Hi all,

Was hoping to get input from the folks in this forum since I am trying to move up.

2/5. Hero limps AhAs UTG at relatively active table. V/UTG+1 (pro) limps behind, two other callers. V has hero covered. $850 effective. I’d say I have a solid image. I’m not sure how V views me other than as someone who plays daily.

Flop ($20): Qh-5h-2s. Hero bets $20, V calls. Everyone else folds.

Turn ($55): Jh. Hero checks. V bets $40. Hero calls. Given preflop and flop action, putting V on 2p holding like QJ, maybe a flush. Don’t think I’m good here.

River ($135): 7d. Hero checks. V bets $80. Hero c/r $375. Hero once did this with the nut flush blocker a couple months ago against someone else (for much smaller sizing) and V saw this hand. Not sure if he remembers it though. I have seen V rep top boat with top pair before for stacks and get called by middle boat. He’s capable himself.

Thanks,
DT

don’t limp any hands utg, especially aces. once you get a multi-way wet board, i don’t see any value in using aces as any more than a bluff catcher.

your line getting to river has lots of other aces that have less showdown value. use those to bluff.

Dude you need to build the pot with aces and not have these stupid family pots where someone is likely to make a hand.

You think you can force Villain to lay down top two or a flush with a smallish c/r in a 2-5 game?

Not bloody likely.

What about for meta game purposes? Bluff now so I get paid off when I have it next time?

If you play often enough with the same people, and those people are paying attention, then I guess it's theoretically possible.

Remember that a lot of the emphasis on metagame on this site originated with people who were playing thousands of high stakes hands against the same opponents, often heads up. In that context, metagame matters a lot.

But in live games, the conditions that would justify a play that is -EV in a vacuum rarely hold. And if you are in a game that you do not expect to play in frequently, it is almost never worth it.

In sum, for live players, the explanation that you did it for metagame purposes is, more often than not, a post-hoc rationalization for poor play. That's my honest opinion.

We play together almost every day. Only 40 or so regs in the 2/5. Hopefully worth it. Will see.

I think he'd think that most of your big flushes bet or c/r turn so I think you get looked up here usually. This is what it means to be oop, you can't generally rep hands in these spots because it costs you too much to actually play strong hands this passively.

As for metagame, I think it's pretty important to live games that have the same lineup of players every day. Make no mistake though; it is never ever an excuse to run a bad bluff. It is merely a bonus value applied to bluffs that would otherwise be marginal. In other words, it would be a perfectly valid reason to run this bluff if your assessment was that it was a near 0ev bluff (it isn't, imo, it clearly is over the line of being spew).

In live, it's harder to quantify obviously, but being generally perceived as someone who is quite capable of bluffing is definitely worth something.

Renton said it better than me. You don't have to make bad bluffs in order to be perceived as someone who is capable of bluffing. Sometimes you get looked up when you make a good bluff, and those times are probably all the advertising you need.

active table? 2 people called for 5 bucks, sb completed bb checked.
sounds super active!