I have been playing at the table for about 2 hours. Not played many hands but always raised when I am in the hand. The only hand I have shown so far is a set.

Hand 1) I have about $1k and villain covers me. Villain is in the UTG and opens for $35. He is a loose player and His range is still relatively wide for a UTG open. I have AQo in the button. It’s folded to me and I make it $75. I should have made it higher. Anyway, he calls.

Flop is 622ssc.

He checks and I bet $100. He calls. He could likely have over pairs but he also leaned forward eagerly on seeing the flop. I don’t think he has 6s or a 2 but could likely be on a flush draw.

Turn is a Ax. He now donks for $100. Now I don’t think this is a strong bet. It’s more like a information or a blocker bet. Should I raise here? My ace could be good enough. So I could just call. But with a flush draw and a weak bet I prefer a raise. And maybe I could force weaker aces to fold. What do you guys think ?

Hand 2) I have AhQc in the MP+2 position and I open for $30. I get 4 callers. Two to act after me and two before me. Pot is $150.

Flop comes QhJhTc.

Checked to me. Should I bet here? The board is dynamic and the players are all loose. The stacks range from $500-$1000. One of the players did 3-bet me on the flop in an earlier hand. So there is that risk. But with TPTK and blockers to nut flush draw, I feel like betting here.

1) Yes pre should be bigger, as played, if you barrel that flop, you will almost always need to barrel any turn that isn't a spade. I think I am more happy to cbet with As here than just AQ as there are less ways for us to improve without A or Qs. Villain isn't really folding many of their pairs and probably not their flush draws either. As played, you can just call this $100, AKo can be in his 3bet defence range but it plays much better as a 4bet pre hand, especially OOP. His defence range has many less AK compared to AJs/o and ATs etc. If you know it is a weak bet, you are better off catching another bluff on the river than raising now, especially given your reasoning of folding out weaker aces, you want them to stay in and give you money to your higher kicker, not push them out of the pot.

2) You have more AK in your range than all 4 callers combined, bet. You don't have to make it super big like 120+, you have the broad way draw and the backdoor nut heart draw so even though a heart on the turn is not great, it's not the end of the world for you.

Grunch

First hand i just flat pre. He may be wide but with no dead money in the pot and a 7x open i don’t want to inflate this with AQo. As played, on the flop I’d bet smaller, like 60-70, with a lot of hands. We can bluff on K and J and might just have the best hand. It also makes the hand easier to play. On turn, call i think. Our hand to him could easily be what it is. When he checks the river, “same bet” is probably best.

Hand 2 i think i bet in real time but is probably a check.

Yikes! Apologies for the error but I had A5cc in the button and not AQo.

H1 vs 7x open from UTG i'm fine with letting it go. If you 3b it needs to be at least $105, $75 is really bad sizing.

OTF I probably just give up, esp without a spade. His range here is super strong and mostly pocket pairs, AQs and AK. A cbet here isnt great at all.

OTT obv just call, raising to "Fold out weaker aces" is bad logic and if you are having thoughts like these postflop/arent solid postflop, it is definitely in your best interest to fold pre.

H2 snap check back, not close. Checking >>>>> betting, although I am not saying betting is -EV because it isnt. The only -EV option is open folding.

Edit: just read your post you have A5cc otb rather than AQo. You are literally torching money on fire with this 3b. Stop doing it.

Wrt postflop play, bet 1/3 otf and look to barrel club turns or gutshot turns.

OTT is lame spot, calling getting 3.5 to 1 and bc he bet the same ott as you did otf. Wouldnt be surprised if it were a blocking bet, but I wouldnt be surprised to see strong Ax like AQ/AK or AJs here that floated.

And if you have TP weak kicker OTF, how exactly are you folding weaker aces with a raise?

So $35 bet is very common at my casino and I usually open to $40-45 so that I get fewer callers. Is 3-betting A5s bad because of the bet size or in general? I don't want to just be 3-betting with AQ+ but also wanted to include a bluff like A5s. i choose players who can be scared by betting aggressively on the flop and turn. I have gotten away with it so far and I have been profitable in my 70+ hours of play. I know it's not enough of a sample so I am happy to re-evaluate this style of play. How do you balance your 3-bets?

I meant folding weaker aces like AJ-A7.

As for hand 2 , I think checking/calling is better than betting.