Hero: UTG+1, Young 20s, relatively new to this game where most people seem to know each other well. Seen as at least TAG if not weak-tight. I've been playing very conservatively as I try and get a feel for this game. Stack about $225

Villiain: BB, Young 20s female, only female at table, style seems borderline maniac but she has been a big winner in the few games I've played here. Very loose and very aggressive, frequently will straddle up to like $15. She's def positionally aware. She's around $500 after having doubled up by catching a flush on the river with some suited trash like 7 3.

Pre: Hero raises to $12 with AQss, everyone folds except for villlain who calls from BB.

Flop (pot at $25): K Q 7 rainbow, villain checks, hero bets $30, villain calls.

Turn (pot at $85): 9, villain checks, hero bets $60 which villain calls

River (pot at $205): offsuit 7,villain leads for $120, hero???

Bet more on flop.

I probably check behind on the turn. I don't think we're getting calls from worse. Maybe JT, AJ, or AT, but mid pairs are likely folding with two broadway cards.

Fold river, you're beat.

If we don't have a complete handle on the game / villains yet and table is passivish preflop, then I wouldn't hate open limping AQs as I'm guessing it plays fairly well multiway. Otherwise my default play is to raise it.

I would check back the flop. There's not many worse hands that are going to give us 3 streets, a better hand is not folding, the board isn't particularly drawy, we're not very afraid of an overcard (although it does complete JT), plus villain is very aggro (could check/raise this flop which puts us in a tough spot in a biggish pot). Plus it allows villain to attempt to bluff off air on the next couple of streets where we can sit back and bluff catch. Pretty standard check behind, imo.

As played, I now check back the turn. The main draw (JT) just got there, the Villain might already be ahead with a K that is unlikely to fold (a maniac folds TP?), plus we've now unwittingly built a hugenormous pot which is risking our stack with the monster hand known as 2nd Pair. Blech.

Due to our poor bet sizing / no pot control, we've now left ourselves with only a little over a 1/2 PSB in a pot where we'd like to showdown but have a weak hand. Even though villain is a maniac, I'd probably fold here since we're ahead of almost nothing and bet is probably expecting to be called due to our 3 previous streets of aggression and it's rather modest size.

Gmorepotcontrol,imoG

Thanks GG and Tex. I agree that my cardinal sin is building a big pot with 2nd pair. Need to work on my pot control.

I guess what I was doing was basically trying to turn my hand in to a bluff and get her off any draws or a weak king. In retrospect I probably need a 1 before the 30 or 60 if a villain like this is gonna think about folding.