Limit Texas Holdem Hand Quiz #6

[Matt]

You hold 7:hearts:6:hearts: in the big blind. The game is moderately loose. An early player and the cutoff limp. The small blind completes and you check. The flop comes J:clubs: 6:clubs: 3:hearts:, giving you middle pair plus backdoor flush and straight draws. Everyone checks to the cut-off who bets. The small blind folds. The pot contains five small bets. What do you do?

[Matt]

Calling here is terrible. Your hand has about five outs. (See the following thread for more discussion about counting outs: http://blacksburgpoker.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29) A five-outer is an 8-1 underdog to improve on the next card. The pot is only laying you to 5-1 odds, so I can't fault anyone for folding here.

However, I prefer to raise as a semi-bluff in this situation. Many players will automatically bet the flop if they are last to act and everyone checks to them. You may have the best hand at the moment. Your opponent could have nothing or may be betting on the come. The game is not super-loose, so there is a good chance that the first two limpers (and possibly the flop bettor) will fold. If your opponent just calls, you should bet the turn no matter what comes. If you get raised, you can safely fold unless you pick up a strong redraw. Making an occasional check-raise with a marginal hand also affects your table image; you may get paid off in the future when you check-raise with a strong hand.

Here is how the hand played out:

Full Tilt Poker
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $2/$4
9 players
Converter (http://www.neildewhurst.com/hand-converter)

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is BB with :heart6: :heart7:
2 folds, MP1 calls, MP2 folds, MP3 calls, 2 folds, SB calls, Hero checks.

Flop: (4SB) :clubJ: :club6: :heart3: (4 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP1 checks, MP3 bets, SB folds, Hero raises, MP1 folds, MP3 calls.

Turn: (4BB) :heart8: (2 players)
Hero bets, MP3 calls.

River: (6BB) :heartA: (2 players)
Hero bets, MP3 raises, Hero calls.

Results:
Final pot: 10BB
Hero showed :heart6: :heart7:
MP3 showed :clubA: :club8:


As you can see, I did have the best hand when I check-raised. My opponent was right to bet the flop (although I might have three-bet with his hand). He took a tough beat, but I still don't think I played the hand badly. My only mistake is that I may have played the river too weakly. I don't like to bet weak flushes too strongly on the end.