A Big Hand

This hand came up recently in a cash game, and it played out very oddly so I thought I would write about it.  Share your thoughts on it if you want.

This was a $1/$3 No-Limit table.  My image was a little on the loose side; I’d been playing a lot of hands and winning a few small pots without showing down, and at this point I was the chip leader at the table with around $350.  I posted the small blind and the cards were dealt out.

Everybody folded to a guy in late position who raised it to $10, pretty much the standard raise at this table.  He was the second chip leader with around $300 total.  I had been keeping an eye on him and I had him pegged as a slightly above-average player.  I put him on a mid to high pair, with two high cards unlikely but still possible.

It folded around to me, so it would take $9 to call the bet.  I looked down to see the King of Spades and the King of Diamonds!  Nice … but also the kind of hand that I only want to play against one player at most.  The Big Blind was relatively new to the table and I didn’t have a read on him, so I didn’t know if he’d call the first raise or not, so I decided to re-raise.  I made it $25 to go, slightly more than a min-raise.

I got my wish; the Big Blind folded and Mr. Above Average called the raise, so we went to the flop.

The flop was Ten of Diamonds, Queen of Diamonds, Queen of Hearts.  I really didn’t like this flop, particularly out of position.  Two of the potential hands I put my opponent on included pocket Tens and Ace/Queen, and this flop hit both of those squarely.  And the straight and flush draws were plentiful as well.  But it was also possible that I had the best hand.  If I didn’t bet it, I risked not having any idea where I was in the hand.  I decided to put out a nice bet, a cross between a continuation bet and a value bet, and if it got called then worry.  Out went a scared bet of $30, just less than half the pot.

Mr. AbAv called.  Uh-oh.

The turn brought the Four of Hearts, a brick if there ever was one.  Well, if my hand was good on the flop, it was still good.  But I was really starting to worry about the hand.  I decided to just check and see what my opponent did.

He bet $60, a little over half the size of the pot.

I was more than a little worried now.  Had he been slowplaying a monster on the flop?  But why do that with all the draws on the board?  Was he drawing himself?

Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion to this hand!