1-2-5 Big O. Hero has 800 effective. Villian 1 is early 30's, snug, not really getting too out of line. V2 is a good reg, middle 30's, very tight pre but plays post very well. Hero is late twenties mostly online player with 2 years experience grinding PLO8 on bovada and now ACR at anything from .25-.50 to 3-6. While 5 card hi lo is something I am relatively new to, I feel like I have an edge on most players in the game. Hero covers V2, is covered by V1.

Villain 1 limps 5 Utg +1. He's been raising his strong hands two way hands and limping one-way (without an A). One more limp and V2 makes it 30 from hijack. This is always a very strong hand, as he limps all of his A3, A4, etc. So imo it's A2xxx

Hero looks at A2J89ccss on button and flats. Spades are nut, clubs are 9 hi. V1 flats as well, other limper folds. Pot is roughly 95 preflop.

Flop: J64cc

V1 checks, V2 checks, and we bet 60 into 95. When V2 checks, I put him on an unpaired A2, or A2 with a weak hi draw. We have not-nut clubs, top pair with at least one clean 2 pair out (the 9), and the nut low draw. V1 then proceeds to raise to 250 and V2 tank calls the 250. It's back to me and I weigh my options:

Folding - while we have the nut low draw, we know V2 has it as well, and we have no counterfeit protection. Furthermore, our top pair may not be good and our flush draw is very weak. With both villains being solid reg-types, and having this 3-way, I think folding is ok.

Calling - we are still pretty deep and it's about 190 more to see a turn in position. Apart from a card which gives us the nut low, we may have to fold most turns, which sucks because our hand does have equity, we just don't know how much. What's our plan on brick turns? On high clubs?

Potting - Do we really want to get this in on the flop against ranges we don't do well against?

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for looking!

IMO - you may be up against the Nut-Nut draw (V2) or an A244 type hand. Absent some favorable runouts, you may be putting a bunch of money to get quartered if you hit low.

Given your action I think V1's check raise may be an attempted (semi) steal but the real danger may lie with V2. Tough fold but IMO still needs to be a fold.

A brick turn allows either V1 or V2 to set you all in. I consider a high clubs brick too in this spot.

I'm nitty enough to check back the flop and play pot control in position.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd fold as played and think this is a good flop to checkback

If you read V1 for a 1 way starting hand, that means he doesn't have AA or top pair, and probably if he is made has either 64 with a strong low draw for bottom two pair, or much more likely he is on a strong draw, like A235x with NFD or the like. I suppose sometimes he could have middle or bottom set with A2 or A3.

As for V2, I'm curious what you think he has particular to his tank cold call of the big raise.

I think most people would be getting it in on the flop here with your hand. On the face of it, it looks great, but after some analysis of what the opponents likely ranges are, it's not good enough.

If you're going to call the raise, you should expect another bet no matter what, so essentially you're playing for stacks right now but with a call of the flop raise you get the luxury of deciding what turns to get the rest in on.

I think the problem with that is you can't really know what turns to get it in/call off on, because against those ranges you perceive, whatever you do is going to be bad unless it's folding.

Probably your nut turn card is a 9 offsuit because your jacks up might make you have the best equity at that point but there's not many of them in the deck!

There's too many maybe/might be's about this hand to justify playing for stacks and that means you probably should fold to the large raise on the flop, especially given the description of the villains.

Had the 2nd villain passed it probably changes your decision for sure, because unless the V1 somehow has defied your read and has AA2 with NFD or some other monster, chances are you're either good with your top pair or good with your flush draw, and that's enough to go with it. Very very hard for him to have both.

BTW I kinda feel like the other two dudes suggesting check back flop suggest it because you got raised rather than considering the bulk of times where getting raised doesn't happen and you take the other guys in the hand to value town, although I'm definitely open to reading some reasoning about a "check back flop line"

Thanks for the responses guys. I wasn't worried about V1. He's never limping A2 or A3, so I'm certain my low is good against him. Also, since he doesn't have a 2-way hand, it's extremely hard for him to have the nut flush draw. Nut clubs are in my range and in V2 range, not his. If he had 5 hi cards w nut spades, he's not check raising this flop without a low draw.

That being said, I was happy to get it in w V1 for stacks, since his range can have a lot of sets. V2 is never cold calling here with a hand I'm dominating. Seems like the consensus is fold. Anyone want to try and guess V1 hand?

It's a good exercise, and weighing the pros and cons already makes you a better player.

It just feels really bad to check back the flop here. V2 isn't checking A2cc or AA2 on this flop so I know he isn't completely nutted. That being said he still has a lot of K hi and Q hi FD along w A2 which he's pot controlling against the possible A hi FD. But he prob still bets those too.

That's a decent start.

Why wouldn't V2 check A2cc type hand? Sure... nut-nut draw but not a made hand (yet). A paired turn card is a killer and with position - which you have, he does not, he may wish to pot control and build pot when/if he hits.

Taking a stab at V1's hand.... A358(ish) for some sort of low/wrap straight hoping to push a bare A2 out. Maybe even with the lone Ac hoping to represent the nut draw.

I'm probably wrong all the way around. Wouldn't be the first (or last) time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Because he can start pushing equity by betting.

V1 never has these type of hands pre w an A. He's limping like 22456 types of hands, not those with an ace. He's also limping like AKQQ5 types of hands too. A hand like A3567 he's raising. And without the NFD, he understands that it's likely one of us has A2cc. Yet he still raises....

Playing 150bb+ this is not a flop we want to play for stacks for unless a lot more money went in preflop. Its good to have some decent hands in our checkback range for balance. Moreover, if we are far ahead, most turn cards aren't threatening to us anyway. We could win 3/4 or more of a big pot by waiting instead of ending it now. Given op's read v2 is also calling our bet a lot, placing us in many undesirable turn positions.

Your initial post describes V1 as "very tight" pre-flop. To me that means he HAS to have an A and I would never put him near a 22456 type hand in pot limit.m (since he's very tight). His best flop gets him half the port as A2/A3/A4 all likely hands to be up against when money goes in They can all take low and could free roll for full pot depending on the other cards.

Plus I'm a nit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Given how confident you are in your reads of V1, it seems like he most often has JJxxx (although you have blocker), 235xx, 2344x, or 3456x.

I'll reveal the hands:

I folded, turn was the 2c, V1 checked and V2 potted and V1 reluctantly called.

V1: 66358cc
V2: A2577hhdd, no clubs

Was a little surprised to see V2 hand, and he admitted after he should have folded the flop. V1 hand makes sense.

snug guy got bored, i guess