Pocket nines on the big blind...

[Jimmy Mac]

My table image is tight. $Push'emOer$ is a loose player and a move maker, jodecijojo is solid and fairly tight pre flop. I don't have a read on the small blind, he is new. Whats my move here with the nines? - do i check and hope for a set or a low flop? If i raise to 5x $Pushem$ will call for sure.


PokerStars Game #2782179914: Tournament #13546956, Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2005/10/11 - 22:00:01 (ET)
Table '13546956 76' Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: WisemanGMan (5075 in chips)
Seat 2: $Push'emOer$ (11945 in chips)
Seat 3: BCommBye (12260 in chips)
Seat 4: I CHOMP U UP (33429 in chips)
Seat 5: smellywetdog (10845 in chips)
Seat 6: jodecijojo (9150 in chips)
Seat 7: 92Prelude (10905 in chips)
Seat 8: tim_barrell (18700 in chips)
Seat 9: xxJimmyMacxx (8800 in chips)
WisemanGMan: posts the ante 25
$Push'emOer$: posts the ante 25
BCommBye: posts the ante 25
I CHOMP U UP: posts the ante 25
smellywetdog: posts the ante 25
jodecijojo: posts the ante 25
92Prelude: posts the ante 25
tim_barrell: posts the ante 25
xxJimmyMacxx: posts the ante 25
tim_barrell: posts small blind 100
xxJimmyMacxx: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to xxJimmyMacxx [9d 9h]
WisemanGMan: folds
$Push'emOer$: calls 200
BCommBye: folds
I CHOMP U UP: folds
smellywetdog: folds
jodecijojo: calls 200
92Prelude: folds
tim_barrell: calls 100
xxJimmyMacxx: ?????????

Checking seems so weak here... there's 1k in the middle. Any thoughts?

[gabe]

i usually check there

[TanO]

check, see what develops

[ender555]

i definitely check here, 99 is very hard to play out of position

[IowaSkinsFan]

are you asking if you should try to steal here?

[dthorne04]

Check.

[Jimmy Mac]

are you asking if you should try to steal here?

I would normally check this, but I had brain lock. I was sure I could get folds, but the more I think about this play, the more I hate it.

xxJimmyMacxx: raises 8575 to 8775 and is all-in
$Push'emOer$: folds
jodecijojo: folds
tim_barrell: calls 8575
*** FLOP *** [4c Qs 8s]
*** TURN *** [4c Qs 8s] [5c]
*** RIVER *** [4c Qs 8s 5c] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
tim_barrell: shows [Ks Qd] (a pair of Queens)
xxJimmyMacxx: shows [9d 9h] (a pair of Nines)
tim_barrell collected 18175 from pot

The stacks are much too deep for this crap, right? Whats the lowest pair you guys raise in this spot? JJ? TT?

Check and play a set if it flops, otherwise check/fold it out.

[zenbitz]

Yeah, too early to gamb00l with a push. If you were very confident in your ability to out play opps. post flop OOP, you could raise it up 4-5X (presumably betting any flop with an A or undercards). You are going to have to bet it hard to rep the Ace, because a weak ace might call you down disastrously.

Latter is a good way to get tied in and lose alot of chips though. TT or JJ is really not much better except there are proportionally more flops with no over cards. You are still in trouble on a KQX flop, especially suited.

I can see raising all of these on the button, but not sure on the blinds at these levels with medium-deep stacks - because a) you are out of position and b) you don't want to gamb le yet (so you shouldn't push)

[chardrian]

The call with QK was horrible - since basically your play screamed mid pockets or AK (maybe just maybe AQ). I don't mind the check here and hope to hit a flop...
But to be be honest, I feel like you really get so few opportunities over the long run that you should take what you can get. With your read I like a raise there - I'd put in between 1000-1200. My goal would be to go heads up with the loose "move maker" - then again I like playing flops (sometimes disastruously) so take that for what's it worth.

p.s. the push sucked.

[drmcboy]

If you're raising, make the same raise you'd make with QQ, not the one that says PLEASE DON'T CALL. QQ+ I would raise, JJ would depend on my read of opps in hand, probably playing for set there too. TT check.