OK this hand i think may be somewhat advanced for a 1/2 game but i'll give this a shot to see if i can get some good insight

History: Villain is a tournament player w/ >$400K in lifetime winnings including a second in the previous weeks' Sunday Million on PS...he had really been splashing around and the reason i knew he was a tournament player and asked about it is because he raised MP in an earlier hand and got callby just the BB...then on a flop of J92r he bet/3b/called with KQ and hit the K to stack the AJ for over 300 and i asked if he was a tourney player and that's when i learned about his success...

so he's been very Lag here, straddling and then re-raising big when people called, and hes rungood too

we've been at the table for a long time and have tangled a couple of times...in one hand, I limped in to his straddle with AA and naturally he checked behind

on a flop of 225 he bet $25, I raised to $75, everyone else folds, he flats
turn is a K he bets $105 I snap fold...another hand I got dealt T6 on my BB where he open limped EP, four overcallers, flop T6Q, I lead only he calls, turn J, I check he bets 80% pot I fold my bottom 2 face up

later on the following hand occurs

villan has >1K to start the hand I have about $475, he raises to $16 pre, I decide to take a flop with 7 9

Pot (30)
J T 2

I check, villain checks behind

Pot (30)
8

I bet $25, villain raises to $75, I raise to $200, villain flats

Pot ($430)

Ok so here is the question: should I shove in the dark here? Is there any river card I should not shove since i'm already gonna be priced in to call even if the board pairs? Are there any river cards to check? Or should I check all river cards?

You built a pot of $430 with around $250 behind , and have one of the few hands you could hope to make with this hand. Why are you even thinking about checking...ever?

I don't mind a dark AI here. He has to pay you off with much of his range that you beat (big combo draws, sets).

I would not shove a or J or T river.

I would be too worried he would check behind all the hands he calls with a dark AI if a scare card falls.

Add to clarify: I like the dark shove, the villain will be more likely to call that. If we go check/shove river there is more of a chance that we see a scare card that will make the villain check behind. Dark shove > check/AI > shove any river

I still don't understand why you snap folded AA (and most likely showed or told him you did) on a 225K board and then check folded 2pair face up on the turn in the previous 2 hands. Especially given the fact that your read on him is that he is a tourny donk who has shown to be very aggressive and loose witnessed by his willingness to stack off with KQ on a J92r board earlier.

It's hard to gauge what play may be optimal on the hand in question when your history and read of this guy seems quite extreme (and your play contradictory to it?), but with that said, I would rarely rely on trickery to guide my river play. I also would be hard pressed to fold this on any river card given remaining stacks and line (and again, it's hard for me to comment on your line because I don't quite understand your history/read).

I would most likely wait for the river card to peel to act as though it had some sort of impact on my decision and then calmly push my chips in the middle. Remember, it's just as important to balance your mannerisms as it is your hands.

Because the villain is likely to bet all rivers on a "not too scary river card" (which we only see maybe 20% of the time) with most (all?) of his range.

Yea. I agree with all of this. Still confused about your 2 folds. He's probably running you over and trying to continue to do so in this hand.

I don't know if we can assume that here. Maybe based on how the other hands were played he thinks he can run us over, but it seems to me we could be losing value by checking. I would lean towards the dark AI before a check.

I am baffled at the folds that you are making to this guy. It seems to me that he realizes(not that it takes a rocket scientist to figure it out) that you are scared of him and is running you over.

not asking about the first two hands -- but just to allay your doubts, the first hand i just didn't want to get involved in OOP only had $9 invested, second hand he had a tell that i picked up on and anyway i learned later that he had me crushed in both hands so gf me


I KNOW he has a big hand here but i have to call even if the board pairs? in which case AI in the dark would be correct? can we c/f if the board pairs? Is checking even an option on any turn?

Yep. Not literally though, you should wait for the card to appear before you put the money in...

Nope.

Nope.

Nope.

I wouldnt shove dark, don't think you can rep a bluff if you do. I would also check any club or 9, however thats not to say im necessarily folding if he bets

I'm not even going to address the hand asked about. Asking about a marginal decision when you've told us your game has huge leaks is a poor allocation of your attention. Come back and read about the hand you asked about a year from now when you've fixed your big leaks.


OK, so he's either screwing around in stakes meaningless to him or thoroughly incapable of adjusting to a $1-2 unknown at 150x stacks. Good info to have.

I know others have commented on this, but:

You play weak-tight against aggressive one-trick ponies.

Fix that leak and count the monies.

===


I don't see how you can succeed with 200x+ stacks playing like this against hyper-aggressive opponents. I wrote up an exhortation to buy in shorter but now, noticing your post count, this whole thread seems like a sophisticated level. It may not be, though -- you may just not play well against this kind of opponent.

Do you win at live $1-2 over meaningful samples against more typical loose-passives?

don't show someone like this the kinds of hands you are folding big mistake.

yeah, I make ~$25/hr at this level, was trying to give the two hands i recall playing against him for background but i guess they were irrelevant

results...the most ridiculous card hit the river -- 9 and naturally that froze me and i checked, he checked back and i scooped the pot

shoulda shoved in the dark tho...since i am compelled to call all river bets I give him a freeroll since he will check back most non-nut hands, this was literally the only card i check (ok maybe not, there are so many scare cards that could come! more than half the deck!)-- since his range is so wide and he was splashy i could see him playing a heart draw or KQ this way figured i lost when it hit but w/e, shove any imo, he's so wide here that you'd have to call even if the board pairs on top, like even the jack of hearts i'd have to call

never asked what he had -- but yeah, huge mistake in checking there, the guy had pockets full of hondos what's another $200 or so to call?

Everything AKQJ10 said. Unless this is a massive level.

A highly laggy player checks on a fairly wet flop, the raises the turn. Mr.
Big League Tournament (BLT) has a set. Shove over his raise on the turn and watch him insta-call. Top set is the nuts to BLT. There's a ton of cooler cards that can come on the river that will have him fold and you're oop so you have to bet.

You're money is going in anyway, so if he has you beat with Q9, so be it. Otherwise, watch his mouth drop as you collect the money and think, "Umm, bacon."

Oh, they were very relevant, even if we're only analyzing the hand you asked for help on.

Nevertheless I still suggest you think about bigger leaks before worrying about marginal situations.