Hi everyone,

I played this hand about two months ago and it still crosses my mind alot.. mixed reviews from my poker group about what should have been done etc and looking back would have played the hand differently. Without tearing me a new hole and saying its a fold PF (obv it is) just go on with the hand as played..
Setting the scene:
-Live 1/3 Cash Game @ 2.30pm on a Sunday. Table opened at 12.00pm.
-Fairly tame table, 3 regs (inc myself), rest are rec players.. no reason to thinking anyone (inc myself) are GOOD players. Very much a casual sunday poker session going on.. Got a very TAG image, only played about 10 hands since table opened.
-Just stacked someone for 100bb pot... flatted J10s vs a button open to $10 and flop came KQ9.. I check raised to 30bb and he shoved with KK i call and held against top set... so started with hand with about ~220BB.

Reads on Villan: MEGA nit.. hes literally ONLY played 1 hand before this one in 2.5hrs.. didnt go to showdown... action was like SB checks a QdJd4h flop and he bets.. SB calls.. turn Ks.. SB now leads and villan raises.. SB folds?..

Hand Analysis:
Sitting in EP with A8.. Playing 220BB. Villan ~115BB.

Action: UTG1 limps, I limp, UTG 2(Villan limps), CO and blinds come along. 6 ways to the flop
Pot: $18

Flop:
A K 6, action checks to me and I bet $15 into $18. Villan (immediate left) raises to $40. Action folds back around to me.. I flat..

Turn($98):
A K 6 A

I check to villain who now bets $40 again.? I flat call....

River ($178).

A K 6 A 7

I check.. Villan announces ALL IN for ~$260?

Hero.


My though processes --> Villan has no reason to think I am bluffing here, but perhaps chasing FD.. When he raises the flop what does that mean? protect his hand against FD's / getting value from worse Ax? I virtually rule out AA/KK as 9/10 players raise these hands.. with that being said not unusual for ppl to limp them aswell in these 1/3 LLSNL games.. so theoretically on the flop ALL sets (AA/KK/66) are in his range.. But so is A6,AK and K6. So with TP+FD obv never folding. We call.

Turn: Interesting spot here for a few reasons. Firstly its an Ace, essentially ruling out his holding of AA as board blocks and I both block. Secondly, if he did have AK KK or 66 and filled up. Why would he bet? If he thought i was on FD wouldn't it make sense to let me catch up? When he bet the turn I was beginning to think he had A9-Q now.. Also why did he bet the same as the flop? In my experience, people who don't change there bet sizes usually means there hand hasn't improved but this card literally improves almost everypossible flop combo (apart from air and K6) that he would of raised with OTF?.

River - Playing AAAK8 now.. So lose to AK + A6, outkicked by A9-AQ and also lose to 66.. With us blocking all A combos what bluffs does he have? QJ/10 and thats it.. very unlikely given his VPIP/nitty presence..

My Review: Next time I think its +EV to shove flop.. even against sets our TP+FD has decent equity.. if he does have a boat on the turn (which all make sense) then I am not sure about a shove on the turn.. but a shove does save us from guessing on the river.. but we never get called by worse (A2-5) etc which he is NEVER raising the flop with A2-A5? FML I got wrecked..

the exact opposite of all that. also, pre is usually fine in a live game.
you played it perfectly if you folded the river.

fold pre ya whale
flop seems like a good check call, in saying that betting also has merit
fold river or call and lose to 66

I like betting this flop in a loose passive game. You get value from gutshots, any pair, any flush draw, and a lot of worse aces if they are limping a wide range.

Turn is a call.

River is a clear fold. I think once in a blue moon he could show up with a worse suited ace but the small turn bet followed by a river shove screams full house. You have the ace of spades in your hand which blocks most of the bluffs a nit could show up with.

I think your thought process for the turn is a little flawed, if he has a boat he should be betting turn. He's giving you a great price to catch up. He's betting so that if you do catch up he can maybe get stacks in. If he just checks there is only $98 in the pot and he has $260 behind. If he checks and spades miss,he probably doesn't think you are going to throw out a huge donk bet with a spade draw so he needs to get value on the turn. Also, if you do have trip aces, there are river cards that can kill his action. If you had A8hh and the river comes a spade he's going to have missed value.

Never shove this flop against a nit. You are only getting called by better hands and folding out worse hands that you might have otherwise gotten value from.