had an interesting hand last night that I thought really drove home the "playing your opponent" side of live poker.

Villain is one of the loosest, craziest, amazingly BAD players i've ever seen. He has rebought for over $2000 since sitting down about two hours before, he's slamming coors lights, and continuously offering to buy drinks for the rest of the table. He has ZERO board-reading ability and is the typical "let's GAMBOOOOOL" type. However, every once in a while, he wakes up with a real hand...which he plays exactly the same.

Hero is me, my image to most of the players at the table is TAG but a little weak, though not because I AM weak, but because I know when to fold. Several of these guys seem to think that folding = weakness, no matter if they're beat. This image is, of course, emphasized by the fact that I am female. Though i have no doubt this guy has no idea what "table image" even means, nor does he really care.

Villain is UTG+1 with ~$300
Hero is CO with ~$500

Hero has 77

($5)UTG limps, Villain raises to $15 (standard for him with ATC), MP folds, MP+1 calls, MP +2 folds, Hero calls, BTN calls, SB folds, BB calls, UTG folds.

Flop: K32
($77) UTG checks, Villain checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $40, folds to villain, who calls, rest fold.

Turn: 3
($157) Villain checks, Hero ??

obviously there's more, and the river is pretty interesting...

Check turn and call most river bets (if he is known to bluff all the time). Your not getting value from worse and he could put in a raise, which would put you in a spot where your playing for the rest of your chips. Also, there is only 157 in the pot on the turn.

doh, forgot to change that when i recalled the REAL bet sizes as opposed to what i remembered wrongly at first. I really need to start taking better notes. *sigh*

I figured I had the best hand on the flop when it was checked to me, but his call there gave me a little pause.

I'm not a fan of betting this flop in such a multiway hand if you've chosen to set mine with 77 preflop. And if you do choose to bet this flop, bet more if you intend to set up a credible multibarrel?

As played check back the turn and reeval on the river.

I agree that flop bet isn't the best. If called, we create a really big pot with a marginal hand. But I don't think we have to call with 77 with the intention of just set-mining.

Agreed, 77 has tons of SD value on its own without having to flop a set. But when we flat a raise preflop and go to a flop 5 ways, I just don't think it's a great idea to bet a K high two tone board unless we want to set up a big old multibarrel to get players off 99-QQ type hands and maybe even KJ-type hands if we're deep enough. And while I love those moves I think doing so without specific reads is just spewage.

I guess I "sensed weakness". I know that sounds lame (I hate when people say that at the table), and is probably spewy, but the one person to act behind me (btn) already had his cards in his hand, and of the rest, I had only seen the villain himself c/r, and ONLY on the river.

against any other table, i probably wouldn't have bet there, but as it was, I looked at it as sort of an iso bet to get me heads up with this crazy dude. Not to mention, I think it blocked him from betting the turn. I knew he didn't have a K, because he would have done something stupid like open shove on the flop. For this guy, checking the flop meant he had crap.

anyway, the rest of the hand:

Turn: 3
Villain checks, Hero checks

River: 5
($157)Villain bets $125, Hero ?

Check turn, river I'm in the air about it... I wouldn't feel to great about it, but if the dude is spewing that badly you can be good here quite often. Dont know the maths on how many times, etc but I am sure someone will comment...

Oh and in before pics of OP or it didn't happen

you have to check back the turn. or if you barrel the turn you should be intending to check behind the river (maybe a bit results oriented). i would check turn and look to v-bet thinly on the river.

river: do you think he will bet worse here? obviously you say he's spewy and so forth but do you think he would have called flop with some random 2X-3X with a spade and then check the turn with a draw? Seems like a big bet too on the river. I would fold probably but I could see a call if you think the guy is betting air here quite often. Since he has no hand reading skill, I would assume that he doesn't know that you won't have a big spade here when you check behind the turn so betting river on a bluff is usually a good idea so I would just tend to assume he hit the flush (it could very well be a small flush that he decided to bet because "OMG i have a flush, I bet big").

Does the villain ever c/r?

Well if villain is a spewy, bluffing maniac. I call this bet. This is such an obvious bluff spot. Plus, I would think a maniac would lead his flush draw on the turn. Now, is this villain capable of a thin value bet? Maybe. But how often does he actually have a made flush?

Also - maniac fishes do not understand that bluffing more = thin value betting more. So, even when they make bets on scary boards - they do it with a polarized range. These are the best types of villains cause it's so easy to play against them. Just be their personal calling station.

nice call on river...flop is the only place I don't like...if you check flop - you should pretty much call most turn bets from villains on most turn cards...and no one else.

Flop is meh (BTN disinterest makes it better but it's still not great)

Turn is a check

River is...

This is 'air' vs. Js, Qs and As (and the As often bets the turn.) Considering ur Villain I make this call expecting to be good over 50% of the time (which is more than enough.)

Let's have a look at the spoiler (although people's reactions to the hand kinda give the answer away.

No result might be a good rule around here (at least for 72 hours or something.)