Top pair bottom kicker against all-in from opponent giving mixed signals
Drive-by raised from UTG. I figured a raise from him UTG meant that he had A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K or possibly A-Q. Since I was holding an ace, I felt it was most likely that he had K-K or Q-Q. I was in late position and called with :Ad::2d: I could flop a straight or flush draw, and I felt I could also win if an ace flopped. :)
Before the flop came, he looked very strong to me. When the flop came, there was an ace and he looked concerned and checked. I bet half the pot, believing he didn't like the ace at all. He check-raised the minimum. The check-raise was a strong move, but the minimum raise part of it was weak. As I watched him he now looked weak again. I was pretty sure he didn’t want a call, so I of course called. ;)
The turn came and he immediately went all-in. Still no flushes or straights out there. That’s pretty strong from a player who doesn’t raise very many hands, raised this one UTG, and then check-raised me on the flop. There were no flushes or straights on the board. As I watched him, I again decided he was weak, but I just felt my two kicker wouldn’t cut it. What if he did in fact have A-K or A-Q which I had originally ruled out? That would explain every step he’d taken so far. Maybe he had A-Q and was afraid of me having A-K. That would explain all the mixed signals I felt.
There were 5,000 chips in the pot, and it was going to cost me another 4,600 to call. So I was getting just over 2:1 on my money. He only has to be bluffing a third of the time for this call to be right. And I’m sitting on 10,000 chips, so would still have 5,400 if I lose.
What do you put him on and what would you do here? :confused:
