Hero and villain just started playing hu 30 mins ago. Hero has won a bunch of baby pots (almost all of them) and lost one biggish pot with 52 vs JT on 87695. Villain c/r'd flop and then barreled off small after binking the **** out of the turn. Villain is a chill dude, possibly a "solid pro", but he has been tanking a bit before his folds recently, like maybe he's getting a little frustrated...

Pre- hero (covers) opens for 50 with Q8o. Villain (6500) calls. Note: hero has opened every button to 50 so far and villain has 3bet a few times, flatted mostly, and folded a decent amount (fwtw in this lol sample).

Flop- (100) Q83r. Villain checks, hero bets 50 (hero has been c-betting 50 or 75 so far). Villain makes it 175...

1. What are you doing here?



2. What are you doing here?



3. What are you doing here?


Thx.

1. Flat
2. Raise 1050
3. Raise 2250

call/call/call looks good to me

letting him barrel off with all of the 3straight/3flush/p+bdfd hands he x/r flop with has a lot of value and he will valuebet rivers even as good as 9d (for him) with some worse 2p so it seems pretty attractive to just let him valuecut+bluff.

First, how was he playing to flop checkbacks? Extremely important for constructing a continuation betting range.

Flop: Versus a default opponent, I like calling all two pairs and gutshots and reraising only with sets and some combinations of hands that have both 2-card backdoor straight and flush potential. This balances both ranges: reraising gutshots leaves us with too few turn folds in our flop calling range (unless we want to start folding top pair); reraising Q8 limits our ability to raise low turns.

Turn: Ideal turn to raise Q8 on. Much of the value of flatcalling the flop comes from being able to raise a turn like this - which is what we want to do with any floated backdoor flush draws as well (gutshots and any 3dXd you chose to continuation bet). Even if we decided to continuation bet with Q4, so much of his value range is Q8 that the EV of raising Q4 becomes highly questionable. We also want to defend against his barrels by having all two pairs worse than Q8 in our call down range.

River: As played, raising this river is extremely bad. Where are your bluffs?

Flop: Call for the reasons others have stated. Good spot to balance out range.

Turn: Absolutely raise. I don't play heads up very often, so I don't have a sizing in mind, but I'd raise fairly large.

As played, just call on river. I agree that you have nearly no bluff range on the river so raising with 2 pair is probably too thin as I don't think we'd be good +50% of the time when called.

We have to raise at one point during this hand, with such a nutted hand. The blank on the turn is an obv raise imo.

But as played, we have to raise this river. Just flatting the turn underreps our hand a lot. We should/could definitely raise a SD-Value-Hand like QT, to make him fold a couple of his likely holdings (KQ,AQ), that we can`t payoff.

Thx. Explain the river raise, please.

I think c,c,c is fine if we think his range has a ton of air, but if we think he has Qx a decent amount, I raise turn and try to get heroed.

Reading the hand, I thought call after we called turn, but I think with a really strong read, river raise can be good.

Imo raising river with this runout is not a good idea. His main bluffs either got there or rivered 2nd pair.

Turn is debatable and depends if we expect him to barrel off missed gutter/bdfd on the river. There also aren't many worse 2p hands so his turn "made hand" range mainly looks like sets and KQ and idk if KQ is going to call a raise and river bet. Certainly not all of the time.

I'd flat flop and raise turn to 1k. River is meh I'd still bet 1.2k and fold to a raise. As played I'd call river.

I think given your history I like a click back on the flop. It's one of those spots where he knows he isn't repping much by c/r and he should know you know that. I think if he is taking this line with a queen he could level himself into putting a lot of money in the pot if you raise. Calling the raise is definitely the standard but just a thought.

As played I like raising the turn, but just calling the river now that you got here. I don't see him calling off with worse since the call call shove line is almost always super strong, and it's not like he can ever have a worse two pair to pay you off with.

How well does he know you?

What does your image allow you to rep as far as worse value hands/bluffs if you raise turn?

Same question if you flat turn and raise river?

IMO If there is a raise in this hand, it has to be on the turn, and then bet/fold river. If you can't rep a wide enough range on the turn to get called down by 1 pair then just c/c/c is best line to let him bluff and value cut himself. This is also assuming he x/rs some of his qx hands. If you think he only xrs semi bluffs and 2 pair+ then just ccc.

As played, he has a few worse value hands that got to the river this way like 34 and q3, but I think it's too small of a part of his range to put a raise in on the river since the rest of it is better hands that call and bluffs that fold. If he thinks your a psycho and calls river raise with qx as well, then maybe raise river. But the raise on the turn works better if that's in his range.

i play same and shrug call river. your kinda underrepped, and i think its to early in the match to have a strong enough read to do much else.

call/call/call for sure.

I'd raise turn but flat river as played

River is a lot closer to a fold than it is to a raise. I probably call because I have 2p HU and I don't have much info on the guy, but I'm not really sure what I'm hoping to see.

Yeah, I didn't really consider raising river.

Not that I disagree with you (I don't actually, I think flatting the turn was worse than raising in hindsight), but what are your specific reasons for "absolutely" raising turn?

Seems too thin to me...

Plus I really really really though he had air on the flop. My 50 cbet (instead of 75) + game flow just made it his time to go crazy a little- I thought.

That's the thing. Everything suggests his flop raise was straight air...

Does that make turn a flat as well, or no?

Late 20's white guy who bought into 10-25 for 4k just before midnight, played "solid" and won a nice pot after turning 2 pair vs tptk, is up 2500, is very cordial and social, agreed to keep the game going hu with me for a little bit, probably a grinder from somewhere else, hasn't really done one aggro thing (except when he c/r'd flop with JdTd on 876cch) but seems primed to get creative soon...

Now you know him about as well as I do. Assuming his flop c/r was v heavily weighted towards air (that was my strong read)...

1. How often do you expect him to continue if you click back flop vs if you flat?

2. As played, how often do you expect him to fire a 3rd barrel on the river?

Are you raise/calling turn?

Good post. I almost never slow-play because it's illogical given how much I bluff. However, I decided this was a unique spot where it was better to flat the flop c/r. I think I played this street optimally, but I'm open to flop 3b being better...

He doesn't know me. I don't look like a pro. I have turned over zero winning hands but have won a lot of pots since he sat down. Fwtw...

If you raise turn and get called, you are betting Q8 on Q8349?

Are you raise/calling turn?

Would you bet that river if your turn raise got called and then checked to you?