Hand of the Night Analysis

Getting back into some poker strategy posts.....

The scene is a $100NL 6-max table on Party. BadBlood is on the button and dealt pocket cowboys. This is the second time I've been dealt these at the table, the first time out I had to lay them down on a Axx all clubs flop as my Kings were bloody red.

On this hand in particular, there are 2 limpers for $1 and I bump it to $4. The big blind and both limpers call for a $17-ish pot. The flop is non-ideal for pocket K's: QQ3. My immediate reaction is "Great, I'll have to lay these K's down too." However, it is checked all the way back to me on the button.

I throw away my initial thoughts and think to myself how I'd play the hand if I did have a hand like AQ or KQ. I'd check and slow play a little, so that's what I did. The turn is a 7 - a blank - and the blind and the first EP limper both check again. The 2nd EP limper bets out $5 into that $17 pot and I put on my thinking cap again.

If that 2nd EP limper had a Q, wouldn't he check again? I think he would as the first check may have raised enough doubt to the pre-flop raiser (myself) such that I'd be a bit more confident in firing out a bet on the turn, after which he could check-raise. So I called that $5 bet for that reason, as well as the fact that the bet itself seemed to be a little small. It reeked of an "I'm too scared to make a real bluff at this pot, so I'll bluff just a little"-type bet.

The big blind and 1st EP limper both fold and it's down to just us two.

The river brings a 3rd Q and my poker-sense is indicating to me that I've got the best hand for sure. However, the 2nd EP limper decides to push. I still think that he's bluffing and now's a little too late for him to convince me otherwise as his stack was only $35 into a $27 pot. Based on my read of him, I immediately call.

Result: K's are good, he had A6o.