How do you go about gathering information when you can't get to a showdown cheaply. I think I may be calling too often and too early rather than letting the game take its course.

Example.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 2.2 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t1500)
Hero (BB) (t1500)

Hero's M: 50.00

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7, 6
SB calls t10, Hero checks

Flop: (t40) 6, 2, 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets t60, Hero calls t60

Turn: (t160) 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets t100, Hero calls t100

River: (t360) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets t400, Hero calls t400

Total pot: t1160

This hand is from the 2nd match vs this villain. He was constantly making overbets in the first match betting 80 into 40, 185 into 120 etc.

This was the first hand of the rematch. Should I have folded and waited for a better spot or am I good here often enough?

Turn is the nut worst card for him to bluff, which means he probably isn't bluffing unless he has a big draw there... If he didn't have you beat on the turn there's a really high chance he has hearts imo... It doesn't really make any sense to ever bluff with his line on this board texture.

Without reads I'd expect that your river call is losing like 80% of the time here.

i can think of other ways of gathering information than calling 3 streets of overbets with middle pair **** kicker.

Hmmm ok so (and I know I am going to be pointing out the obvious but I wanna make sure my train of thought is correct).

The turn is a bad bluff card because...
- Due to there being 2 Tens present his likely hood of holding one is reduced which means...

- If he believes me to be a thinking player I will know this and in all likely hood then call and thus...

- I should take his change in bet size on the river as further indication that he has a Ten and I am way behind.

So the scenario stands as you said chinz that I am either way ahead or way behind and given the villains approach its far more likely I am behind. Sorry if I talked in a circle its just that I am used to somewhat auto-piloting in other games (MTTs).

He doesn't even have to have a ten there (or hearts), after that turn betsizing if you don't timebank some before calling it's really easy for him to bomb that river with 88, A6 or something for value because nobody ever folds anything and he has you beat every single time unless you have 33 or 2x of hearts exactly.

Bluffing that turn without outs is suicide because A high might not always fold and no pair is ever folding, that's about it. I guess some people could be betting hands like 98 here sometimes intending to vbet all cards 7-9, but I don't think it's enough reason to call the river too when he probably is capable of valuebetting every single better hand and bfd also got there.

Also I feel like (on a board like this) tiny overbet is the least likely betsizing to be a bluff. IDK if I'm right but at least I feel so.

good point camz -

I figured the chance of him holding a Ten was slim and given that he limped eliminates overpairs. The only thing I thought beating me was a flush draw and given his habit to over bet alot of hands (including his strong ones) meant I should be ahead when he resizes the river.

But I agree I should not have called down 3 streets for information but it was also because I thought I was ahead.

Ahhh thnx chinz that explains it a bit better and I guess I really need to work on evaluating a players range.

Eliminating pairs solely because he limped does seem incredibly fool hardy in retrospec.

Limping makes it rly hard to have overpair to 6 here, but I just meant that if someone has 88 here ever, they will most likely feel very confident that they have the best hand and could certainly even overbet it small for value if they think it looks fos to you.

Also, 54 got there which is also a small concern :P I don't know, but somehow I just don't think this is a board that people would be 3barreling, and that betsizing looks ridiculously strong to me.

Meh, I'd be very very tempted to call this down vs an aggro serial overbettor in a $2 tourney. I think chinz is giving villain way too much credit for having a coherent poker thought process at all. River is the street that gives me the greatest pause, obviously, and I'd base my decision there on any previous relevant trends or patterns that I observed in the last match against villain -- like does he barrel a lot, how honest is he on the river (many low stakes aggrotards go ABC on fifth street for some reason), does he size value bets differently than bluffs, and does he accidentally merge his value and bluffing ranges (meaning he could have 96 here.)

There are certainly hands I didn't consider him having and I proceeded rather poorly under the notion "well he likely doesnt have a Ten so I am good". I clearly need to take out more while playing and really figure out the hands.

I did not even consider 6x(with better kicker), pairs over 6, 45, or even a tricky play to get value from a flush.

Thnx for the respones guys, back to the tables I go.