my image is of a competent, sometimes aggressive player. villain is competent, plays many hands, made big bluffs in the past and is tipsy at the moment.

1/2 NL - 9 handed

UTG (500)
UTG+1 (500)
MP (350)
HJ (250)
Hero CO (500)
SB (500)
BB (200)

Hero is dealt A8.

4 limps before me, i limp, SB completes, BB checks

i'm not sure what i should do with these mediocre aces. online i just dump them, live i will dump them in early position but because you want to play more hands (bad) and you are deeper (good) i usually raise/limp in late position. even if i do hit my ace i take it with a grain of salt and keep the pot small although usually a 8-10 kicker will be good in a limped pot.

Flop (14) A83

checks, Hero bets 15, SB calls, folds

imo if anyone will pay 10 they will pay 15 as well. i put villain on almost ATC that connected with the board.

Turn (44) A834

SB checks, Hero bets 30, SB raises to 80, Hero calls

was i better off checking when the flush came? i bet for value obviously. i call mainly because of his image and also because i think he can raise for value with worse. i also have a draw to the nuts.

River (204) A83410

SB insta-bets 200, Hero ??

i guess river is more about reads but would appreciate comments on it and mainly earlier streets.

thanks

him instabetting river makes this an easy call for me tbh.

Let's start with the river. The check/min-raise line is almost never a bluff, so I'm folding this against 90% of your typical 1/2 NL opponents. The only arguement I could make for calling is that you said villian has made big bluffs in the past and is tipsy. You have a great bluff catcher so you have to decide if this is the spot to take a stand. Still, I don't think he's bluffing here; if he were I think he'd just lead big on the turn - the check/min-raise line really looks legit to me. That would be a pretty sophisticated bluff at this level.

The turn is the more interesting spot. Even if he has the flush, you have 11 outs to the nuts. I don't think calling is a bad play here, but you can make a case for raising. A raise does two things for us - if you improve on the river it makes it easy to get all the money in since you'll have less than a pot size bet left. If you fail to improve it likely gets you a free showdown and saves you from the tough decision you now face on the river.

tom i can't see why raising is a good move.. if he is bluffing then he is folding if he isn't he is probably shoving over me now or otr..

Well it's player depedent I guess. If you think you can still get all the money in on the river if you improve then just call. If you think there's a good chance he's bluffing and want him to fire again on the river then just call. I don't know exactly how drunk and how bluffy he is.

I call the river. I probably check the turn, sometimes c/r, sometimes c/c. But if I c/r the turn, the odds are the river goes c/c--in the end I think we get to showdown 80% of the time with the same amount of $ in the pot, and that you win 40-50% of the time.

One important question, though, is what is "tipsy?" It's like "nit"--we all think we agree on what it means, but often we don't. If tipsy means his prior behavior becomes exaggerated, it becomes a definite call and I think of shoving the river, but probably don't.

makonnen, we are in position and second to act.

would appreciate comments on preflop as well.

Here's my preflop strategy for Ace-medium offsuit. This assumes a loose passive table where most pots are limped around and there isn't much preflop raising:

AJo - limp in EP, raise from MP forward. If I limp and get raised, it really depends on the raiser, who else is in, stack sizes, etc. as to whether I fold or call.

ATo - I'm limping in EP and MP and raising from the CO or button. If I limp and get raised, I'm folding most of the time.

A9o - I'm folding in EP and limping in MP. If there are 0 or 1 limpers, I'll raise in LP, otherwise I'll limp behind.

A8o - I'm pretty much always folding this. I might raise on the button if there are no limpers and it's just me and the blinds. There's a spot where the risk of being up a bigger ace outweights the reward of being called by a worse hand. I think that spot is A8. You're also getting in the territory where you end up chopping somewhat often against weaker Aces, reducing its value.

Again, this is just a general guideline for your typical table. I might deviate from this depending on table dynamics. One thing to keep in mind at these stakes is that there are quite a few players who only raise preflop with big pairs and routinely limp hands like AJ, AQ, and even AK. Therefore if you hit your ace with one of these hands, pot control is the name of the game.

I think the fact that villain is drinking and has shown multiple big bluffs makes this a hard decision and is basically like flip a coin for what to do.

Fold pf. You want to limp in with IO types of hands that hit big. If you hit the ace, you'll either get no action or someone will have a better ace than you. If the 8 is TP, it can't take much heat. Otherwise, you have no straight or flush draws.

Flop bet is fine. I'd check behind on the turn. There isn't much that can call a second bet on this board that you beat. If you're behind a set, he just gave you a free card to out draw him.

Once he raises, he's saying he can beat TP and basically that's all you can beat. His range consists mainly of a made flush, with a reasonable portion of sets and some air. If he has a made flush, you have 7 outs. If you hit, he'll probably be able to call up to a PSB. Therefore, you're calling 50 to potentially win 350. That's breakeven at best. If he has a set, you have 9 outs(4 clubs are out and no club can pair the board at this point). While you have more outs, his ability to pay you off is less. He'll certainly call a 1/2 PSB on the river, so at least you're paying 50 to win 250. This is close to neutral as well. Finally, if he has air, you're in great shape.

Since calling if behind is neutral, but +EV if ahead, this is a good call of the raise.

On the river, he has to have air about 35% of the time for this to be a good call. While it is possible that a drunk 1/2 player could run a multi-street bluff, I don't think it happens 35% of the time. Fold.

Is it ok to get it in on the turn, rather than play a river OOP? Or too spewy?

Top two + NFD?

I'm calling the river fwiw.