Flopped a Straight, Lost to a Straight Flush (1 Viewer)

[Skeeter]

At a work conference this past weekend, I was playing with a few other guys. I was absolutely card dead all game, and finally, I hit what I thought would have been a turning point. I flopped a straight. Check around the board, I bet moderately. One folded, the other two called. Turn card comes over and it is no help to my straight, but it now is a flush and straight flush draw. Another check around the table and I bet heavy. I did not go all in, but I bet big enough to make one of them fold. The other called. The river card comes over, and I have the straight, but now the biggest issue that I can see is if this guy has a straight flush of diamonds. He checks, I go all in and he calls me immediately. Once he did that, I knew I was screwed. He hit the straight flush on the river and knocked me out.

I'm not upset that I lost that hand. If you're going to go out, that's a great hand to go out on, but could I have played it better? It's been eating at me since it happened. Should I have bet bigger on the flop? The turn? Any advice?

 

[trever]

Don't expect donkeys to fold, don't pay off when they hit

 

[catalyzeme]

Once the flush is made on the river, what hands that you beat call your all-in? Sounds like everything got there on the river so I don't see how you get any value out of making a bet there. You're trying to represent a flush to get a lower flush to fold, I think? This is a check behind 100% for me. The guy was calling on a draw heavy board and then everything got there, just not a good time for a bluff.

Without specific bet and stack sizes I don't think anyone can comment on your sizing throughout the hand.

 

[Skeeter]

Once the flush is made on the river, what hands that you beat call your all-in? Sounds like everything got there on the river so I don't see how you get any value out of making a bet there. You're trying to represent a flush to get a lower flush to fold, I think? This is a check behind 100% for me. The guy was calling on a draw heavy board and then everything got there, just not a good time for a bluff.

Without specific bet and stack sizes I don't think anyone can comment on your sizing throughout the hand.

It was a $1/$2 cash game. Bet $3 on the flop, then $15 on the turn. Went all in with the remaining $4 on the river. Probably should have just folded, but I was stubborn.

 

[catalyzeme]

It was a $1/$2 cash game. Bet $3 on the flop, then $15 on the turn. Went all in with the remaining $4 on the river. Probably should have just folded, but I was stubborn.

Ah I see. What did you start the hand with? Do you remember the approximate stack sizes (or how much people buy-in for at least)?

Probably there a few places to improve if you are trying to play optimally.

1) Probably should have reloaded sometime before this hand so that your stack is bigger.
2) I'm assuming it called/checked around pre-flop so there was something like $8 in the pot before the flop. With $22 in front of you, and you hitting on the flop, I probably just shove at this point. Your stack is small enough that you probably look desperate and might get a call (with the nuts or close to it at this point, I assume).
3) If you don't shove pot, $3 into $8 with 3 other players is probably just not big enough. $5-6 is probably better just relatively to the pot size. With your stack size I probably would have just shoved the flop though.

Other people can probably give even better advice, I don't think I'm that good a player but I don't think this is that tricky a spot with such a small stack. Just get it in once your hand is made.

 

[Skeeter]

Ah I see. What did you start the hand with? Do you remember the approximate stack sizes (or how much people buy-in for at least)?

Probably there a few places to improve if you are trying to play optimally.

1) Probably should have reloaded sometime before this hand so that your stack is bigger.
2) I'm assuming it called/checked around pre-flop so there was something like $8 in the pot before the flop. With $22 in front of you, and you hitting on the flop, I probably just shove at this point. Your stack is small enough that you probably look desperate and might get a call (with the nuts or close to it at this point, I assume).
3) If you don't shove pot, $3 into $8 with 3 other players is probably just not big enough. $5-6 is probably better just relatively to the pot size. With your stack size I probably would have just shoved the flop though.

Other people can probably give even better advice, I don't think I'm that good a player but I don't think this is that tricky a spot with such a small stack. Just get it in once your hand is made.

It was a $40 buy-in with re-buys, however I didn't want to buy in again. I was already up $80 on the weekend at that point, so I just wanted to walk away with a profit. That being said, the way these guys were playing, I'm sure they would have called me regardless. Alcohol makes you do dumb things sometimes. As for shoving all in after the flop, I was thinking that was the move I should have made as well. I was card dead all night, and was trying to play it cool to keep everyone in. Shot myself in the foot in the long run. Lesson learned, which is why I'm trying to figure out the best option if this situation arises again.

 

[Mental Nomad]

Turn card comes over and it is no help to my straight, but it now is a flush and straight flush draw. Another check around the table and I bet heavy.

This is where i think you should have been thinking differently. Ignore the straight flush draw; what you saw is a turn card that put a straight draw and a flush draw on the table. The straight draw means that you might be contesting for a split pot, or may even end up with the second-best straight. The flush - any flush - means that you lose.

That doesn't mean your play was necessarily wrong, I'm just stressing that this would have been what I think is the right thinking.

In that situation, I would rather have checked behind because of the vulnerability, or gone all-in in hopes of making the draws not worth chasing for others. Given the number of opponents and the amount of chips behind, it would be hard to knock everyone out, and I would lean towards checking behind.

You didn't say what cards are in the board, but that matters too. If they were high cards, there's a good chance that people are staying in with big pairs. But if they were low cards, people are unlikely to have hit the board to stay in with pairs. This means the people holding on are likely to have been there with draws, may have made on the turn, and can still make on the river.

 

[Steve Birrer]

It was a $1/$2 cash game. Bet $3 on the flop, then $15 on the turn. Went all in with the remaining $4 on the river. Probably should have just folded, but I was stubborn.

There is your mistake. There is no reason to not go all in post turn. You are only left with what ends up being a very small river bet. But given that you didn't shove post turn, mistake #2 was to bet the river. That is clearly a check. The only hands that call your $4 all in have you beat.

Hey we all mess up. Just learn from it and remember this line of thinking the next time a similar circumstance presents itself. Have to always be thinking about your bet size and what options that leaves you for bets on the remaining streets.

 

[Skeeter]

That’s what I was thinking. Stupid mistake and a lapse of judgement cost me. Lesson learned, so not all lost.

 

[upNdown]

This sort of thing is bound to happen with short stack poker, and $40 buyins for a $1/$2 game is about as short as it gets.