Villain is a sticky maniac. I’ve played around 7-10 sessions with him. We only have 1 hand of note, where he called pre then back 4b over my 3b and we gii on QT8r and we both had JJ. His 4b was around 450 and we had 600 behind.

On his right is the fish and he isoed his limp repeatedly, once showing 63o.

Game is 3-5 spread with a 600 limit. 1200 eff

Pre: Hero in sb with AsQd

Fish limps hj, V raises to 25 in co. Hero 3b to 125, fish folds, V calls

Flop (253) : KcQc5d
Hero..

I’m unsure what the plan is here. Betting bloats the pot if we’re beat but also extracts value from lots of hands and some floats. On the other hand he’s liable to blast off if we check.

If he's betting super frequently I don't see a problem with letting him hang himself. Otherwise I bet $85 and look to go for three streets on most runouts versus this villain.

I'm checking and hoping V blasts off here

Pro Tip: if you don't know what to do on the flop after 3betting what's probably the bottom of your 3bet range (whether you hit top pair, middle pair, or miss completely), then maybe you shouldn't 3bet

5x is kinda big, esp vs a "sticky maniac" who's likely not folding. 85 would be fine, and I would cbet the flop since we're representing AK, KK and AA (not sure if he's seen you 3bet before or what your perceived range is). I would hate to check then call him down when he has a suited king - if he calls a cbet, you can adjust from there depending on the turn.

I don't really understand the previous comments about checking and letting him barrel off without knowing anything about him except what's stated that he's a "maniac". Does that mean he goes broke with his whole range there, and we feel that good about going broke for 1200 with middle pair?

From a theory point of view there's no need to do anything except bet 100% of the time for a small size and it will perform as well as any other strategy you can come up with while being easier to execute.

If you think villain has a propensity to just mindlessly blast off without thinking at all then going into check call mode can be good.

However I find that even maniacs won't go crazy and hang themselves on this board in 3bet pots. If anything, a check might make him suspicious and happy to check down all his pocket pairs and see free turns with draws.

I like preflop sizing. AQo is not even close to the bottom of my range here btw.

I don’t think this is a small range bet spot. We have a nut advantage and most of those hands prefer to go larger especially with this SPR. Mid strength hands like Qx and JJ etc don’t benefit a lot from betting for equity denial since an Ax is the only overcard. They can get some value but they’re not three street hands anyway and we’d like to see villain put money in with his 0% equity air. AQ specifically is not very vulnerable so I like starting with a flop check and we can go for value if villain checks back.

Bet $85 and see what he does.

Continue betting most turns

Lol at AQo being the bottom of a 3 bet range against a HJ limp and an isolation raise from the co. What’s with all this nittery in this forum lately?


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I think that it would be better to say that if you're lost on this flop after 3 betting AQo, AQo should be the bottom of your 3 bet range.

Bet whatever you would bet on the flop if you had AK in this situation.

+1, especially bolded.

People have varying definitions of “bottom of range”. For those that don’t look at things as strictly “value and bluffs”—- you’re not “supposed” to afaik——- this would (and likely shouldn’t) be no where near the bottom of OP’s 3-betting range I’m assuming.

That’s because AQo > A5s> 87s etc.

If you’re only 3-betting value, like most, in this spot though, then maybe.

imo

Blocking AA/AK/KQ, I'd continue for $95-100. If he's really sticky w/TT-, can going higher for value.

You're taking what I said way out of context. I was only specifically talking about OP's 3bet range, since based on the post it didn't seem like he 3bets much lighter.

And furthermore there is so much more information that isn't included in the post that is needed to make better decisions such as has OP been seen 3 betting before, has the villain been seen flatting 3 bets before, and what his range would be from watching him on previous hands.

Although there are hands I would be happy to check call with from OOP, this is a hand I would rather bet for reasons such as trying to define his range and keeping the pot somewhat under control. I would hate to check call a psb a few times with a mediocre hand in a bloated pot.

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AQo is not the bottom of my 3b range. Perhaps vs this villain it should be. I went check / bet / check on KQ5cc 6x 9c and felt like I missed value

You should 3-bet wider vs. a sticky, aggro, wide range fish, not tighter.

I think you played it fine. River would be way too thin on that runout. Of course flop can be bet but I don't think it has to be, especially vs. an opponent who will probably bet too often when checked to.