1/3 NLH

I posted a question about using a no 3 bet strategy and wanted to post a hand that I struggled to play

$200 effective stacks

UTG+1 raises to $15
CO call
Hero button raise to $60 with AK
UTG+1 call

Pot $135
Flop Q64 rainbow
CO check
Hero $50
CO call

Pot $235
Turn 9
CO check
Hero??

I always get the feeling in these hands that the pot is to big to just give up, but that is probably the best move here since V has less than a 1/2 pot size bet left.

Would xb flop with these stack sizes

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Could have stuffed the flop, or checked, but that silly cbet put you in no-mans land. Stuffing or checking depends on V.

V has a lot of KQ and AQ that is never folding. He’s also never folding an underpair to this sizing. Maybe if you had shoved flop, we might get JJ/TT to fold. But those hands are never folding to a 1/3 pot cbet.
I think flop check is better in position. Let V give away some information on the turn. Maybe we hit a good card. Maybe he bets out on turn and we can simply fold.

If you are the effective stack, top off to at least 100 BBs.

Do you have AKo or AKs?
If suited, do you have a backdoor flush draw?
Any info on villain?

the best options are probably
1) bet super small on the flop, like 10%-20% of the pot
2) check
3) shove flop

this weird inbetween size doesn't make sense to me because it makes the SPR weird on the turn, if you have AQ+ betting small is nice to make their life miserable when they have a weak pair

If I can get heads up or three ways with a third of my 67 BB stack in play, I’m probably just jamming this flop (almost any flop really) regardless of whether I hit with AK. They won’t outflop you enough with a hand that can call a jam here (KQ+) to make money off of you in these spots after calling such a huge preflop raise. The ability to do this is why I like buying in for $200 at loose passive 1/3 games with large raises and lots of preflop callers and dead money. Others prefer to always be deeper (which I also prefer in certain game types, e.g., in Vegas where players are tighter and open smaller so stacks aren’t always immediately in play), so do what works for you.

Super simple spot here. Do the following to print money.

1. Raise to 75 pre. Your sizing is a tad small. This sets up an SPR of 1.

2. Jam this flop. You will get calls from a Q, and JJ, TT.. but will certainly get folds 50% of the time., plus have equity when called.

3) learn about short stacked play.

At this stack size we can often 3bet to a size that leaves us with a PSB for the flop. So that means we get to apply some pressure to pairs both preflop and postflop. And meanwhile if he manages to hold on for dear life with those pairs (especially the underpairs), whatever: we gave ourselves 2:1 with a flop PSB shove to hit our 3:1 overcards (which ain't bad considering he likely isn't calling the shove with any pair remotely close to 100% of the time).

So with this stack and the dead money, I'm mostly aiming to setup a PSB shove on the flop. So I'm cool with the 3bet sizing of $60 which leaves us about a ~PSB shove for the flop, and then I shove this flop when checked to. I'm not a fan of the small bet at this point because it just doesn't have the FE on the flop nor the turn that we would like.

GcluelessNLnoobG

I used to do the former.

I now do the latter. A $200 / 66bb stack is extremely easy to play at a typical loose raisey bigraise 1/3 NL table, and much easier than a $300 / 100bb stack (this hand being a perfect example of that).

But obviously each to their own. The important thing is to be aware of why you are playing the stack you are playing.

GcluelessNLnoobG

Yup, this. When GG is advocating to a shove a whiffed flop, you really need to be shoving. I kid, but mostly just need to stuff this flop and live with it. You’re repping a big pair, rep the big pair.

When you have 66 big blinds you shouldn't even be thinking about "missing the flop" you have to get it in and see 5 cards. If you were fully stacked or deeper then there would be a lot more to discuss about the hand. However, I'm never flatting pre just to "not 3bet".

You have 2 options, betting $50 is not one of them. You need to check or shove. Shoving is better of the two options. V put in 30% of the effective stack. Likely he's not doing that with KQ, and he may fold AQ preflop. QQ is a shove preflop. Likely V has a pocket pair, likely 88-JJ. You really need to shove and make these hands fold. Likely V won't fold AQ, but he might fold KQ. As others have said, you're repping a big pair, so bet like you have one.