Hero calls

There's nothing I enjoy more than snapping off a bluff with a so-called "hero call". I don't know if the following hand really qualifies since, after all, I have top pair. But I was put to a tough decision and made the right choice.

$0.25/$0.5 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($50.45)
CO		($9.75)
BTN		($56.65)
Hero		($54.80)
BB		($49.75)

Pre-flop: ($0.75, 5 players) Hero is SB

3 folds, Hero raises to $2, BB calls $1.5

Flop: ($4, 2 players)
Hero bets $2.7, BB calls $2.7

Turn: ($9.4, 2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $8, Hero calls $8

River: ($25.4, 2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $12, Hero calls $12

Final Pot: $49.40
Hero shows:
BB shows:

Hero wins $47.4 ( won +$22.7 )
BB lost -$24.70


His betting didn't really make sense to me. Calling the flop bet seems to indicate he has a king or a queen. But then the extra large turn bet seems to imply he still loves his hand. You'd expect an unimproved king or queen to slow down. AK or AQ are possible, but maybe he would have raised preflop. Or maybe he would have bet less to entice a call. The river bet was only half pot which scared me - I was thinking he might bet bigger if he was bluffing. But in the end I decided it was sufficiently big to be a bluff.

These blind versus blind battles can quickly escalate especially if either or both players feel the other one is full of it and elects to play back at them.