blonde poker forum

I can't remember the details exactly but i'll do my best...

I have a stack of about 5,500. Villian has a stack of about 2,500.

We're in level 3 with blinds of 50/100.

There's a couple of limpers and villian limps in late pos. I'm in the SB with AQ and elect to flat call. 1) Should I raise here?. I figured I'd prob pick up a couple of callers if i did and didn't want to play a big pot oop.

The BB checks and we see a flop of  Qs 8d 4d

This is obv a good flop for me, and unless someone has limped with 44 or 88 then I must figure to have the best hand. I bet 350 into the pot and villian last to act is the only one to make the call.

Turn was a total blank, the  2s

I lead out again, this time for 650. 2) What do you think of my bet size here?

River is the  9d and inside my head i'm going "igdjgbwdgbdwgdgbde28wefkjbef". 3) What now? Villian has 1400 left, so shove? check/call? check/fold?

Any feedback welcome :)

Don't think you've played it bad. I would make up in the sb here but perhaps wouldn't lead.

A lot depends on stack sizes of your opponnents in the hand.

With villian only having 2k on the turn I might set him in or bet more then half his stack.

Very tricky spot on the river. I'm guessing with his stack size, if he had a flush draw he would check raise on the flop?

I'm either setting him in for value or check calling river to catch a bluff- probably the first.

I think completing is good with any sort of active image.

My play on flop would depend on the way the table had been playing in limped pots, were there any limps you were surprised by in ep or was it just the standard donky limp fest? After leading flop i'd set bet closer to pot on turn. That river is meeeeeh it's pretty hard considering you have given no idea of the players or how you are viewed. mbe c/f depending on what type of player it is, c/c against others.  If you had checked first to go what do you reckon the chance someone bets at it or was the table very passive?

I probably play hand pretty much the same, so will be interested in seeing responses too. FWIW, I'm check calling the river.

1200 pot on the turn, Villain has 2050 left

I bet more than 650. bet the pot then there are few decisons from that point on for you, you want to play for his stack in all likelihood

As played c-call the river

Do you have the a or q blue?

set him in on river.

oops i miscalculated pot size on turn - yes, I bet more than 650; 1000-1100, and check call the turn as played.

Check calling the river has got to be the worst option here. Either set him in or checkfold.

bet more on the turn so your desicion isn't this difficult.

and push the river,

Hi Rob, can you explain more?

Don't you catch bluff's allowing him to bet the river on your weakness?

I don't like check/calling the river, they aren't enough missed draws/air in his range for us to snap off a bluff. Putting him all in is vastly better as we get to valuetown the parts of his range qx mainly that he might check behind.

Come on people lets think about villians range and what that river card means to his range. If it was a non diamond on the river, check calling becomes a lot better especially if we don't hold any diamonds in our hand.

catch a bluff is all you do

shoving you can get better hands to fold

not many hands he can have apart from a draw or a kq qj type hand imo so what is he gonna be bluffing with. bet more or turn and either stick him in on river or check fold. never check call

Very unlikely opponent is ever bluffing the river here. On the flop the small blind has led into four opponents. They then fire a blank turn and get called again. At this point I would say the opponent must hold an inferior top pair (KQ,QJ,QT), 444, 888, or a flush draw.

I would expect most opponents will check behind the river with KQ, QJ, QT, but they may station a shove as played, and that is why shoving the river is better than check calling.

Against a random live opponent I think check folding this river might be fine.

Villain never smooth calls turn with a set when a 2nd flush draw comes. With ur assumed image, c fold like 99% time on river

I'm a bit caught between checking or v-betting on the river. I do think that the way the hand has played out any bet from villain means he has you beat. He's playing his hand passively whether he has a f/d or t/p so ideas about bluff catch checking suit neither the player's style or the diamond on the river. V-betting vs this type of player seems a reasonable option but then again he's not going to be calling all-in on that river with tp all that much imo, he woulda just jammed the turn if he was confident he was in front. Maybe the fact that your aspiration at the start was not to play a big pot oop then check check ain't so bad.

Cheers for the responses guys.

On the river I just set him in. I decided I didn't want him checking behind with hands I beat.

Not that he had such a hand. He had  Ad Jd sigh

Afterwards I was annoyed a bit that I was only ever getting called on the river when he hit the flush, and he'd have folded the rest (unless it was an A i guess). Got me thinking that I should have got more money in on the turn. But at the same time I didn't really want him to fold, I want his inferior hands to come along for the ride. Meh, whatever, i'm rambling now lol

if i am completing in the SB i am not leading this flop. Your hand is so under-repped that i think the value is in a check-raise. This also makes it easier to just ship the turn with stack sizes.

as played i can't c/f for his stack

I agree, I think leading out here just makes your hand kinda obvious.  Id check raise the flop and look to get it in on the turn