Hero 175 BB (LAG/ boarderline maniac probably viewed)

Villain 1 200 BB: LAGish. He is inbetween LAG and TAG. I guess if I had to lean, LAG since he was playing about 2-3 times per rotation, but maybe he had good running.

So, I tend to try and be tight. What ends up happening is that people respect my raises too much and I feel like I can never open. So I had shown some pretty crazy bluffs (missed FD that fired 3 bullets and a 10/2 offsuit on the BB that min bet on the turn, after making a bet on the flop).

OTH

Straddle is on, folds all the way to me on the Button, I look down at KJo, and make it 20 to go. Villain calls on the Big Blind, and original straddler calls.

Flop: Ad Ac Jd ($63)

Checks to me, I c-bet 25$ (my cbet is just short of 100% of my open range). Villain calls, straddler folds.

Turn: 9d ($113)

Villain checks, I bet 40$ (I don't remember my suit, but it was not the king of diamonds).. Villain calls

River 5c ($193)

Villain bets ($55), Hero ???

I know what the standard for bets are for, and my sizing feels small, but this was one of those games that if you bet 50-60% of the pot as a c-bet, or just a cannon, you are either folding everyone out, or you are getting called by someone who hit hard. I imagine I probably did things wrong, as it had been a few months since I played in a real cash game, so any advice or slaps for telling me a line was dumb would be appreciated.

Fold river, check flop or turn too many guys will trap with Ax, flushes here. You want to keep the pot small and go for 2 streets vs worse pairs, Tx

Checking this turn almost always. River seems like we're getting good odds, but I expect to be shown a small flush or an Ax here very often.

Probably a slightly -EV call, so I lean towards a fold.

So, why is the villain annoyed with you? Makes a difference whether it was that you sucked out on him on the river or his girlfriend just told him that you're sleeping with her and she's leaving him.

We bet way less than half-pot on both the flop and turn, Villain has checked/called twice, on the river he bets less than 25% of pot, betting $55 into a $195 pot and leaving $60 behind... seems odd to think that a 'LAG/TAG' player would play Ax or a flush like this. Villain is showing zero aggression in this hand, even the river bet is pretty tiny, it's not that much bigger than your turn bet, and he left $60 behind when shoving $110 into a $200 pot would be fairly standard.

Usually when people post hands like this it's because they called and lost and villain just played a weird line with pocket 5s or pocket 9s or badly played Ax/flush. It happens; as played I don't mind a call at all, absent other history. And if villain did have something like that, you need to revise your assessment of him as 'LAG/TAG'.

Showed a couple of bluffs, including bluffing him off a hand with 10-2 (in my defense, I was BB, and it checked through with 4 players). If there was a live read I had, it was he was getting sick of my ****/ greater than zero percent I am just going maniac on him. I wouldn't call him a pro, but he definitely had that "I play poker competitively" vibe (this was the first time I went to the Hollywood, so I didn't really have history with any of the guys).

I know how nitty this site tends to be, and how people win just doing slightly more than nut peddling. But I am getting full folds around the circle with 10$ opens, so I feel like I have to show that I am willing to bluff.

Half pot bets are rare, except on the river, at least in my Chicago 1/2 games. The river bet to me is encouraging a call, but I kind of think the same thing you are: If he has the flush, why is he just calling the turn unless he has the king of diamonds? I feel like he would have played slightly faster.

He is also the big blind, so he can definitely have a lot of weaker aces, even if he isn't in love with the way the board played out. I don't give him the flush here, because I think he doesn't slow play it that hard on the turn if he does, considering I am representing strength.

I think you're reading waaay too much into things. 99.9% chance nobody at the table thinks you (or anyone else at the table) is that interesting.

Uh - no you're not. You bet waaay less than half pot on both flop and turn, remember? Which might be another factor to keep in mind - sometimes small bets invite bluffs because people think you're 'weak' (you can use this to your advantage on occasion).

Sounds like you've been away from the live tables for a while, but you need to start paying closer attention, focusing on hand-reading and what kind of hand villain is going to think you have.

I know it's a biased to assume people think the same way people on this forum think in live, but I was getting 2-3 callers consistantly on later raises, versus getting maybe one person to ride along, without changing my raise amount. I don't think people think I am that interesting, but I do think they take into consideration that I can "spaz" (there was a separate hand later where I got someone to call an overshove mostly because "you seem to bluff a lot". But if he was actually paying attention, I had never shown a bluff raising into someone.


I don't think it was way less (like 2.5 bb less on the flop) and from what I had seen from this table, betting half pot+ is only getting called by the top of his range or folding across the table.

I think he has a lot of KdX hands that I beat. I would think he raises my smallish bet on the flop if he has an ace, unless he has exactly AJ. QQs up, I feel like I get 3bet there (or would it be a 4bet in a straddle, don't crucify me). Maybe he has a smaller Jack and just doesn't buy my story. I just feel like his play doesn't make sense with what looks like a river bet trying to get a crying call.

I am losing to a lot of mid flushes (9d8d and the like), and maybe some small aces if he has me. I don't get why I don't get raised on the flop for the ace, or the turn for the flush though if he is beating me on those.

I guess as a two parter to this question, since I know showing bluffs is usually a bad thing, how do you appear looser to the table if you are being respected too much on your raises?

I'm not being rude But is English your 1st language???

you open raise 5x on the button only SB BB and straddle left to act and 2 of those 3 call you
looks like you got no respect!

form your post
know what the standard for bets are for, and my sizing feels small, but this was one of those games that if you bet 50-60% of the pot as a c-bet, or just a cannon, you are either folding everyone out, or you are getting called by someone who hit hard. I imagine I probably did things wrong, as it had been a few months since I played in a real cash game, so any advice or slaps for telling me a line was dumb would be appreciated.

so you c-bet 25% pot and when called have zero read on your opponents
you c-bet 50% and your read is 100% dead on

ITS A NO BRAINER c-bet 50%

don't let your V's dictate your bet sizing to their liking
your getting sucked out on because you give them proper odds to continue

I get excited when I type, sometimes. Ouch though.

C-betting 50% is never getting called with anything that isn't an Ace or Pocket Kings. This was 3ish hours into the session. No one was c-betting more than about a third of the pot on the flop. Hell, people were playing fit-or fold at 25% c-bets.

And I don't have 0 reads. I stated why I didn't think he had trips there. It has nothing to do with letting my Vs dictate size, and everything to do with trying to get value when I hit and not fold out everything that isn't the nuts.

I am losing to a lot of mid flushes (9d8d and the like), and maybe some small aces if he has me. I don't get why I don't get raised on the flop for the ace, or the turn for the flush though if he is beating me on those.

you don't get raised on the flop or turn for same reason you refuse to c-bet larger
he wants to get paid


you are stating you want to lower your bet sizing to allow opponents the proper odds to continue on to try and draw out on you.
can you see why this is wrong?

slow playing monsters is one thing but not a viable solution to your perceived problem on most hands

Some people say dont ever show any hands. I think this is fine, but I try to show a monster hand AND a huge bluff early (usually with a garbage hand where I shouldnt have called pre at all). They will remember the bluff more obviously, but showing both will do the trick. Show TWO hands. Thats all you need to stick in their mind to keep em guessing. The problem is, at 1-2, most of the time people there are playing THEIR hands and not really paying attention anyway...they are very fit and fold a lot of the times...but itll work for the ones that actually do notice and are paying attention. Works for me at least.

this is a goofy spot, really dont like the turn bet at all. calling feels like lighting 55 on fire, but hand seems too good to fold now as well.

the turn bet ballooned this pot IMO