Is my value bet too small here?

[Patrick Brennan]

Hey guys another $1/$3 session at the Aria yesterday afternoon… here’s what happened:

I’m in the SB and UTG straddles to $6. (UTG is a new player to the table so don’t know much about him). MP calls (tight passive player who plays really scared.) HJ calls (fish at the table. Losing money… I’ve already stacked him once that session). I look down at J10 off in SB and even though I think a squeeze play here might be better I decide to just call. The straddler decides on a raise to $21 which is way too small and everyone calls. Pot-$87

Flop: J-10-3 rainbow… YAHTZEE! I decide on an odd line and lead out rather quickly for a small amount $20. UTG calls and so does fish. Pot- $147

Turn: Ad putting a flush draw out there. I don’t slow down and bet a little over 1/3rd pot $55. I could check for pot control but I don’t love the A and it’s obviously bad for my perceived range as well. UTG folds and HJ calls. Pot- $257

River: 2s… total fucking blank, brilliant! I pause for a few seconds and grab a stack and slide it in. (Side note: totally thought I had my chips in stacks of $100 but they were in stacks of $110. Bonus!) HJ tanks for a solid 2 minutes before tossing out a chip to signify a call. I show and he takes forever to muck his cards… didn’t get to see what he had though. I’m guessing a pair plus draw or maybe KJ.

So obviously this hand turned out great but the more I think about it the more I think I missed value. Maybe not in this hand but overall I might be missing value in betting too little. My opponent had about a pot sized bet left in his stack… do you think I should put him all in there? Is that too much for middle 2 pair? But then again I’m pretty much committed once I bet $110 if he shoves for the rest of his stack can I really fold for $140 more into a $600 pot? I don’t know… what do you guys think?

• This topic was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by Patrick Brennan.

[Jazbo Burns]

Recap: $1-3, UTG Straddle, Hero has JTo in SB and limps third for $6. Straddler raises to $21, four players.

[Question: Is straddling allowed elsewhere? I’m always curious as to why anyone straddles UTG if they can straddle on the button.]

A full pot raise by the straddler would be to $33, and being out of position a raise to $40 would make more sense, so I think his raise size is weak. Because you have no info on him it’s hard to put him on a range, but did you consider limp-re-raising (which is usually taken to be KK+)? A raise to $110+ would have a good chance to take it down preflop, which would be a fine result with JT out of position.

On the JT3r flop, Hero leads for $20 into $87. Very odd. Although you almost certainly have the best hand, you are out of position and giving great odds to AK, KQ, AJ and KJ to continue. I would prefer to bet $80+ and be happy to take it down on the flop. If you face a shove you would have to make a decision. As played, three go to the turn.

On the Ad turn there is now a flush draw possible and the Hero losing to AJ, KQ and a few other hands. You bet 1/3rd pot and only the straddler calls. Were you intending to fold to a shove? Did you want a call or a fold?

River 2s (a blank). Hero bet $110 into $257, gets a call and wins against an unknown hand. I actually like the sizing on the river. The Straddler just called on the flop which (for most players) caps his range at one pair. You chose a size that makes it hard to fold a one pair hand. Because river bluffs are so rare at this limit, he could probably get away if you shoved. Well done.

–jazbo

[Patrick Brennan]

Thanks for the response! I considered a limp re-raise pre-flop but the other 2 players in the hand were very sticky pre- flop players. If they were in for a dollar they were likely in for their whole stack.

I believe at the Aria in Vegas you’re only allowed to straddle from UTG.

I see what you are saying on the flop. Normally I would check to the pre-flop aggressor and let them bet but I was worried it would check through. Also, I thought betting into 3 other players for $80 seemed too strong out of position. But I shouldn’t be results oriented and realize that in the long run this could be a leak.

On the turn I was not afraid of a shove because I figured my small flop bet would have gotten a raise from AJ or better. I figured likely ranges were pair plus draw and small to medium pocket pairs. It’s possible someone floated with a Ax hand. Here though you were wrong in the recap as straddler folds and HJ fish calls.

Overall I think my problem actually isn’t my river sizing but my flop sizing was way too small and I can maybe stick with a 1/3-1/2 bet size on the turn and roughly 1/2 on the river.

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