Daytime game 1/3 at the Wynn

V is competent reg

H 87ss Utg opens for 15, Utg+2 calls

Flop(30) j108cc
H bets 20, v calls

Turn(70) 5
H bets 35, v calls

River(140) a
H ?

I'm checking flop. Smacks UTG+2 range too much. If you want to bet one street and give up, that's fine. But I'm done with the hand after flop. You're in bluff mode from there on out. Going to lose a lot of money doing this at $1/$3 for no reason.

If you want to add hands to raise pre-flop 87s is one of them I don't mind, but you need to know when to give up. Certain tables, you're just lighting your money on fire doing this by the way.

I'm not sure how great your competition was overall, but unless the table is full of thinking players that range their opponents, playing sc UTG this way isn't too profitable at 1/3. There's no point in balancing our range if others don't take it into account to begin with.

Anyways, some stack sizes & your image would be helpful in determining the best play, but if our double barrel fails, I see no reason to fire river. We haven't really repped A high, so I doubt the A OTR would be a major scare card. If we've shown passiveness post flop, I don't mind a c-bet, but after the double barrel, V's range here is likely TPGK+. I generally don't like bluffing OOP w/out more reads than "competent reg." I agree with Dochrohan saying "if you want to bet one street and give up, that's fine. But I'm done with the hand after flop."

A point I did not bring up, it's indeed a balancing hand. If you have players on your table thinking about your range and they don't think you have those hands in your range. You can make a lot of money on the right boards. Do it too much though and you'll get 3-bet light and be forced to 4-bet light or fold. So it's something you can't do every single time.


The other profitable scenario is a super nit table who calls pre-flop and folds at an alarming rate post-flop. If you start going post-flop multiway on this table too much, you're lighting money on fire in my eyes.

Another scenario, a dreamy nit table where you're deepish, and they only 3-bet super top heavy ranges and they poorly size allowing you to see post + they stack off at an alarming rate with those hands like QQ/KK/AA, you still need this type of table to not go multi-way much at all.

With hindsight I agree with you both, I should definitely be giving up on the turn here. I ended up bluffing river and it got through but knew what I was doing was probably spewey af. Thanks for input

Is this a good game where we (a) have a competent opponent to our immediate left, (b) feel compelled that we need to raised 8 high UTG (something I would *never* do at my typically good table), and (c) ended up HU even though an EP guy has already called the raise (i.e. doesn't sound this table is too train / "pot odds!" happy)?

GmyguessisthisisabadtableG

Ha, did not think of that when reading, $1/$3 an EP raise, an EP call and nobody else comes along, not even the blinds. What's going on at this table?

Pretty tempting to bet $85-115 as a bluff.

I'm raising pre as well but don't like your postflop play. You are essentially building a big pot with no clue where you are in the hand. That being said, now that we are at the river I'd probably bomb it for close to pot to fold out his one pair type hands.

What I ended up doing, thankfully got it through

I dont mind the open utg with this hand if you have solid reasoning behind it but having a competent opponent UTG+1 calling has to be the worst case scenario in this spot. Your oop vs a really strong range and a player that wont likely make huge mistakes. This board hits his range to the point where hes only folding hands like underpairs without a straight draw. Id be reluctant to fire out in this spot. A cbet and a double barrel oop seem way too ambitious imo.

You would be better off c-betting your really strong made hands, your big draws and some total air hands preferably with a flop that favors your range such as dry Ace high flops.

87 suited UTG is not how we make money in low stakes poker.

It's probably not even good at higher games ether.

As played I probably bet $100, don't need to bet much more than that. If he folds more than 50% of the time it will be profitable, and I think he does.

I played a very similar hand on a very similar board texture at 1/3, except I bet bigger each street and jammed $240 into a $180 pot OTR. Got called by AQ. It's just not worth bluffing these stations. They won't fold anything stronger than KJ here (and even KJ they will tank with).