Seriously, Stop Min-Check-Raising Me

Different opponent from yesterday’s hand, but similar situation where a guy is simultaneously pissing me off and making it very obvious that he doesn’t have the nuts. I contemplated floating, but this is a really good hand to just ship on him:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($398.70)
MP3 ($804.30)
Hero (CO) ($1527.10)
Button ($1017.60)
SB ($1443.40)
BB ($400)
UTG ($432.50)
UTG+1 ($548.60)
MP1 ($563.85)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, 2
5 folds, Hero bets $12, 1 fold, SB raises to $40, 1 fold, Hero calls $28

Flop: ($84) 6, 7, J (2 players)
SB bets $54, Hero calls $54

Turn: ($192) 10 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $148, SB raises to $296, Hero raises to $1433.10 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $784 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero didn’t show A, 2.
Outcome: Hero won $781

Pre-flop and flop are both relatively standard plays when this deep. You can and should call a lot more hands in position when there is so much money behind, especially when, as in this case, it is extremely unlikely that your opponent has better than one pair. These calls bank a bit on the implied odds of making a hand but moreso on the bluffing opportunities you will have on later streets.

How do I know he can’t be too strong here? For one thing, what I’ve seen suggests that his 3-betting range is relatively narrow and probably doesn’t contain 98s, 66, or 77. JJ and TT are possible, and even if he did 3-bet those other hands, I can’t imagine he just min-check-raises the turn this deep. Sets would be afraid of letting me draw, and the straight would want to build the pot. I’d expect either to bet the turn or check-raise big. I don’t know what exactly he is min-check-raising, but I seriously doubt it can call a shove. And of course worst case scenario I’ve got 6-9 clean outs when called.

6 thoughts on “Seriously, Stop Min-Check-Raising Me”

  1. Andrew: your second paragraph of the explanation here is literally *perfect* poker writing — great advice, concisely delivered, explaining exactly what the reader’s question is. All of the stuff you write is good (that’s why we read it), but as you’re working on projects and wondering about writing, techniques, etc. — this is the kind of paragraph you want to emulate.

  2. For all those who can’t view the suits at work (I’m one of you unfortunately!) — you can right click and choose to View Page Source. In there you can find the relevant spots and figure out what the suits are. Yes, this is ugly, but once in a while for a particular hand it may be worth doing this.

    Thank you Andrew. I agree with the above poster – your explanation in 2nd paragraph is perfect.

    • Thanks, Alex. I’m sorry this is still a problem, I simply haven’t found a hand converter that doesn’t rely on suit images hosted on problematic websites.

      I appreciate the creative solutions that several others have suggested, but I’m afraid they were too much hassle for something I often do multiple times a day (converting hand histories, that is).

  3. I think the title of this post was what sold me. To regular grinders, we can easily see the beauty of the you actually saying, “sersiously, stop min-check-raising me.”

    ryan
    Poker Training

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