just a little cash game hand

I was playing at the horseshoe in miss (just went there for something to do. A no limit game with a max buy-in of 500. I had been playing for some time and was still relatively sober, as were 4 others at the table. The 5 of us had between 2000 and 2500 each, and the other players were all coasting around 400 ish, with one shorty. Now to anyone stumbling around thinking they should try to play poker they should realize two things, these are big stacks so they have been here a while, and that they are probably pretty good.
that didn't stop lots of people who obviously thought they could double up their 200 or 300 through us...sorry, this ain't a freeroll on pokerstars. Anyway, the hand...1st raises to 50, 2nd calls, 3rd, the shorty, pushes all in with only 120. Everyone calls and its around to me on the button and i have pkt 7's. I thought about raising it here to just go heads up with the shorty since i was sure he had a weak ace, but its only 7's and someone could come over me and i wouldn't be able to call. So all-in, i don't think so, so i limp hoping to catch my 7. the big blind however does push all in with about 2200. Was he doing what i was going to do? I don't know, but there was really no way i was going to call. Even if he was bluffing, i thought "good bluff". He got the desired action until the small blind calls...couldn't believe it when he turned over 9's...what the hell, he had played so well and now he was about to lose 2000 on 9's. the big blind turns over k's (so no bluff) and the shorty has his weak ace with my 7. And wouldn't u know it, a 9 on the flop. Of course he goes nuts thinking he made the right play and now could do no wrong.
needless to say when the game broke up, the pocket 9's was left with a little more than 300 (no, its not a typo). Yup, he thought he could run the table with his stack, but instead he gave it back to us. I left for the morning pretty happy with what i made but still couldn't and never will understand how the hell he made that call...

Wait....You have an early position raiser, a caller, then a re-raise....so you 'limp'? or did you mean call? Either way, it looks as though I should head to Miss and get into some games. What days are you at the table? I'd love some easy money.

honestly, just gtfo if u arent going to help people. no reason for it.

to the op: just need to improvr ur game. read some of the articles, they are decent to good.

pot odds = amazing, i would have played it the same way


and with the bold statement above, are you implying that the guy who has 5X the max buy-in is a donk or easy money?

OK OK...maybe I was a little abrupt. Sorry to offend anyone, and the replies to me so far are justified. I guess what I should have said:

You have a early position raiser--which says he probably has a good hand. A caller to that raise, (which also says he also has a decent hand), and then a raiser of all-in who is short stacked which could mean a few things--He has a good hand but he could just be trying to buy the pot, trying to isolate the raiser, or flat out just bluffing (in which he is being foolish). Now given that your reads on these people are they are just fish, you could end up making some money here with the button and pocket 7's.

BUT...you have GOOD players left to act--you said so (they have deep stacks and you respect their play). They have been there a while and their stack is as large as yours. Calling with 77 in this scenerio is unsmart (I'll use that word for all you PC people).

You either have to let this hand go or raise to something that tells those good players with big stacks left to act that, 'Hey I have a good hand here, stay out of my way, I'll push hard if needed'. Something maybe like $350-$450 to go. Then if they go over you, you can let the hand go with minimal damage because they are obviously convinced they can beat you. If you CALL--you do not have any clue where they are. Anything above ATo to A9s will most likely make a play at you and then you have to fold. By calling you have been forced to make a tougher decision that could have been made eaiser if you had just raised in the 1st place.

Now yes...given deep stacks, and the chance to flop a set, yadda. However, this is not a spot (imo) to call. You raise or fold. Calling is (again imo) the poorest choice because you are bloating a pot that makes it correct for the blinds to call, and giving them a great excuse to take your dead/donated money. With the reads which you gave, that's the way I see it. Raise it and make the blinds make a mistake, or just get out of the way. You are barely getting 1:3 on your money, and if the blinds do fold, there isn't even any more to get if you do hit your set. If you are 'set mining' or whatever you want to call it, going into a raised and reraised pot is not a good place to do it--especailly at 1:3 odds and no other money behind to get paid.

So given that info, it is my opinion you played the hand poorly.

This just seemed like a brag post that was poorly worded, so I was direct with my post.