getting almost 2to1 to call, and you have a pretty safe redraw if you're behind (theres no reason for him to push here with the :ad unless its his only diamond)

the way i see it, there are two scenarios - he has two low diamonds, the ace of diamonds, or J10

i call in this spot

STR82ACE

Now what could he have?

Pocket J's? Pocket 10's?? Two low diamonds?? Most likely.

You have top pair, with a high diamond, another one hits, you can only be beaten by the :ad

Call.

Hammer

You COULD be way behind here, folding still leaves you with 3300 in chips with the blinds at 50/100 you still have lots of time. If this guy has been throwing lots of chips around then I might consider pushing here. Personally I'd pick another time to battle.

Hammer

Soup

I think he caught part of the flop, maybe AJ, with no diamond and he is trying to take the pot down. With no read I think there is a good chance your ahead, and if not, you have a great re draw. I think I call here.

the_main

JUst to add another hand he could be playing - pocket 10's or even J's

I think I'd play those hands very similarly to the way villian did

SirWatts

In Harrington's book he says a cold call of a preflop raise is often a middle pair. Especially here i thought he had a strong hand but he knew I may well have a monster so he decided to play carefully. Preflop I thought there was a good chance I was up against a hand like 88-JJ. When he raised the flop I thought he may well have a set but I didn't see how I could fold. He had TT and I failed to improve.

sweetjimmi

When you bet $500 what were you thinking? To me it looks like you were trying to see if the flop hit your opponent and hope you could get away from your hand if they showed strength. Am I wrong (I could be)?

Another thought, what could the villain have here that they willing to show this much strength against you? I'm assuming you have been playing tight aggressive (as per usual) and the villain would have little reason to put you on a weak hand. I think in this situation the villain thought process is as follows:

Preflop: TAG puts in a standard raise.
Villain has 1010, against a TAG (who is probably raising with a good hand) call to see the flop.

Flop J 10 5 all Diamonds

Hero bets 2/3 pot.
Villain sees bet as a standard continuation bet and wants to tell hero I can beat almost anything but a flush. Go away with anything lower than a set. Pushes all-in.

I think that your opponent is probably only going to willing to go broke with either a set or a huge drawing hand like with straight and flush draws. Either way I think that you can find better spots for your money with a deep stack. With all that said I would love to think I could fold your in hand in the heat of battle but I would probably call like you.

SirWatts

I think if I know my opponent is also a good player then that logic can definitely support a fold. I didn't know much about my opponent here, I figured he probably was fairly good but I'm sure you can find players at any level that will make this play with AdQ or even worse something like AJ without a diamond. Under the assumption he is playing a Harrington-like tight conservative style I think we can make a big laydown since he's not calling preflop with AJ and probably not playing AdQ or AdK so recklessly when he thinks I probably have a big hand. That really only leaves QdQ which I still think is probably getting reraised preflop, or a set. Set seems most likely. But you'd have to put the whole story together and then have the guts to go with your read which isn't easy. Against most players this still is pretty automatic I think. I bet 500 on the flop because I have a monster hand and I'd like him to put his money in the pot so I can take it, and to charge in case he has the Ad.

stoneskn

blind reply (don't see responses before replying)

You've got to tell us pot sizes and player reads here. This is hopless without it. Poker is about psych and math, you've got none so far.

SirWatts

You can add up the pot size (his turn raise is a pot sized raise also) and I have no particular read. Given the buy-in and what I've seen I figure he's a decent player.