This was only my third hand at the table, but I’d already established an aggressive image at the table by steal raising from late position on the first two hands, once checking and folding when my opponent caught better than I did on fourth and once winning with a bet on 4th. In light of that, I probably should not have been opening with this marginal hand in the first place, but hey, I didn’t come here to fold!
Anyway, Villain hesitated for a while before raising me. If he really had a pair of A’s, there’d be nothing for him to think about. It’s generally correct to reraise when you want to play your hand and have an A in the door to take the initiative, put pressure on your opponent, and create some deception about your hand. Thus, it seemed to me that what my opponent was considering was whether to play his hand at all.
7 Card Stud High-Low ($10/$20), Ante $1
3rd Street – (0.70 SB)
ILQ36: xx xx 8c___folds
whatgoingon: xx xx Jc___folds
Ambieth: xx xx Th___folds
foucault82: 4s 4c 8s___raises___calls
TAIKO66: xx xx Ah___raises
Shadow1: xx xx 7s___folds
Sinistral7: xx xx 3c___folds
4th Street – (5.00 SB)
foucault82: 4s 4c 8s 5h___bets
TAIKO66: xx xx Ah Tc___checks___calls
5th Street – (3.50 BB)
foucault82: 4s 4c 8s 5h 5s___raises
TAIKO66: xx xx Ah Tc Ac___bets___calls
6th Street – (7.50 BB)
foucault82: 4s 4c 8s 5h 5s Qh___bets
TAIKO66: xx xx Ah Tc Ac 3d___checks___calls
River – (9.50 BB)
foucault82: 4s 4c 8s 5h 5s Qh Ad___bets
TAIKO66: xx xx Ah Tc Ac 3d xx___checks___calls
Total pot: (11.50 BB)
Results:
Total pot $230 Rake $3
foucault82: [4s 4c 8s 5h 5s Qh As] (HI: two pair, Fives and Fours)
TAIKO66: [Jh 9h Ah Tc Ac 3d Kc]
4th is an obvious brick for him, whether he’s going for low or a flush. He really should not be playing a hand like AKQ, which is the only holding that could possibly be helped by the T. This is confirmed by his check. It’s often advisable to check and call here with a pair of A’s as well, since I look like I caught four to a low, so I can’t rule that out completely. However, I still bet here because I think he often does not have a pair, he may just give up now, and my hand looks like something it isn’t, which can be worth a lot in this game.
Although the A actually makes it less likely that my opponent had a pair until now, I don’t like my raise on 5th. It’s a hint that my hand is something other than the low draw that it appears to be. I would raise here with a pair and a gut shot to a low straight, but generally I think I am not in great shape versus his range, since I don’t actually have much in the way of a low draw, and I am giving away information about my hand.
The last two streets, however, illustrate the value of a high hand that looks like a low, and the result is that I scoop a nice pot versus a three-flush that turned into a pair of Aces.