1/3 on a Saturday night. Game is good with a few action players playing pretty deep.

Pre:

V1 - UTG +1 ($800) - hasn't been at the table long, but he already won a big pot calling down a maniacs 3 barrel with top/top on a pretty wet board. He's a sort of loud/boisterous/annoying type. He seems relatively competent but nonetheless overconfident in his game. If anything I think he's probably a bit too aggressive and value bets too thinly. Makes it $15 to go

V2 - CO ($400) - Loose passive older gentlemen. Calls

Hero - BTN ($1,000) - 30something white dude should be perceived as pretty TAgish. Looks down at 45 and calls

V3 - BB ($500) - probably fishiest player at the table, on 3rd buy in and trying to save face by lying about how much he wins at sports betting.
Calls

Flop ($56): 2Q3

V1 - Bets $25
V2 - Folds
Hero - Calls
V3 - Folds

Turn ($106): 2Q3Q

V1 - Thinks for a while and checks
Hero - Checks behind

I considered a bet, but I was weighting him towards 77-JJ and I didn't think I could get him off of them. Looking back I don't think I really mind him calling, so I think this should probably be a bet.

River ($106): 2Q3Q6

V1 - Tosses out $50 pretty quickly
Hero - ?

At this point I'm pretty happy about where I'm at vs. his range and I'd like to get some more money in the pot. Can I put in a small raise/fold to target those mid pairs that might get too sticky and maybe the oddly played AQ,KQ,KK,AA or do I just have to call? Open to comments on all streets.

I fold preflop. Poor RIO on pretty much any "good" hand we can make, imo.

Also calling flop.

I semi-bluff the turn. The flop is pretty drawless and honestly we look like Qx/set here almost always if we have a good image. Doesn't have to be that big, maybe a milky 1/2 PSB which gives us good odds. I'm planning on bluffing the river UI.

If he's competent, does he pay off on the river with a worse hand if we raise? I sometimes think mostly the only reason to raise here is so we don't have to show our hand. So I'd probably just call. ETA: Although I guess he could have enough Qx in his range where he checked the turn worried about a set which manages a sigh call of a raise. So yeah, probably raise/folding to like $125.

GcluelessNLnoobG

Min raise the river.
Maybe $110 - $125.

I've been debating these preflop spots. Should we really be flatting vs an aggressive player who doesn't like to fold? We're deep enough but our hand doesn't ever make the nuts and is subject to RIO. Great pot odds but it doesn't seem ultra-profitable.

I think $75 on the turn is enough to get him to fold ace high or 77.

River, raise to $200 total

Fold pre.

Bluff turn when you after calling flop bet.

AP, river raise to around $135-$145

We have 8 outs to the nuts on this flop. Also, I didn't include that I looked left and was 95% certain payoff wizard V3 would be coming along, as he does with almost any 2.

If I call preflop which I would do sometimes, its not just to hit a big hand because it wont happen often enough.

Calling the flop is fine, but a small raise is really sexy. He will fold fairly often without a Q or overpair. If he calls you can check behind on the turn and take a free card.

As played, I bet this turn every time. Again, you have to be able to win this pot unimproved sometimes and if you just call the flop bet and he checks this turn, its the perfect card to take the pot away with.

As played, I raise river to $125 or so.

Everyone's trashing the call pre, but I totally don't mind it this deep.

Raising river is a no brainer... I like around $125. I'm also betting that turn.

Fair point, I was exaggerating. To clarify: it's very rare for us to make the nuts and we make the low end of straights and flushes.

This is the only flop you'll do that on.

Every other "big hand" (two pair / trips / straight / flush / boat) we make is at risk of being dominated by a bigger one in the same category.

GcluelessNLnoobG

If the opponent is somewhat competent and all $800 stacks go in postflop, there are very few hands that we can make that'll be ahead.

GimoG

$150 OTR.

Pre is fine/standard from the button. Just be prepared to bluff post-flop, depending on the board texture/action.

i get what you're saying and i've been burned with a flush over flush. really though - are we also going to stop playing small pps because if we get set over set it'll cost us? are we also going to fold 87s or 76s because of similar issues?

the flop could come 678 and he has 9Ts or he could have 88... idk, but in my experience your typical 1/3 player isn't sick enough to have the Ac and c/r river here. against your typical straight forward recreational 1/3 player i have no problem seeing a flop here this deep... but yes we can get coolered.

If our opponent is that conservative with his stack then we can find great spots to semi-bluff him off hands.

In game, I would have either made a monster raise on the flop, or bombed the turn if it checked it to me.

What's your sizing/goal re: the monster flop raise?

I agree that I missed a bet on the turn. I just had a feeling that he knew I'd probably bet if checked to and was looking to c/r and I was thinking I'd try to exploit misplayed mid pairs, trips and overs. Pretty sure I overthought it.

Sets are infinitely better than baby flushes when it comes to making money.
Not a good analogy.

Esp if you're not solid postflop, this is a very trivial fold pre

FWIW, I never considered folding pre and I actually think it's kinda bad on the button and missing out on a lot of $$ in these type of games.

I consider myself good post flop, despite my unpopular turn check.

I'm sure I've floated Cbets IP and then bet the turn when checked to at least twice since V has been at the table and he's prob one of the only players at the table that might have noticed.


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Personal choice, I fold pre. SCs are very overrated IMO, and lead to a lot of "I kind of have a hand so I guess I have to call, but I don't really have a HAND hand, so I don't really WANT to call" type situations.

OTF I would personally like to make it $70 to go to define V's range and take control of the hand from position. We may buy a free card (it was free anyway but still), and we may pick up the pot right then and there. We got this far with 5 high, let's make a go of it now.

River I would probably have made it $150 to go, but I actually like what some others have said better, minraise or minraise +20, that's really easy for V to call, and based on how the hand has played out we're almost certainly good here.