Noteworthy Hand 3.0

The game is 15-30 limit hold’em.  I had just sat down, and uneventfully posted my blinds.  I’m then dealt K-10 of hearts on the button.  There is one middle position caller, a player I know to be quite solid.  Even so, I think raising in this spot a majority of the time has value, so I two-bet.  The player to my left in the small-blind is outright garbage, if my memory serves me correctly, and he calls, as does the unknown big-blind.

The flop is 5-6-8 rainbow, with one heart.  Action checks around to me.  I also check.  No sense in attempting a continuation bluff, I figure, on such a coordinated board, against three players.  If I had had only two opponents, I more than likely would have bet, but bluffing this flop with three opponents, two of whom are the blinds, makes me nervous.

The turn is the 2-of-hearts.  The small-blind checks.  The big-blind makes a bet, and the middle position limper folds.  Action to me.  I think for a few moments, really contemplating all three options: folding, calling and raising.  Folding, of course, has value because I don’t have anything!  The board is highly coordinated, and a player in the blind likes it.  Raising also has value, as it’s a semi-bluff with the flush draw and two over-cards.  This play has the added appeal of giving me a chance to win the pot without hitting the river.  I decide, ultimately, to call.  In retrospect, raising may have been a more wise decision.  The small-blind also calls.  (Though, it should be noted, this doesn’t concern me one bit.  Later in the session, I saw him call two-bets cold with 10-3, on a 9-7-2 flop.)

The river is the King-of-clubs.  The small-blind disinterestedly checks, waving the white flag.  The big-blind thinks for a long time, but eventually checks as well.  I begin contemplating the way the hand unfolded, and what hands make sense for the big-blind.  It seemed overwhelmingly likely that he held a dry-8.  If he had a busted draw, it’s likely he would’ve continuation bet the river in an attempt to win the pot with nothing.  If he held two-pair or a straight, he likely would’ve bet thinking he had the best hand.  With second pair, however, a check is the likely play, as he hopes I check behind him for a free showdown.  But if I do bet, he has enough to call.

This line of thinking complete, I bet.  The small-blind folds.  The big-blind quickly calls.  I roll over my top-pair, fulling expecting a win.  The big-blind turns over A-K, and scoops the pot.

Ummm, what?

What a fascinating brand of backwards poker.  He doesn’t re-raise pre-flop, where he’s likely to have the best hand.  His flop check is the only play that I understand.  His turn bet is truly strange.  He’s out of position against three opponents on a totally air-ball board.  His river check is equally strange to me, as nobody showed a lot of strength on the turn.  There is a very high probability that his top-pair top-kicker is the best hand.

How could I have put him on this hand?  I suppose the better question is, how could I have played it better having the information I did have?  I think perhaps a turn raise would’ve won me the pot.