Interpret this one

***** Hand History for Game 2008145470 *****
$25 NL Hold'em - Friday, May 06, 14:35:48 EDT 2005
Table Table 37607 (Real Money)
Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: ImaLouzer ( $69.9 )
Seat 3: BlueSWE ( $59.4 )
Seat 4: jrbgrim ( $24.6 )
Seat 5: ig0tnothin ( $12.66 )
Seat 6: Jouhka ( $36.36 )
Seat 7: words91 ( $61.03 )
Seat 9: Stosh1 ( $78.75 )
Seat 10: juicyjc ( $76.15 )
Seat 8: stressball10 ( $27.4 )
Seat 2: KoyBass ( $24.5 )
Stosh1 posts small blind [$0.1].
juicyjc posts big blind [$0.25].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to stressball10 [ 8d 9c ]
ImaLouzer folds.
BlueSWE folds.
juicyjc: lol
jrbgrim calls [$0.25].
ig0tnothin folds.
Jouhka folds.
words91 folds.
stressball10 calls [$0.25].
Stosh1 folds.
juicyjc checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9s, Ah, 3s ]
juicyjc checks.
jrbgrim checks.
stressball10 bets [$0.85].
juicyjc folds.
jrbgrim calls [$0.85].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 3d ]
jrbgrim bets [$3].
stressball10 calls [$3].
** Dealing River ** [ 6h ]
jrbgrim bets [$10]. ----insert me thinking for a while
stressball10 folds.
jrbgrim does not show cards.
jrbgrim wins $18.15


I had a strong feeling when he led out like that on the turn that he had a flush draw he was disguising. If he had a legit hand, that's a very strange betting line, IMO. I called thinking I was ahead and would call him down, but then he made it really expensive on the river and I wasn't sure if I trusted my initial read. I really don't know the player at all. The $10 bet though is a pretty dramatic overbet... makes me wonder if he had something great or nothing at all. I don't see much possibility of it being anything in between the two.

I think this is a trust your read or don't play, you don't beat anything except the busted draw.

I do see some tighter players that slow play top pair/two pair types hands on the flop to get a little more money in the pot before they shut you out. Maybe he had A9/A3 and when you call on the turn he figures you have a big A and will pay him off.

Originally Posted by drmcboy

I think this is a trust your read or don't play, you don't beat anything except the busted draw.

I do see some tighter players that slow play top pair/two pair types hands on the flop to get a little more money in the pot before they shut you out. Maybe he had A9/A3 and when you call on the turn he figures you have a big A and will pay him off.

Maybe, but his play is still strange - he check-calls the flop, then leads out strong (pot-sized) on the turn? How often do you see that? Maybe it makes sense if he thought he would slowplay A9, then got scared by the board pairing. Otherwise I can't figure what he would have that would make him bet like that. If he's slowplaying A3 or 99, the turn just made his hand stronger - why not continue trying to extract money from me?

It's possible perhaps that he had Ax and read me as stealing, and therefore is just trying to come back at me aggressively... nonetheless you'd think he would check-raise the flop instead of giving me a free card, if that was the case.

You must remember that this is NL25. Things you see won't always make sense. Also, don't give your opponents too much credit (unless you have a great read). This guy could just suck at poker, and that's the reason why he played it so weird.

Originally Posted by Ultimate George

You must remember that this is NL25. Things you see won't always make sense. Also, don't give your opponents too much credit (unless you have a great read). This guy could just suck at poker, and that's the reason why he played it so weird.

That's true, and that's why I folded. If I knew for sure he was a decent player I'd be more likely to call (go figure).