Did I make the right call?

I won the hand but im wondering if I made the right call or if I just got lucky? I start the hand with AKs and i raise 3 dollars preflop. I have one caller and the flop comes QJJ with two spades. I check and he raises 5 dollars(which is a good bit compared to our usual buy in of 15 or 20 dollars). I call. The next card is a 7 of clubs. He raises 5. I call. Next card is a 5 of spades. I hit my flush. He raises five. I call. He cries. He acted like I was playing like an idiot. I thought my calling was justified because of the outs. Am I wrong? At that point i had 19 outs that would've beaten his queens and jacks.

This is a tricky one. Your preflop raise was pretty big considering the size of the buy-in. Not too big or anything, but big enough that if your opponent is tight at all he shouldn't be calling you with anything less than AQ. You can probably put him on anything from AA/KK/QQ/JJ/AQ/AK. If he's calling a raise that's 10% or more of his stack size with QJ or KQ he's either too loose or has no respect for your raises (do you raise on junk often?).

Now, on to the flop. Normally, it's considered that if you have 2 overcards to the board and a draw to the nut flush that you're the favorite (IF all 5 cards are seen). However, you don't have as many outs as you might first think with that flop.

Q J J

Let's look at the hands our opponent might have. He could have AA/KK. This is slightly less likely, simply because many players would have re-raised you pre-flop with these hands. Not all players would, though. They might flat call you with the intention of trapping you, and then when that dangerours board comes out (Str8 and flush draw) they have to forget slowplay and come out betting. So AA/KK is a possibility, and against that you have 13 outs (4 tens for the Str8 and 9 spades).

He doesn't have JJ. Why not slowplay a freakin' quad?

QQ is possible, but unlikely. You're drawing nearly dead against that made full house.
You'd need running A, A or K, K. You're dead if he has that, but again why wouldn't you slowplay this monster? Rule out QQ.

Rule out AK. Only an aggressive maniac would bet at a missed flop with AK and that flop out there (AK of spades is a different story of course).

That leaves AQ. He probably has this, or KQ if he's loose enough to call with that pre-flop, but probably AQ. Against this, you have 16 outs...4 tens, 3 kings, nine spades. That's a lot of freakin' outs.

With 16 outs, you're actually the slight favorite if you see all 5 cards. With 13 outs, you're still behind, even with all 5 cards.

The key here though is seeing all 5 cards. If you pay to see them one at a time, you're NOT getting proper odds on your call on the FLOP. He has bet most of the pot on the flop, and the odds are that you won't make your hand on the TURN card. HOWEVER, he made a huge mistake by raising like a sissy on the TURN, giving you great pot odds to call and hope that you hit your flush/Str8 on the RIVER, which you did.

To make a long story short, I'd either throw my hand away after the flop...or push all-in. One or the other. If you push all-in, you are seeing all 5 cards and are the favorite against AQ. You may even fold him out for fear of something like QQ/AJ. In the unlikely event that he has AA/KK you're the underdog if he calls your all-in, but again you may scare him enough with that flop that he may fold.

Fold after the flop, or push all-in. Don't pay that price you did to see just the turn card. Your call to see the river card though (once you are in that deep, and facing such a small turn bet) was justified.

Can't say I see the logic in pushing all in on the flop, I'd rather call than push with this board. Not sure why you didn't raise the river though (was he all in?)

You push all-in so that you see all 5 cards, and possibly you fold him out (which you don't mind).

This is how T.J. Cloutier recommends how you play a hand which isn't made yet but has a ton of outs after the flop, and it makes perfect sense to me. You semi-bluff at it, and if you get called at least you see all 5 cards. With 14 outs or more after the flop, you are actually the favorite. You're ahead at that point. But if you pay to see just one card and don't make your hand on the turn, you are now the underdog. Even if you DO make your hand on the turn, your opponent may sense this and slow down, not paying you off. I'm not saying you push all-in with every nut flush draw....just if you have other outs besides the flush that make you essentially the favorite or at least almost even money.

I think you played it fine except for two parts. I would have bet the flop. Once you raise, I think you need to represent what is out there, whether you have it or not. Now if you bet he may put you on a hand like AJ which totally dominates him and he may just call. However since you did just check and call then I think you definately should have raised the river. These are the only plays I would have done differently but to each his own I guess and you did win the hand. To answer your question, I think you did make the correct call. You have 17 outs, you have to call.

*Last edited by michael1123 on Mon, 28 Jun 2004, 8:21am; edited 1 time in total*

I think he called on the river because he was worried that his opponent had a boat. But then again, if he did think his opponent had a boat, he shouldn't have been calling, since he was really drawing dead.

Also a thing to consider about what Dr. No said, is that he didn't know if he had more than 14 outs or not. If his opponent had a jack, he really would've only had 13 outs (the 4 Ts and the flush draw), and that'd all be mute if the board paired.

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Did I make the right call?

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Did I make the right call?