7 handed 3-5 spread limit. This is my first hand, I started with 1200. Main villain is MA to older white guy, has around 2500.

Hero UTG with 8c9c

Pre: Hero raise to 20, V calls in LJ, BB calls

Flop (63) : QcJd7c
Bb checks, hero 30, V calls, Bb folds

Turn (123) : Th
Hero 90, V calls

River (303) : Qs
Hero 100, V raise to 250

Well, you have the appropriate end of the straight for your SN.

I usually player tighter than normal my first orbit at a table as I start to gather reads on the other players. Therefore, I'd just fold pf.

As played, I'd bet the same amount on the flop as if I had AQ without a draw. If that is less than 50% of the pot, then fine. While your hand is hidden on the turn, the problem is that if the villain is even thinking about your hand, he has you on AK and you just hit broadway. Your bet size says you hit broadway and he still called. On the river, his raise gives you 4:1 to call. He wants you to call.

The question is whether he could think you'd bet/bet/bet with something that can't beat trips with a top kicker 20% of the time. A read would be nice here. Which is I fold with your hand pf just sitting down at the table.

This smells too much of a FH to call. Don't show if you did fold.

Curious river sizing of 1/3 PSB ….. what are you targeting? Is it to induce, or a B/F?

If betting, I’d go at least 2/3 PSB targeting QX, folding to a raise. I like a X/C a decent amount of the time, lettin him bluff missed draws, rep QX, and even JT.

AP, I’d lean toward a crying call given the price and we unblock QX.

Pre is typically too wide. I have no experience with the whole spread limit thing, so i might be wrong.

Turn is an overbet when we have way more sets and straights (on both ends, apparently) block FD's and unblock TP+.

I agree river sizing is too small. QJ/77 are discounted since he just flats flop and KQ/AQ are just not folding to a bigger bet.

AP, if he has 3 combo's of Qx that we've induced a raise from with our blockbet, it's already a call. That doesn't seem unreasonable.

Pre is a fold.

I'm fine with either x'ing otf or going $20.

Turn seems good.

I don't know why we went so small otr, I think he's heavily weighted towards Qx, I would bet the pot otr. As played I would call given the sizing we used because he could be value owning himself.

Call as played. Would start with a check on the flop. If we do bet, i like a larger sizing.

River is fine, i guess. Since even the xr is less than a pot bet would have been initially this is a fairly straightforward call.

Hate the river sizing. Qx aint folding to anything less than pot. If he still raises a larger river bet you have a pretty easy fold. I guess I'd cry fold as played. Even AQ knows a lot of your range can be straights and full houses. Sucks if you induced a worse hand to raise which would have called a larger bet.

He doesn't have AK as he'd 3 bet pre. only straight above you is K,9. He certainly could have had 2 pair but I think he'd raise the turn. He's probably got trips

It's 150 to win 650. There's definitely a number of hands you beat. Call.

At my casino, there are a significant number of players at 2/3 and 3/5 spread limit who play AK as an "unpaired no good hand", especially the older fellows. They wouldn't 3-bet with AK unless they're on the button. I don't think we can completely discount AK.

Super standard call on the river. I also go larger on bet size and call.

This is live poker where everyone sucks and is overly passive. Lots of players flat AK.

If V is positionally aware at all and respects that we opened UTG, he's not raising AQ on this board. Even in general people aren't raising trips on the river after the pfr triple barreled QJTxQ. Our worst value hand from his perspective should be KQ, maybe AA/KK going for really thin value, and the only hand that could call a raise that AQ beats would be KQ. KQ would actually be a great bluffcatcher here against people that actually have a bluffing range in this spot. There's no way we're good 20% of the time here with 98, though. It's a near pure bluffcatcher without any positive blocking effects in an underbluffed spot.

Turn and river sizing especially are bad. River is a call but not loving it.