What would you do? #20

Another orphaned pot example:

V is 15/7/1.0 75% cbet @ 337 hands:

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/355005
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $51.55
BB: $25.55
UTG: $15.20
UTG+1: $66.35
Hero (MP1): $76.90
MP2: $7.75
CO: $50.00
BTN: $18.55

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP1 with 5d 4d
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $1.50, Hero calls $1.50, 5 folds

Flop: ($3.75) Kc 2d 6s (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $2, Hero calls $2
This bet makes no sense in this spot; why is he leading here? I call to peel off another card... Plus, if need be, I have a gut shot.

Turn: ($7.75) 6d (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $3, UTG+1 calls $3
I turn a gut shot flush draw. PLUS, UTG+1 "gives up" on the hand. Now, there is reason to bet for value. I can represent a scared K who is concerned about the backdoor flush. He calls the turn, though...

River: ($13.75) Jh (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero ???
If bet, how much? You want to minimize the pain if he shows up with something or comes over the top, but you want to get him to fold in the same action...



Click to see results

Hero bets $5.25, UTG+1 folds

Final Pot: $13.75
Hero wins $13.10
(Rake: $0.65)

What would you do? #18

This is an example of a hand where it becomes a matter of philosophy... Do you go after every pot relentlessly? This pot appears to be what I like to call "orphaned," which is to say that no one seems very interested in capturing it.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/354920
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $10.00
Hero (BTN): $50.00
SB: $72.65
BB: $53.10
UTG: $12.05
UTG+1: $5.10
MP1: $46.65
MP2: $12.75

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with Jd Th
UTG calls $0.50, UTG+1 calls $0.50, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $3.25, 2 folds, UTG calls $2.75, UTG+1 calls $2.75, MP2 calls $2.75
Typical squeeze, but I did *NOT* expect this many callers...

Flop: ($13.75) 2s 5h 7d (4 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 bets $0.50, MP2 calls $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, UTG calls $0.50
I have a backdoor and overs (which are probably worthless); I'm going to call this.

Turn: ($15.75) 8c (4 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 bets $0.50, MP2 calls $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, UTG calls $0.50
I *SHOULD* have raised right here & now and raised big, but I don't know what I was thinking...

River: ($17.75) 4s (4 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, MP2 checks, Hero requests TIME, Hero ???
At this time, no one knows where anyone else is. There has not been much post flop betting other than the .50 that everyone keeps contributing to. What do you do in this spot? I don't think the results matter much, but the question is bet or check - and if bet, how much?

For reference, here are the remaining stack sizes:
Hero (BTN): $46.25
UTG: $8.30
UTG+1: $1.35
MP2: $9.00




Click to see results

Hero bets $8.25, UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP2 calls $8.25

Final Pot: $34.25
Hero shows Jd Th (Jack Ten high)
MP2 shows 4h Ad (a pair of Fours)
MP2 wins $32.55
(Rake: $1.70)
In retrospect, I think this was a dumb bet on my part, if for nothing else but based on the remaining stack sizes. However, would this be different if the effective starting stacks were 100BBs deep? How would you treat it differently?