Sexy, yes?

Live game, 5 handed.

ABC, unimaginative player opens in CO. SB (loose/terrible) calls. I defend BB with A8o.

Flop is 834. SB checks, I check, CO bets, SB folds his garbage, I checkraise. CO calls.

Turn A. I check, intending to CR.

Yes or no?

Sexy? Yes
C/R here mmm...prolly no, well maybe...mmm...he prolly thinks you have a set or A2. Hopefully A2.

nh

I dig it. If he has an ace it will probably be a raise war and if he has something like KQ or QJ he will fire at least once here. Might be the only way to actually drag a bet out of him is to get him to represent the ace.

wtf? A2?
uh, i think more times than not hes putting you on top pair. Almost stupid to check raise such a dry flop with a set. I like the check on the turn. If he checks behind, he probably calls a bet on the river and you are winning the pot a lot more times than not.

Don't like it, but your description doesn't give me much to work with.

You probably get him to bluff 2 non-Ace broadways, although that Ace is such an obvious scare card he might pop the turn anyway on a bluff.

I'd rather Bet/3-bet a big Ace.

Unimproved pocket pairs sometimes check behind, sometimes fold to the c/r and might otherwise see a showdown.

I re-read this. I was thinking you were up against the SB. I've found that when playing against bad player they put you on hands that are generally most visible. I guess 56 would be more visible. I've turned over a big pair (JJ) and had them show a bigger pair (KK) where they checked all the way after getting c/red on the flop. They say something like, "I thought you had a set" or "I though you flopped a straight." I often try to think about what my oppoent might believe I have based on how they play and avoid inserting my values into the thought process. I know A2 or A5 might sound stupid, but I've seen people play hands like this very often from the BB (any position really). I just comes down to what level of player they are and how they think.

for those that don't know:

a Sexy(aka the River Sexy) is when you were the last aggressor on the turn and proceed to checkraise the river.

alot of plays may be "sexy", but unless it's as stated above, it's not a Sexy.

For the most part, I like reserving lines like that for opponents who play very loose, float around light and will bet pretty much ATC when checked to.

huh...you learn something every other day.

Thanks James!

that is certainly one of the situations in which it works.

bet/3bet is better than this fancy shmancy

care to explain?

and who says he's raising this turn even with AK? this is a live low limit game.

What is your image in the view of the ABC player?

The risk here is that you check, villain bets, you raise, he folds, and you earn one big bet when you should have earned two by just betting both streets.

(A secondary risk is that the turn checks through.)

(A tertiary risk is that villain calls down the check-raise, when he would have raised the turn and called down a three-bet and a river bet).


Don't give your opponents easy opportunities to fold.


The key here, as I suggested in the opening, is your image to villain. If villain thinks that you are full of it, and will call down anything but is unlikely to raise, your play may be spot on. That is going to be the exception, though, rather than the rule.

On the other hand, if you bet out on the turn villain may just go away now reasoning that since the Ace didn't scare you, you can beat their big pocket pair. If villain does have a big Ace, they will almost certainly b/c and call the river.

How likely is villain to have an overpair in this pot based on flop and pre-flop? If he does, how often is he laying it down to a single bet on each of the turn and the river?

ok here is my thinking on this hand.

villain here is boring with no imagination. the phrase "3 bet the flop with overcards" is not in his mind. if he 3 bets my flop CR he has 99-AA. if not he has a big K, a big A, or QJ. he called my flop CR - thus he has the latter group of hands.

Unless he has a big A, this villain hates the turn. he doesnt care that it really doesnt make sense that I would have an A, but he hates it anyway. Consequently, he'll throw away all his big K's and big Q's. I dont want that. On the other hand, if he hit the A, he'll bet, and I get to CR.

For all those saying B/3B - honestly, what percent of villains in a live, low limit game have the stones to ever raise a big street with one pair, especially when you continue to show strength into possible scare cards?

Lots of players will play an overpair this way preflop and on the flop. That being said, you will probably get him to call a bet on the turn and the river if he has TT - KK. I conceed that it's probably better to bet all the way here.

Exactly: only notably tight players are going to be dumping a hand like QQ if we bet the turn here.