Hero ($500-ish): 20s Indian, aggressive image. Have been winning a decent amount of pots without showdown. Only had one hand go to showdown so far where I raised V1's EP limp with QJo from BTN c-bet K92r, and checked down on a 9x Kx runout, losing to his TT. (I showed the QJo). About an orbit earlier I 4B shoved against a 3B and a cold call and won pre-flop without showing, so my image is likely to be bluffy.

V1 ($200-ish): 40s White male, a weak-tight regular who will fast-play TPGK+, especially when short stacked and on wet boards. Will call c-bets fairly wide, but usually folds TPWK and most draws when facing multiple barrels or raises.

V2 (Covers): 20s white male, TAG-fish. Raises pre-flop with a TAG's value range (i.e. pairs, big aces, KQ, maybe other broadways), but seems to have been limp-calling most of his other hands as opposed to folding them.
Some relevant showdowns from him so far, one where he limp-called with T9s and won a multi-way checked pot after rivering a T.
The second one he raised pre-flop with AJo, and check/called as the PFR on an A82r board, turn checked through, he bet river and was called by worse.
The final one he called a PFR from the BB w/22, check-raised a $20 c-bet and a call on J94r to $70, barrelled $150 on a Kx turn, and shoved $200 on a 6x river, getting called by PFR's KJs. I suspect he's tilting as that hand was fairly recent.


One limp (tended to limp-fold) to V2 in MP who limps, folded to hero in CO w/A4 who raises to $25, folded to V1 in BB who calls, limper folds to V2 who calls.

Flop ($81): AJ8

Checked to hero who bets $55, V1 calls, V2 check-raises to $165, hero shoves...

Thoughts?


My reasoning for this play is the following:

play is awful ..

Why show the QJo hand? Not a great idea.

Pre-flop, with 2 limpers behind, I would over limp A4s. But raising is OK.

On the flop, check behind. With top pair no kicker, you don't want to build a huge pot. There may be some value from hearts and a hand like T9 exactly, and maybe with gut shots, but it's probably way too thin/-EV. You also risk getting blown off your back door nut flush draw.

As played, yeah, V2 is unlikely to have a big ace (though most other aces beat you, too).

If you're gonna take this line based on a read, I can see it. Sure.

What I don't like is the 3-bet shove. I think it's terrible. Just call his raise.

When you call his raise, the turn will be ~400, and you will have ~300 left. Easy game. Let him spew the rest of his chips into you on the turn with his entire range. Position is important - use it. Given your read, I might even give him a free card on the turn if he checks to me and let him try to spew his chips off on the river with a range of hands that generally doesn't improve (gut shots, 8x, Jx, air, etc).

You should have called to induced spew; instead, you 3-bet shoved and spew flop yourself.

You let a spewy player induce spew in you. Calling is way more profitable.

Oh I didn't really see that V1 had also called the flop.

Hmmm... now I think I see what you're doing.

You're basically bluff shoving against V1 (or at least getting him to fold equity) and value shoving against V2?

This is a much more interesting hand than I realized at first.

You do have the a fairly large flop pot with the likely dead money from V1 and the likely wide/spewy raise from V2.

If V1 and V2 switched places, I might call V2's flop c/r hoping that V2 shoves the turn, bluffs V1 off better, and let's us call with A4s.

But if you call V2's flop c/r with positions as they actually are - with V2 acting after V1 - then on the turn, V1 is likely to open check, V2 is likely to bet or shove, then we would have to act without knowing what V1 does... and V1 easily could just sigh call with random Ax.

With positions as they are, I think you might be on to something with your flop shove.

I think this is the kind of creative hand that is hard to discuss in a thread because it looks like spew on first glance, but - if you do decide to bet flop (and I still prefer checking) - then I'm actually really digging the line you took and the creativity.

Very well played sir.

Will probably summed it up better than I can. I like to raise pre here against limp-call then check/fold type players. V2 is not that guy. Once I see him limp like that my light raising range goes out the window. I'm looking to limp along with A4s and get him to spew off his stack postflop when it hits.

I probably don't bet the flop here. It seems too thin. After that I like your reasoning for the shove. V1's range is capped and V2's range is chock full of draws. Every once in a while V1 will show up with a hand you never expected and snap it off, and/or V2 has one of the combos you're afraid of, but overall I think it's a good play.