Building a side pot

RoundTower

A hand from the €100 game tonight, late in the night. There are big stacks on this table, but no crazy preflop action, so it is playing quite deep.

I have about €4500 at the start of the hand. Villain 1 is very tight, possibly winning, and a bit too predictable. He has €500 odd. Villain 2 does some silly things, I am quite familiar with his play but I can't put a finger on what exactly he does wrong. At least I can't write it down. He covers me, lets say €6k.

Blinds €2-€5, nine handed. Three players including Villain 2 limp, I raise to €35 with 789J two hearts one off the button, the blinds and limpers call.

Flop comes down 256 rainbow. Check, Villain 1 bets the pot €210 from the big blind. This is very likely the nuts, small possibility of something like 66. 1 fold, and Villain 2 calls. I have seen him on several occasions flat call a bet here with the flopped nut straight no redraws, which isn't terrible play. He could also have a set or 78 here. Everyone folds to me, I decide to just call, and the player behind me folds.

Turn is a J putting two clubs on the board. Villain 1 bets all in €250. Villain 2 calls quite quickly. He would probably raise here with the nut straight. What do I do? Remember I have quite a large amount of money behind, and only one pair.

Hectorjelly

Are you planning on raising so that you can take down the newly created side pot against the probable 2nd best hand (ie you are going to bet big on a blank river to get plr 2 to fold fearing the flopped nut straight), or are you raising so that it gives you the chance to win a huge pot should you hit one of your outs. Both are interesting, but my instinct says calling is best. (Bearing in mind I hardly ever play omaha)

RoundTower

Hectorjelly wrote:

Are you planning on raising so that you can take down the newly created side pot against the probable 2nd best hand (ie you are going to bet big on a blank river to get plr 2 to fold fearing the flopped nut straight), or are you raising so that it gives you the chance to win a huge pot should you hit one of your outs. Both are interesting, but my instinct says calling is best. (Bearing in mind I hardly ever play omaha)

No -- I think there's an excellent chance player 2 has a similar draw to me and I am ahead with a pair of jacks. If I raise he will still call. This was actually the case, he had A789 and had only three outs to scoop the pot, so I missed a great opportunity to get a large amount of money into the pot with the best hand. I was in bad shape for the main pot which I could only split.

If he has a set things are different, I'm not sure I can make him fold a set now or on the river often enough to be profitable. So really it comes down to how often he has a set versus a straight draw.

One of the reasons I didn't raise was that I can be freerolled here instead of freerolling, if he has hit a small flush draw for example. If the turn card doesn't put up a flush draw I should probably raise. Raising the flop was probably better than any of these alternatives, I didn't realise how little Villain 1 had left.

fixer

I have the same "can't put my finger on it" feeling about Villain 2's play. I guess my instincts on him work, as I tend to win off him more than I lose, but I can't quite quantify it all.

I think he would have raised the turn with a big flush draw as well as the straight draw, but you couldn't rule out a medium backdoor flush. Knowing he would have called any raise here, I don't think you were wrong to not bet.