$225 NLHE MTT: Bluff Chip leader in a shootout?

[Jacki Burkhart]

This is a live $225 NLHE shootout. We started 10 handed and I have to win my table to move on to the next round. We are down to 7 players and I have 13,000 chips. blinds are 150/300 with no antes. My image is tight aggressive.

It folds to my CO and I have the nitty old man in the button is very straightforward. The blinds are loose aggressive and generally bad players. The BB in particular I have a line on his play that he likes to apply pressure with very weak holdings, he likes to donk bet and bluff a lot. The BB has about 25,000 through sheer aggression and bad play and getting lucky, and he is the table chip leader.

So I raise it up to 800. Button folds, the SB had already telegraphed that he would fold and he did. The BB almost mucks then sighs and calls. He is not hollywooding, he's just bad.

pot contains 1,750

Flop comes

BB leads out for 1,300. He does this a lot and is generally full of shit, so I am never folding here. My options are to float or to 3bet. I almost 3bet but decide to float, so I flat. I'm in position with a gutshot and an over and quite possibly the best hand so I'm not in a hurry to shut down his bluffy terrible play just yet. Perhaps though, 3betting would have been safer and lower variance?

anyways, I flat and the pot now contains 4,350

the turn is the and he leads out for 3,500.

I know this is a bullshit bet. if he is trying to value bet me he would never bet this much, he just views me as a nitty girl and is trying to make me go away. I'm close to 100% positive about this. The other likely scenario is that he has some kind of a crappy pair or semi bluff.

I decide to jam figuring he'll fold all of his air, he'll probably fold his weak pairs and he may call/fold about 50/50 with his semi bluffs.

So I jam my stack of 10,900 into the pot of 7,850.

what do we think of this line? I realize it's optional and very aggressive but is it stupid? crazy? ok?

 

[WiZZiM]

i like it in general.

Think we can make moves on the flop too, but it can be trickier if called.

totally agree he is fos here, there isn't many combos of hands that jack improves apart from random overs like KJ QJ or J8, so at best he has an 8 here.

Now here is the key part.... do you think you can get an 8 or 5 to fold? The pot is pretty big and he's bet pretty hard, so wouldn't be suprised if he talks himself into calling since he's loose...

Generally vs these types of players we don't make our money by trying to make them fold hands, we make the money by value betting and letting them spew.

overall i think you had a nice read here, but you would want to make sure he's semi-capable of folding first.

 

[Jacki Burkhart]

I didn't think he could call me with an 8 or a 5 unless he also had a straight draw. He views me as tight aggressive and straightforward and though he was a bad player he was bad in an aggressive/bluffy way not in a calling station way. The only pairs I could see him calling with would've 86, 87, 56, 57 and maybe A8 though I don't think he would be betting so big with any of these hands. I think his bet sizes mean he almost never has a pair. Possibly a flush draw or a straught draw of just 2 big cards. Or even less. Maybe nothing.

 

[Ambur]

I like your play - you had a plan and you stick into it! (as said above)

BB - bad or not he got 2 cards and he is LAG (definetly capable to double barrel with air) and this flop is perfect for him doing so (since you are tight+ beautiful, right?) ! - so we could easyly assume that HE will barrel two bullets and continue when his air hits!

Sorry i would fold on flop (because of hero image) or other possibility is to 3bet/fold is safer! imo

Do not take it as must be! I am not playing live+limits as you do!

 

[PBG789]

I understand the line you've taken and its definitely a gutsy play.

As you had the pre-flop betting lead I would have been tempted, as you were, to try and shut it down on the flop with a raise to about 3000. Hopefully you get a fold (lower variance as you say) but if you don't you can then be almost certain that he has at least a pair and can get away with a playable stack unless the turn helps you out.

As played I agree with Wizzim that this particular villain seems capable of calling pretty light. He may also see this as an opportunity to get rid of a strong opponent and will be happy to gamble to do so in the knowledge that he will still have 30+BB if it goes wrong for him. One thing although he obviously doesn't seem like much of a thinking player he may have enough about him to view your jam as bluffy.

Hope it went your way!

 

[Jacki Burkhart]

I don't bluff a lot. I run maybe 1 big bluff every 2 or 3 tourneys. I semi bluff quite often, but stone cold bluffs are rare for me. When I'm doing it, I try to imagine how I would play a very strong hand in the same situation. I felt that this would be the exact line I would take with a flopped set (all 3 flopped sets are in my range) or an overpair.

anyways, he called. I said "good call" he had K7 so he had 1 over and a gutshot he said "No, you're good. I'm just priced in" I was elated to see that I was actually ahead! bluffing with the best hand....

I won't bother to tell you the river since it doesn't really matter. But let's just say that bluffing with the best hand doesn't always work out.

 

[WiZZiM]

wasn't a 6 was it?