Running for the red line

Got my stats at 23/21 over 250 hands today and by god it felt FANTASTIC, I felt totally in control of the tables and myself. Only one hand where it got away from me and that was just because some silly billy got in the way:

Poker Stars $0.02/$0.05 No Limit Hold’em – 6 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP: $9.76
CO: $2.00
BTN: $2.73
SB: $5.00
BB: $10.48
Hero (UTG): $11.18

CO posts a big blind ($0.05)

Pre Flop: ($0.12) Hero is UTG with T T
Hero raises to $0.22, MP calls $0.22, 1 fold, BTN calls $0.22, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.78) 9 2 4 (3 players)
Hero bets $0.40, MP calls $0.40, BTN calls $0.40

Turn: ($1.98) 3 (3 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $1.15, BTN raises to $2.11 all in, Hero folds, MP calls $0.96

River: ($6.20) Q (2 players – 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $6.20
MP shows 8 8 (a pair of Eights)
BTN shows K 9 (a pair of Nines)
BTN wins $5.90
(Rake: $0.30)

Both villains were, I believe, steaming a bit at this point, they’d both loosened up a lot and made some weak attempts to resist my agression and I’d been able to outmaneuvre them.

I really felt I was ahead of button, going back over this I was quite surprised to see that I checked the turn, I distinctly remember sizing up the buttons stack and recognizing the value of the shove if he had a flush draw or AK, AQ. Analysing carefully I think it was a hand that has great showdown equity but vulnerable, and just trash against those hands that are better.

I’ll post the turn card on the forums and see what the community think.

When both villains started arguing over this pot I asessed the dangers of a set, JJ or maybe even A5 or slowplayed KK+ and bailed. I bit my hand when they flipped those cards but smiled a little bit to myself too, recognizing the blunder MP had made turning his hand into a bluff.