This.

Calling here is a massive leak.

Nice 3!, though I may go a little larger here to $90-100. I used to always just 3x everything but I was finding we get called too often, especially when they have position.

I probably go $130 on the flop and tentatively double barreling depending on the card.

with rec stack 400, I'd go fold>call>3! pre.

AP, $65 otf.

This is a gross spot, given V, as we're going to be playing a bloated pot with 2nd pair, no kicker and he's unlikely to fold, as he has 99-JJ (probably 4-bets QQ pre), a lot of Ks, and several FDs in his range, plus he likely thinks he has bluff outs. OTOH, he has a ton of air in his range too, so folding a pair is not attractive.

I probably c/c here to give him the illusion of initiative and keep the pot from getting out of control. I don't love it though and would definitely c-bet air or TP+ here. I'd be able to fold the air and not worry about the pot getting huge with the TP+ part of my range, though. This strat may be a bit face-up, but unless we play V a ton, I'm not too worried about him figuring it out.

needed to make it 100 pre if 3betting

70 otf

I think your pot-size raise was fine. Don't think I'd go higher with AA, KK, QQ, AK, etc., so why do it with this hand?

Bet ~$100 (no more than $100) on the flop. This is a bet/fold for me.

What was your plan here, when you raised and got aggressive? I ask because I don't know what my plan is here when V calls preflop. You are behind mid pocket pairs, better kickers, and of course, kings with not a draw in sight.

As played, I'd bet/fold. If he calls here, with his remaining stack, he is basically tossing the fold button away. I still think folding pre was best when you have a hand that needs to see a favorable flop to have any chance of showdown.

Bet 1/3 pot with your whole range here.

(If your 3b range is tight)

I would actually argue that 3! is insane here versus a described sLAG but....

So basically, he has two options. Checking is basically giving up at this stage, or you bet and try to target a very specific range, because this guy is never folding AA, and probably not folding out TPWK. You are hoping he can get rid of QQ-99, and that can be a tough sell.

This seems like a really tight range to assign a LAG/sLAG when both players are deep and he will have position throughout the hand while also closing the action. Not saying it's incorrect, just saying I'm the nittiest nit there is and i'd call wider than that. Maybe that's a leak?

I would give him a wider range as well, I just assume that those are the hands you can get him to fold out that are beating you.

Why is checking giving up? C/c and c/r are still options.

When you call here, how are you expecting to improve? You have no draw apart from getting another 8, or a 7. And if it's the 7 of spades, life gets really complicated if V bets into us. And you are playing this entire thing OOP.

You have balls of steel to c/r here. If this V has a fold button, I suppose it's worth a try but I think you are burning money in that event, unless you can put him off a better hand, which you have no idea if you are even blocking.

Post is weird, because I wouldn't have gotten myself into this situation, so I admit my advise for "as played" might not be ideal. Your best hope is that he has something like AQc, and you might be able to convince him not to chase. He might have complete air, but we have no data since all he did was call your 3 bet.

$85 on the flop, or whatever your standard sizing is in this spot w/AK. Thought about C/C, but prefer to maintain a strong aggressive line.

Having 3 bet preflop your options here are largely bet or give up. Your hand isn't good enough for a call down and has few ways of improving. If you check/call or it checks around and villain bets turn you will almost never have any idea where you stand vs a borderline SLAG. Your flop bet will have little FE as villain will be expecting that but if you continue on the turn you should get a good idea where you stand.

I would bet $90 but I usually have a very tight image. If your image is more laggy then $60/$65 is better.

I agree that you have to bet here and you likely have to fire two barrels to win unimproved. Another reason why 3! with this type of hand OOP vs sLAG makes little sense to me.

3b or call. Never fold. As played, bet 55 otf. On anything outside of ace ott/otr, x/c two streets.

Normal depth I would start w a check, but here you might as well pot/shove at 100bb bc you have this as a 3b and the near perfect hand with which to semibluff. There’s really no other line at 500, other than fold pre.

Bet/shove is the only line. And that’s why I believe fold pre > 3! > call is the way look at it 100 BB’s deep. 100 bigs really doesn’t give you much room to maneuver and often forces your hand on the turn in 3! pots.

For that reason, I’d size down my suggestion of $130 a little to make our double barrel shove a bigger % of the pot.

There are some really bad lines being suggested ITT. If he’s got Kx, he’s never folding. So just accept we are going to get felted 80% of the time when that is the case. That comes with the territory when you decide to 3! 87s OOP.

However, he’s going to have plenty of hands > 8x < Kx that may call a flop barrel and fold turn unimproved. The times we win this with a flop c-bet and c-bet -> double barrel when we have an inferior hand more than makes up for the relative infrequency that we get felted by Kx.

It’s damn hard to flop a pair.

this hand is 150bbs

Then I revert to my original. $130/170 flop -> 200/430 most turns and probably x/c rivers.

Turn double barrel leverages the rest of our stack so I would expect a lot of his > 8x < Kx range to be folding turns.

I think having two sizings on this flop isn't a bad idea -- 2/3 pot or 1/3 pot. If we bet 1/3 pot, I need to decide if I'm going to polarize myself OTT, or just c/c. I like the c/c or c/r line too cause this particular V was def not folding to a cbet.

OTTH:

Rec limps utg, V (750) r25 in CO, folds to hero in the BB. Hero (covers) has 78 in the BB. Hero rr80, rec folds, V calls.

Flop (170) : K 8 3 -- Hero r60, v calls.

Turn (290): 5 -- Hero?

Edit: I think that when v calls flop, his range is shrinked down considerably to flush draws (AsXs, QJ-QTss, JTss, T9ss), pairs (JJ-99, KQ and maybe 6 combos of AK)

Well yeah but pre sizing was horrendous and even still it’s within the margins of a turn overbwt on bricks.

AP bet again and jam if he raises.

you said he was LAG bordering on sLAG, how did his CO range become strong all of a sudden? folding a ton to the 3bet and/or the 1/3pot cbet?