do you see anything wrong with this

[BrianSwa]

Ok read this hand from Daniel and tell me do you think he was wrong in doing this or was this something you would do also.


With the limits at $150-$300, I was running out of time. A novice player limped in from first position, and from what I'd seen from that player thus far, it could mean only one thing: He didn't have a very good hand. So, I raised from middle position with the Aclubs 5clubs, trying to play the hand heads up with position on the limper. Everyone else folded, so I ended up with the situation I was seeking.

Unfortunately, the flop was pretty ugly for my hand: 10diamonds 8spades 6clubs. That's a flop my opponent easily could have hit, but when he checked, I had to take one stab it, so I bet. He called.

At this point, I still thought there was a chance my ace high was the best hand. He could have Q-J, J-9, or even K-J. The turn card was the 7hearts, and my opponent once again checked. Now, I felt pretty confident that he didn't have the straight. I thought there was a decent chance he had a pair, but there was about an equal chance that he had Q-J or something like that. I decided to take one last stab at the pot, and bet $300. It was a half-bluff/half-protection bet. After some study, my opponent reluctantly called.

I didn't know what to do next. I was literally just hoping that my opponent had precisely queen high and that he wouldn't help on the river. The river came down with the 9diamonds, putting a straight on board. "That is either a really good card for me," I thought, "or a really bad one."

When my opponent checked, I was pretty confident that I'd just gotten lucky and was finally going to drag my first chip out of a pot, albeit I'd only be splitting the pot. This player was too straightforward to check a jack in this spot, though, so betting the river seemed like a pretty safe bet. Who knows, he may overlook his hand and fold, I dunno.

So, I went ahead and bet, and my opponent began to study once again. He looked befuddled. It appeared that he was simply trying to figure out what in the world he had! Finally, he called, and this is where the hand got interesting.

Since I recognized that my opponent was a novice and was having trouble reading his own hand, I still thought there was a chance he might mistakenly fold it. So, rather than say, "I'm just playing the board," I confidently turned my hand faceup and said, "Straight."

While growing up in Toronto, I once got this play to work twice in the same session! By feigning confidence, it almost confirmed to my opponent that I had a strong hand and his marginal hand was beat.

Now, my opponent looked at his cards, looked back at the board, and then … sent his cards to the muck! Woohoo! I was totally stoked. I hadn't won a pot up to that point, and I had just won a nice-size pot by default!


I personally dont see anything wrong with it, its not his fault that this guy couldnt read the board.

[GeoffM]

If it isn't a close friend or family member, I'm taking that pot and chuckling the entire time. Dude shouldn't be sitting at a poker table if he doesn't know he also has the straight.

[2Tone]

Are there really people playing 150/300 who can't read a board?

[Talking Poker]

It was a tourney.

[BrianSwa]

Ya it was a tornament, I forgot the buy-in but it wasnt a high one. Im guessing the guy he was against had to of been a internet guy that got in on satalitte. Thats only way I can understand how he missed the board since the internet does it for you. Of course thats not really a great excuss but thats only thing I can come up with.