final table hand, postflop play

[gabe]

i had been raising alot since it got to around 6-7 people, so i have a pretty aggressive image, however i have not shown down any bad hands. The SB I think has been the tightest player on the FT, not really stealing much at all preflop. However, him and I both have a big lead over the bottom two stacks so I don't think he would risk busting with a marginal hand.

I think the payouts are something like
1. 3600
2. 2300
3. 1600
4. 1100

But I don't have them in front of me. With his nice stack I'm sure he would hate going out 4th.

On to the hand:

Everytime I had raised a bling and someone had played back at me, they had almost always just pushed. For this reason, I had no problem with raising 27o on the button because my decisions are easy after the raise. I either raise and win the blinds, or I raise, they push and I fold. But for this reason I had started open limping some buttons when I had decent looking hands. Stuff like A8s, KT, and even Q8s. The preflop play here is not debable for me though.

On the flop I had a pair, gutshot, and backdoor flush draw and the call was pretty easy with the stack sizes.

On the turn, I didn't think he had a 9 or he would have pushed. Even though its a minraise, its a pretty big raise relatively speaking. His call makes me think he has a strong hand, but not one that can take much action. Maybe he has JTh, QJ, QT or KQ.

The river either makes his hand or breaks it. I don't think any of the players were good enough to check a huge hand on the river, so I pushed on the ultimate scare card. If he has two pair, he has to be afraid of a 9, K, aces up, or maybe even the flush.

I know my hand has showdown value, but I think his hand is pretty defined after the turn call and river check, and I think I'm behind his range. A bluffed with a made hand, but I think I make alot more by bluffing than checking to see if my hand is good.

Thoughts???

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t80000 (4 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

BB (t1,165,303)
UTG (t692,159)
Hero (t5,277,787)
SB (t3,490,751)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, 8.
1 fold, Hero calls t80000, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (t212000) J, 8, T (3 players)
SB bets t240000, BB folds, Hero calls t240000.

Turn: (t692000) Q (2 players)
SB bets t400000, Hero raises to t800000, SB calls t400000.

River: (t2292000) A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t4153787 (All-In)

[Phantaroth]

I'd just check the river, because i'd be afraid he is trying to make this happen and he is holding something like KJ

[Zidane18]

I'd just check the river, because i'd be afraid he is trying to make this happen and he is holding something like KJ

yep - too many hands that beat u and not enough that pay u off for a river push.

He wont call with anything except a set, a higher 2 pair or a str8

that river push is a shocking play

[AHiltz]

I'm not sure you're ahead, but his river check looks very weak. Even if he calls you still are in the hunt. I like it.

[drmcboy]

He won't call without the K here if he's a good player, maybe if he sucks the 9 is an option. TAG player does not call with a set here, especially since you have a LAG image and you could have been raising one of a million draws that just got there. And he's broke if he's wrong, when he's probabaly HU in like 10-20 minutes if he folds. If he's thinking about putting 2k in real money in here on the river, and it is a reasonable assumption he is, he is in a fix.

I think there is 0.1% chance he checked K high straight there. He either has the flush or the 9, or doesn't. But really, I think he has two pair and the river made him sick. QJ seems most likely.

I love it, sexy move.

[chardrian]

I don't think any of the players were good enough to check a huge hand on the river, so I pushed on the ultimate scare card. If he has two pair, he has to be afraid of a 9, K, aces up, or maybe even the flush.

It's your read - so I can't really say your read is bad. But... what you are saying is that only a good player would check that river, and I am not so sure. A check or a value bet seems like a good option from a good player here. And a check or a push seems like the most viable option for your average "bad" player.

I don't like the minraise on the turn. I think I would've raised to 1.2 million there.

The river push is all read based, so I am not gonna fault anyone for going with their read.

[gabe]

my read was he was tight. tight usually means good. i think if he had a flush or a king, he would have bet the river. i think if he had a 9 he would push over my raise on the turn.

the turn size raise is really just made to manipulate him and to swell the pot so i can take it down without offering him that good of odds if i push the river.

i dont think this hand can really be chalked up to a read. i had seen him play no hands postflop. NONE. his preflop style (really tight-ag) just made me think he was a good player. after each action he made, i could narrow my range of his possible hands to something that a good player could do.

[gabe]

he typed "QJ....." and folded

yesss!

[Rockymv]

i like it because the straight value bets the river and you're making him fold lots of better 2 pairs. I can't tell what the pot is on the river because a numbers are so big but if a bet less than all-in would have been reasonable it probably would have looked more like a value bet from the straight.