Hand of the Day #14

1/2 NLHE - Majestic Star - 11.11.09

I'm in the Cutoff with Ac Ad. There are a bunch of limpers, so I raise to $10. Four players see a Flop of 7h 4h 3c. A 50 yr old guy in Mid position leads out for $10. He's the Action guy at this table, and has been playing most of the hands. The next player (an older gentleman) calls All-In for just $13.

Now it's my turn. That is an ugly Flop for AA. Mid guy's bet doesn't mean much, since he's been playing so many hands. I could raise here, but Mid guy's range is very wide. He could go All-In with anything from a 65 straight to some kind of draw. I decide to go for the small-ball approach, and just call. If a safe Turn card comes, then I can get more aggressive with this pot. The BB calls the $13, and Mid guy calls the $3.

Turn: [7h 4h 3c] 3h - That does not qualify as a safe Turn card. Everyone checks.

River: [7h 4h 3c 3h] Qh - BB checks. Mid guy leads out for $20. Now it's time for me to go into thought. I've seen him stab at pot on the River with not much, so there's a decent chance that my two pair are good. Second, that is a small bet compared to the size of the pot (roughly $120 including his bet). Third, the All-In guy is now grabbing money out of his pocket to rebuy. I'm thinking that might just be a tell meaning that he doesn't have a Heart.

So with all these factors, I call the $20. Unfortunately, the one factor that I forgot about was the BB, who also called. Crap!

The Mid guy shows Q7s for two pair, but the BB wins the Side Pot with a flush, 8h 8s. The All-In old guy shows Ah 7c, and wins the Main Pot with the Nut Flush. Why he was getting money out of his pocket, I will never understand.

Looking back at it, I don't think there was any way to win this hand, other than raising preflop to $50. I'm still not sure if the correct move was to raise the Flop, but I do think that I lost the minimum the way I played it. Sometimes that has to be enough.