9-Handed $1/$2 Cash Game. What's Your Move?

[Smart Money]

9-Handed $1/$2 Cash Game on Full Tilt last night...


2 Limpers
Villain raises to $9. (Villain is a fair player who is tight pre-flop and is selective over his pre-flop raising hands. He is sitting with $200)
I call with (I am sitting with $200)
Both initial limpers call the raise


Flop: 
Both limpers check as does Villain.
I bet $19 into $39 pot.
Both limpers fold, and Villain calls.


Turn
Villain checks. I check.


River
Villain bets $36 into $77 pot
What would you do here?

[thetank]

I think he'll have a big ace most of the time, your hand will be good, and the situation warrants a value raise.

[Zebediah]

I agree with tank, but as you posted this I presume he had 77 lol.

Question...why check the turn?
From his play I would have put him on a medium to big pp. JJ or QQ.
77 would just be bad luck.

[Zebediah]

Or was he slow playing a monster...AA 66?

FH with a weak A would just be sick, and wouldn't fit the profile you gave for preflop play.

[Smart Money]

Question...why check the turn?
From his play I would have put him on a medium to big pp. JJ or QQ.

I checked the turn because, prior to the river, I was fairly certain he had a set of Aces because of his check/call on the flop. (With four players seeing an Ace-high flop, it is most likely that someone has an ace, and a fairly decent player with JJ/QQ/KK would (should) most likely lay his hand down with more than three to the flop.)

Also, if he was holding JJ/QQ/KK then it's generally better to check the turn and bet/call/raise the river. A decent player would fold to a turn bet in this situation with one of those holdings OOP, and the risk of him hitting his 4% shot is more than made up from the value bet he is likely to call on the river.

[Smart Money]

I think he'll have a big ace most of the time, your hand will be good, and the situation warrants a value raise.

Tank. Let's say you put in a value raise, say another $36, what would you do if he then put you all in?***


***This isn't what happened by the way- just a hypothetical question.

[Smart Money]

I agree with tank, but as you posted this I presume he had 77 lol.

He didn't have 77. I'd have described him as a fairly loose poor player who wasn't particularly selective about his pre-flop raises if he did have.

[Zebediah]

Well in that case the only possibility you have left us is AA.

He wouldn't pre-raise with a smallish pair or weakace. Straight out of the question.
He wouldn't do a hopetron with KK or similar to your flop bet.
He can't have checked a strong ace on that flop and given a free card to three callers.
So a slow played AA is all that is left out of the starting range of AA,KK,QQ,AK you have given us.

[thetank]

Tank. Let's say you put in a value raise, say another $36, what would you do if he then put you all in?***

Too player dependant for me to say.
Can't see a rock 3-betting with less than a full so it wouldn't be too tough a fold.
Plenty crazees I would expect to make a lousy 3-bet just because they improved their hand on river, I might call.

[Smart Money]

Well in that case the only possibility you have left us is AA.

He wouldn't pre-raise with a smallish pair or weakace. Straight out of the question.
He wouldn't do a hopetron with KK or similar to your flop bet.
He can't have checked a strong ace on that flop and given a free card to three callers.
So a slow played AA is all that is left out of the starting range of AA,KK,QQ,AK you have given us.

I'm not saying he didn't have JJ/QQ/KK, just that I would have thought that most unlikely.

Would you think AA is more likely then than AK? The 2nd ace falling made me think that it was more likely that he held AK, rather than AA.

[WellChief]

You have to be prepared to go broke here in cash and its a clear value raise on the end, probably 70 more at least.  If he reraises back you must call.  With the second ace out as well then its pretty unlikely he has AA and more likely to be a trickily played AK, or another high pocket pair.

[UpTheMariners]

AA 99.9%

[Smart Money]

I was pretty certain that he had AK once the 2nd ace fell. I was considering how much to raise, but decided that if he did come over the top I'd have to call. That is, if he had AA I was going to pay him off.

On this occassion I decided to overbet the pot and stick them all in. So many players at $1/$2 would call that bet with AK without too much hesitation.

Anyway, my finger hadn't even left my mouse button when he called with his quads!

[AlexMartin]

Question...why check the turn?
From his play I would have put him on a medium to big pp. JJ or QQ.

I checked the turn because, prior to the river, I was fairly certain he had a set of Aces because of his check/call on the flop. (With four players seeing an Ace-high flop, it is most likely that someone has an ace, and a fairly decent player with JJ/QQ/KK would (should) most likely lay his hand down with more than three to the flop.)

Also, if he was holding JJ/QQ/KK then it's generally better to check the turn and bet/call/raise the river. A decent player would fold to a turn bet in this situation with one of those holdings OOP, and the risk of him hitting his 4% shot is more than made up from the value bet he is likely to call on the river.

As you know i have a lot of respect for your game here smartmoney. However, long term, shoving on the river and getting called by AK/AQ/AJ is the most profitable play. You simply cannot narrow down your opponents range to AA once he check calls the flop.
IF you dont go bust here, ur not getting maximum value from your big hands.