Hi all,

1/3 NL early Thursday morning. Fish raises in MP to $15 and I call AQo on BTN. EP limp/calls as well. Pot $38. Hero covers and fish is effective stack with $150.

Flop: 9-5-4r. Checks around.

Turn: A. Fish bets $15, hero raises to $30, limper folds, fish calls. Pot $105.

River: 9. Fish bets $30 with $75 behind. Hero?

Thanks,
DT

Shove. He’s never folding any A.

Anything to make of fishes opening range from EP after a limper with just $150? Obviously I'm nit tight, but my default is to fold AQo to a raise unless I'm given reason to do otherwise.

I probably bet the flop when it's checked to me. Doubt raiser has anything and limper might fold a small pair once and a while, otherwise we sometimes take it down or setup a free card play for cheap. I'd bet like $18 and see what happens.

Think I just flat the turn. Guy could easily be bluffing and I don't want to raise him out, or it's possible he slowplayed a monster on the flop, or he could simply have us outkicked (one of the reasons I fold preflop). A raise also sets us up for playing for stacks on the river, and I'm not convinced I want to do that.

As played, I probably just call the river. You raised the turn (a strong play) and yet he still donked into you on the river.

GcluelessNLnoobG

raise pre

as played just call the river. He lead out after you raised the turn, so he probably has you beat.

i dont understand the turn raise.
dont fold pre, lol. its closer to a 3b but i probably just call OTB.

i highly doubt this is correct unless the pfr is an old man like me, especially in position.

you seem like a smart guy GG. why are you afraid to use your intelligence to your advantage and play postflop?

It's hardly ever correct to flat with AQo. Either raise or fold (unless there is a reason/dynamic to flat).

People are reading his bet into us OTR after our turn-raise as strong. That's the wrong takeaway. The real takeaway is that he has no idea what the f*** he is doing and will show up here super wide with a range that's never folding. Most of it will be A's we beat so I am ok with a shove, but fine to just call.

I'm 3 betting this pre flop most of the time , especially if this guy is a loose player; it seems like a defensive bet OTR from the fish so i'd probly go for value with a raise, however flat calling is okay too if you have reasons for it with more information

Can you please fill me in on the read on the villain that I seem to have missed that suggests he has an ace we beat and not a higher ace, trips or a FH?

We have top pair with an ok kicker, why do we need to "go for value" and over play a medium strength hand?

So, what you're saying is you don't want to play raised pots from the button against the weakest player at the table? I just don't understand. Why even play? Ever heard the saying "you have to give action to get action"?

Probably getting it in on the river if you have reason to believe V way over values AX. Post flop is kinda wack though. The turn click is weird.

If we call the SPR is going to be < 5. There's no wiggle room for intelligence to come in, the hand basically plays itself. So we usually end up folding to the cbet if we whiff (or are you continuing against a guy who now looks like he's committed his stack?). If we hit TP and he has an underpair, it's unlikely we make up more than one bet postflop unless he sucks really bad. And if he has the same TP as us, then it totally depends on how lightly he opens. Again, if he opens lightly then I don't mind continuing preflop. Or if we can entice a dominated fish to come along, ok. But otherwise, it's meh.


Like I said above, the SPR will be < 5 (might be as small as ~3 if one of the blinds call). Good luck outplaying even weak players postflop.

It's funny, yesterday a few real well known action guys come to the table. We've all had lots of history together and they see me as they biggest nit in the game, but I think they semi-enjoy my company so we all get along well. Anyhoo, there's a UTG straddle by one of the action guys and 2 more action guys limp and maybe one or two others so I of course overlimp the Button with AKs (standard if you know my playbook). The straddle raises to $25, the two action guys call, maybe another caller in between, and I make it $165. Everyone sigh folds to the last action guy who's got like $220 and he goes into the tank. The one action guy lol's at him and then winks at me and jokes "ha, c'mon man, you can't give *him* action, he never gives action, don't hand all your chips to him, lol!". The action guy lol's and smiles and finally just shoves in the rest, I call, the board is run out, and my A high scoops a $540 pot. "If you don't give action you won't get action" is one of the *stupidest* sayings in poker. They're action guys, they can't help themselves; of course they're going to give me action, that's what they do.

ETA: And to get back to the hand: no one knows we're folding AQo, for all they know it's another 73o into the muck.

Gdoesn'tgiveanyactionandgetsalltheactionIcanhandle iG

Your anecdotal/super specific example about that one time a guy shoved in the rest after you pulled off some ridiculous over limp/back raise with AKs on the button (lol a million times) does not qualify as a logical/valid argument in favor of being a nit. All it does is let us know that one time you got action without giving it in return.

It's pretty clear you're terrified of post flop play, a la your incessant ramblings about spr and what not. Perhaps instead of spouting a bunch of rock nonsense, you could spend some time improving your game.

so whats your SPR to call here?

ps your fake self deprecating sig is a bit off-putting. your tone in your posts isnt humble so its just comes off as fake

No, you're absolutely right. I'm sure every single one of my profits, other than that one of course, have simply come in cooler situations where I've been on the good end.

GcluelessactiongivingnoobG

It's more to do with what this guy is opening with. "Fish" isn't giving an adequate description. The fact is that a lot of fishy people limp in with hands like AJo, so if they're raising, AQo plays pretty terrible against that range (low IO against JJ-, high RIO against AK/QQ+).

GcluelessNLnoob,justoneman'sopinionG

Well this post went in a direction I wasn't expecting....

Anyway, results:

I called and he had A-10o. I scoop. I guess the reason I flatted this hand worked: great implied odds against a dominated ace.

Turn raise size is pointless and bad and never a bluff.

this is pretty much incorrect in my experience against all but tight and stubborn old men. fishy people play fairly randomly and its fairly common to see the same guy limp AJo one hand and then raise trash the next because he had a "feeling" or just felt like gambling. you cannot draw a conclusion on someone's preflop play because you saw him limp a decent to strong broadway hand.

i'm well aware of the problems AQo has against tight old men ranges. your problem is you apparently assume tight old men ranges apply to everyone who isnt super lag.