I am sure a fish should not be scared by rivers but here we go:

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 8 players
Replay this hand on CardsChat

UTG: $2.00 (100 bb)
UTG+1: $1.17 (59 bb)
MP: $2.00 (100 bb)
MP+1 (Hero): $1.97 (99 bb)
CO: $2.24 (112 bb)
BU: $2.10 (105 bb)
SB: $0.60 (30 bb)
BB: $2.26 (113 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.03) Hero is MP+1 with T♥ J♥
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $0.04, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.04, 4 players fold

Flop: ($0.11) 4♥ 9♠ Q♠ (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $0.02, Hero calls $0.02

Turn: ($0.15) T♦ (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $0.02, Hero calls $0.02

River: ($0.19) T♠ (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $0.32, Hero calls $0.32

Total pot: $0.83 (Rake: $0.03)

Results are at the end.

Hi All,
I reckon I went wrong with this one. Far too timid.
Firstly the preflop call felt ok. Postflop I was not sure what to make of the minbet.
Some kind of draw felt likely. Is this correct or do people play third and second pair like this?

I thought of raising but figured there was probably little fold equity.

Fourth street my hand got better but the gutshots got there. Same action though.

Fifth street brings the flush and finally a real bet. Now I cannot work out if I should have raised. If you raise and get shoved on do you call?

Thanks for your help in advance,
Jefstical


Results to follow:





Look away now if you're waiting for MOTD:
Showdown:
UTG+1 shows Q♥ K♦ (two pair, Queens and Tens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 62%, Flop: 69%, Turn: 80%, River: 0%)

MP+1 (Hero) shows T♥ J♥ (three of a kind, Tens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 38%, Flop: 31%, Turn: 20%, River: 100%)

MP+1 (Hero) wins $0.80

Judging from the result I have to think my opponent was thinking:
The board is a bit scary I better keep it small.
The board got scarier I better make a defensive bet.
Oh no all the draws got there time to bluff with top pair.

Preflop
Its a little lose to call with JTs against an EP open, but judging from his broken stack, he seem to be a fish, and then you want to get involved especially in position. So I am ok with this, if there were no aggressive 3-betters behind you.

Flop
You flopped an open ender with a backdoor flushdraw, and when he make a silly min-bet, I would put in a raise. Its not only about getting him to fold now. Its also about beginning to tell a story and build the pot for, when you improve. Use your position to apply some pressure on him, not only in this hand but in general. This is part of the way, we beat fish. We constantly raise their limps and silly min-bets, and at some point they tilt and begin to do something really stupid. Just calling is obviously not terrible though. But I just prefer to take the more aggressive route in general.

Turn
You improved to second pair, and he made another silly min-bet. Here I would also raise, and now its actually for value. I think, this sizing looks really weak, so I pretty much rule out him having top pair or better. I think, its either some weak pair or a draw, and you beat those hands now.

River
You improved to trips, but the flush also came in, and now he bombed the pot with an overbet. This is just lovely. His line kind of scream, that he has a flush, and I would not blame anyone for folding. But at the same time you are very high in your range, the pot is small, and you have not shown any strength in the hand. So I think, it was the right decision to close your eyes and make the call. There is no world, where this is ever a raise though. The decision is only between calling or folding.

Results
Him showing up with KQ is very unexpected, and I have no idea, what he was trying to do on any street other than preflop. But this just goes to show, why you sometimes need to stick with fundamentally sound poker against fish rather than trying to put them on an exact range. I would have pumped this pot up on the earlier streets, but I think, you did a great job digging out that river call in a somewhat tough situation.

Originally Posted by fundiver199

Preflop
Its a little lose to call with JTs against an EP open, but judging from his broken stack, he seem to be a fish, and then you want to get involved especially in position. So I am ok with this, if there were no aggressive 3-betters behind you.

Flop
You flopped an open ender with a backdoor flushdraw, and when he make a silly min-bet, I would put in a raise. Its not only about getting him to fold now. Its also about beginning to tell a story and build the pot for, when you improve. Use your position to apply some pressure on him, not only in this hand but in general. This is part of the way, we beat fish. We constantly raise their limps and silly min-bets, and at some point they tilt and begin to do something really stupid. Just calling is obviously not terrible though. But I just prefer to take the more aggressive route in general.

Turn
You improved to second pair, and he made another silly min-bet. Here I would also raise, and now its actually for value. I think, this sizing looks really weak, so I pretty much rule out him having top pair or better. I think, its either some weak pair or a draw, and you beat those hands now.

River
You improved to trips, but the flush also came in, and now he bombed the pot with an overbet. This is just lovely. His line kind of scream, that he has a flush, and I would not blame anyone for folding. But at the same time you are very high in your range, the pot is small, and you have not shown any strength in the hand. So I think, it was the right decision to close your eyes and make the call. There is no world, where this is ever a raise though. The decision is only between calling or folding.

Results
Him showing up with KQ is very unexpected, and I have no idea, what he was trying to do on any street other than preflop. But this just goes to show, why you sometimes need to stick with fundamentally sound poker against fish rather than trying to put them on an exact range. I would have pumped this pot up on the earlier streets, but I think, you did a great job digging out that river call in a somewhat tough situation.

Thanks. You have given me a lot to think about on each street. I missed a lot of the nuances on this hand. Including how much the overbet screams flush and skews his range towards it. I took a while to call and in the end all I could think of was Doug Polk telling me not to fold trips

Even at full ring, I think your call preflop was fine.

While I do usually like to raise silly min bets from fish with a good drawing hand, in this case it could have been a bad idea. Getting inside a fish's head is a bit strange, but he may have been trying to induce a raise from you with a hand that he thought was really strong (TOP PAIR!!!).

Either way, I think your play of the hand was fine, particularly given the fish's actual hand.

Originally Posted by Sidetracked

Even at full ring, I think your call preflop was fine.

While I do usually like to raise silly min bets from fish with a good drawing hand, in this case it could have been a bad idea. Getting inside a fish's head is a bit strange, but he may have been trying to induce a raise from you with a hand that he thought was really strong (TOP PAIR!!!).

Either way, I think your play of the hand was fine, particularly given the fish's actual hand.

Thanks. I didn't think of villain trying to induce a raise. I guess you are right about trying to get inside a fishes head. That way does madness lie.