We will play it street by street. I am not hero in this hand.

2/5 home game: Hero is 26 year old female who plays professionally.

Villain in the SB is mid 40's white male, is capable of running multi-street structured bluffs, he's a decent player. Not the average middle aged donk. Can't get a read on what level he thinks at, sometimes he makes plays that make him appear really smart and competent and then other times he makes plays that make you scratch your head.

It's opened in early position to $20. There are two callers. Hero calls on the button with 33 villain calls from the SB and the BB comes along too.

Villain starts the hand with $980 (buy-in in this game is 1k) and hero covers

flop ($120)
A37

SB pretty quickly bets $125 and it folds to hero. Is hero flatting or raising? If raising, why?

Flat..we have position on him on a dry board. AA is unlikely and if he has 77 I guess we are getting stacked. Let him just keep betting into us.

If he checks to us on the turn we can be 3/4 pot and shove river

Call

Given the dry flop I'm never folding this hand absent a terrible run-out. So, I'm looking for ways to get stacks in.

Head's up, with position, I'm calling the flop bet. If we call, there's $370 in the pot, and V has about $850 left. So, stack sizes are such that we can get it in without reraising here, and I don't want to give V a chance to get away from the hand and want to let him sink more money into the pot OOP.

On turn, if V checks I'm betting about $250, which sets up a pot-size easily allowing us to jam river if we're called on the turn. If V bets and it's more than $200, I'm just calling and jamming river (hopefully after he makes a third bet). If V make a "same bet" (i.e. $125), I'm probably raising him small to $250 or 300 to set up a river push.

PS, given that you posted the hand, sorry if V had 77. That's a cooler.

What did the other two guys do OP? Fold?

He bet so large that calling can't be a mistake; can still get stacks in and there is almost no way I am not getting it all in by the river. I would actually consider flatting because given he overcalled, its fairly unlikely a player with this description will have AQ/AK too often; therefore his range appears to be Ax < AQ and A7/A3/77. A raise on the flop would blow off all weaker a pair Ax

If you call and he bombs the turn, his range appears most likely A7/A3/77 which we would then get stacks in pretty easily once he bets turn.

Given V description flatting is the only play here.
Esp given that he likes to run big bluffs. So, call, keep his range wide.
If he checks the turn the nfire 1/2 - 3/5 pot.

If he fires turn again, call.

The real interesting parts of the hand happen on the turn and river. We will get there eventually. I'm also not a 26 year old female! I'm not hero.

I am never raising here. Raising will only help him to fold out his bluffs. I am probably tank calling to let him continue his "multi street structured bluff"

Consensus is to flat flop, hero agrees. Hero flats pretty quickly.

Turn ($370)
A 3 7 5

Villain without hesitation reaches for his stack and starts cutting chips. waits maybe 10 seconds before pushing forward $250

What does hero do next? seems consensus wants to raise. Board is still extremely dry, anyone out there like flatting?

I like the flop flat. I'm torn between calling turn and just getting it in. I probably shove. I hate slow-playing sets, even in this situation, and I've already slow-played one street.

Any flush draw? I still like flatting. Stacks are such that we can get it in on the river.

no flush draw rainbow is completed.

Call flop. Shove turn. Any 2/4/6 might kill the action on river

I agree with shove turn.
If we flat, pot is $870. We have $585 behind, but any A-7 might hurt the river action.

Given the V aggression, I think he calls a raise of $585 to win $1455 with the worse hand.
(I know you already mentioned there is a river, so gussing they didn't shove)

Unless the villian was fully planning on a triple barrel bluff, can anyone see the villian folding to a shove?

agreed.....Right there I probably shove on the turn & try to take the pot down right there. Don't need anyone sucking out on the river.

Shove turn. He's never folding. If he has you beat oh well but he has more 2pr hands in his range than sets.

First off i didn't read the HH yet, but being that I couldn't get a seat last night and I heard the game was good I'm very excited to read this hand. And since I already know the results I will reserve my comments

I don't want to take down the pot right there, I want V to call with a worse hand.

onto the river, the most interesting part of the hand.

Hero snap calls the $250

River ($870)
A 3 7 5 7

Villain checks. Hero notices, as did I, that villain has an artery in his neck that is pulsating so hard and fast it looks like it is about to rupture through his skin.

What is hero's plan?

check back...A7 now beats us and he is no longer calling with A3 and only thing he calls with is something that has us beat.

Bet fold 450

actually 300 would be more suitable considering stack sizes

what are you expecting to get called with when we bet? seems like lighting money on fire to b/f in this spot and it's only gonna be about 300 to call it off.

I agree, stacks are a tad bit awkward to bet/fold. Even $300 you are priced in to call because if villain shoves its for only 285 more.

I mean maybe he has 7x and just donked flop then hit trips on turn and now is hoping you hang yourself with Ax or what not but I don't think so. He either has us beat and is calling or we have him beat and he isn't calling.

Interested to know why Hero didn't shove turn.