The Ol’ Triple Barrel Turn Float

Villain was decent but way too aggressive. His strategy would have been decent for a 100BB game but we were playing 200+BB stacks and he was stacking off too light and risking too much on his bluffs.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $6,988.50
BB: $2,443.50

Pre-Flop: 6 4 dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB calls $20

Flop: ($60) 5 2 2 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $44, BB calls $44

Turn: ($148) J (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $111, BB raises to $360, Hero calls $249

River: ($868) T (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $555, BB folds

Results: $868 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked 6 4 and WON $867.50 (+$433.50 NET)

This is a pretty standard double barrel semi-bluff on the turn. His flop calling range is quite wide and includes many hands better than 6-high (duh) that can’t stand a lot of heat. I didn’t have a plan for a check-raise because it seemed so unlikely. He probably needs trips or better to do it for value, and there aren’t many deuces in his pre-flop calling range. Then again, he might be check-raising something like Ace-high or a small pair thinking he is best but wanting to fold out live cards and avoid a tough river decision.

Not everyone is capable of check-raise bluffing, but this guy definitely is. On the other hand, 6-high can’t beat many bluffs. So all in all it seemed like a good spot to float him, since a call here looks so strong. My value range on the river is probably KJ+, and I don’t think he’s expecting me to bluff-call, so he’s going to have to check-fold a huge portion of his range even if a bluffing hand makes a pair on the river.

I wish I could tell you that he shoved the river and I called to beat his 43, because that would have been the greatest moment of my poker career and quite possibly my life. But this was still pretty cool.