could i avoid being crippled?

im thinkin i misplayed this one a bit(mostly with my river raise then call), let me know what u think
thanx, younggun03


Full Tilt Poker Game #4208254341: $33 + $1.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (31938818), Table 1 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:32:35 ET - 2007/11/17
Seat 1: younggun03 (1,615)
Seat 2: Fonzayy33 (1,385)
Fonzayy33 posts the small blind of 15
younggun03 posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to younggun03 [Jh 5h]
Fonzayy33 calls 15
younggun03 checks
*** FLOP *** [3h 3d 7h]
younggun03 checks
Fonzayy33 bets 30
younggun03 has 15 seconds left to act
younggun03 calls 30
*** TURN *** [3h 3d 7h] 6♥
younggun03 checks
Fonzayy33 bets 60
younggun03 has 15 seconds left to act
younggun03 calls 60
*** RIVER *** [3h 3d 7h 6h] 9♠
younggun03 checks
Fonzayy33 has 15 seconds left to act
Fonzayy33 bets 210
younggun03 has 15 seconds left to act
younggun03 raises to 500
Fonzayy33 has 15 seconds left to act
Fonzayy33 raises to 1,265, and is all in
younggun03 has 15 seconds left to act
younggun03 has requested TIME
younggun03 calls 765
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Fonzayy33 shows [3c 6c] a full house, Threes full of Sixes
younggun03 shows [Jh 5h] a flush, Jack high
Fonzayy33 wins the pot (2,770) with a full house, Threes full of Sixes
The blinds are now 20/40
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,770 | Rake 0
Board: [3h 3d 7h 6h 9s]
Seat 1: younggun03 (big blind) showed [Jh 5h] and lost with a flush, Jack high
Seat 2: Fonzayy33 (small blind) showed [3c 6c] and won (2,770) with a full house, Threes full of Sixes

Well thats a tough beat. Looking at the way the hand played out villain slow played the full house.

The only advice i could offer would be a re raise on the turn when you made your flush. A largish bet here might have got him to come back over the top, giving you a tough choice (can you lay down the flush and put him on the boat?).

The only hands beating you were pockets (for the full house or quads) or a higher flush. I would have put him on the straight and played as you did.

It looks like this was early in the tournament (blinds still 15/30) so I take it you didn't have a read on villain as yet?

All in all a tough one....but thats poker. Chalk it up to one of those "sh1t happens" and don't let it tilt you.

I am no master and cards, and heads up even less so. But, I will give you my $.02. I would have raised his small bet on the Flop. In heads up I prefer to put the pressure on the other person and stay out of drawing situations if I can. His small bets were begging for reraise and if you had raised early on and he called or raised again you could have gotten out earlier knowing he had something. Other than that, I don't know what you could have done.

You might have avoided this beat had you raised after villain had limped in.

Somewhere on this forum there will be a HU Strategy.

Something to keep in mind for next time.

This is a heads up match. Whole 'nother beast. Basically you have to play very aggressive in this type of match. Your J5suited should have been raised PF. You need to push your opponent off marginal hands. By raising PF you stood a good chance of taking down the hand and not winding up in this spot.

In answer to your original question, "Could I avoid getting crippled'.

The only way would have been bbb's way. Once the flop hit it was out of your control. Villain outplayed you here and for him, when he saw the 3rd heart, which gave him the boat, he was praying you were flushing.

And all sane poker players will have to believe that any flush is going to be the nuts heads up.

So the answer is, probably not.

There's nothing much you can do here. No way you're gonna fold that flush in a heads-up game, it was just bad luck.

I don't mind the preflop check either despite what most others say because I like keeping the pots small myself.