Should I Jam this Turn?

[David Wibel]

Playing in a 2-3 Spread limit with a $300 max bet cap. ~$350 effective stack

In Small Blind with KQo I have a somewhat tight image but it is early on in the session. Early position (UTG+2) raises to $15 and 2 people call behind him. I choose to raise to $60, initial raiser calls, he is a moderately aggressive player but doesn’t seem to get out of line, and the others fold. KQo seems too good to just fold here but I don’t want to play out of position to 3 other players.

Flop: KxAs9y

Flop is ok for us but should be good for a EP raise-call range too. I decide to check it over planning to call. I think I’m in the middle of my range. I feel like my perceived range is KJs+, ATs+, KQo+, pocket pairs TT+, KQo is on the bottom of my range and don’t see much in value betting. Villain thinks for about 15 seconds and checks it back.

Turn: Ks

This is a great card for my hand and middling for my perceived range, I do not have the Qs. I check hoping to induce a bet planning to Jam approx $280. I think my opponent could have 88+, ATs+ Maybe he has a gutshot royal flush but I feel that is unlikely. Villain bets $80 and I check my stack to make sure it isn’t $300+ and put it all in. Villain tanks for a couple of minutes grumbling about how if he didn’t have the $80 in there now he would fold. I take this a being a great sign that I’m ahead and now want him to call. I offer to show no matter what, trying to induce a call and he eventually calls. Villain shows… Pocket 99!

I spike a Q on the river giving me a higher boat after only having 7 outs to win but I didn’t really expect to be behind after that much thinking.

Questions are:
1) was 3 betting KQo a good idea and was the sizing appropriate?
2) Was check Jamming on the turn the right play or am I never getting called by worse? I feel like leading on the turn is playing my had a bit face up but that might be because I could see my hand.

As it turns out, the reason the villain took so long to call was he thought I had a AA due to an earlier had where I stacked KK with AA by 3 betting and checking an A22 flop.

[Dave Thompson]

3-bet pre from SB seems fine, but I’d go a bit bigger. My coach recommends 4x + 1x/caller when OOP (3x + 1x/caller IP), so here it would be 4×15 + 2×15 = 90.

On the turn, I think you can sometimes get called by something like AQ or AJ, but not often. A9 got counterfeited on the turn. I think I’d probably just check/call on the turn and look to check/shove on the river.

One side note: If your opponent was seriously considering folding 99 to your turn check/shove, then you need to be bluffing this person with a higher frequency than normal. Folding 99 there would be insanely nitty.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by Dave Thompson.

[Chuck M]

I agree with Dave’s answer

[David Wibel]

Thanks Dave I’ll keep the 3 bet sizing in mind, I was thinking I didn’t want to commit 25% of my stack with KQo and 3 bets weren’t common but calls with mediocre holdings were at this table like I hear from most low limit games. I probably 3bet the most at that table and even then the worst holdings I ever 3 bet were A5s as a semi-bluff once and the KQo was probably lower on that list of hands.

And the villain in this hand liked to play post flop with me a lot. about 30% of the hands I ever played that night he was a part of it and about 50% of the hands where he had position on me. I know he thought I was a young 20 something that was just looking for a way to spend a few hours which is the vibe I know I put off, and I do it deliberately. I know how they expect me to play, over estimating top pair and 2 pair so I play tight and moderately aggressive pre flop and cautious post flop.

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