Like a lot of people I suppose, I struggle playing from oop. This is a perfect example - should I have done anything different here? I usually play 1-2, but I have been playing some 2-5 as I was here. I had been here about 2 hours. Table was a little on the tight side.

V - has been raising a lot (30+%?), but seems to be fairly fit or fold post, not getting too crazy & not showing down any hands. Stack ~ 1,100

H - started at 1K, chipped up to ~ 1250 purely through small 3 bets (which were usually folded to, including once by V), and cbets. No showdowns to date.

folded to V on btn, he raises to 15. I figure his raise range is pretty wide. I think this was the first time it folded to him on button tho.

H (BB) - TdTh - I normally 3 bet about 2.5 to 3x, depending on the situation and position, but I have been trying to 3bet a bit more oop to try to just get more folds of a wide range up front. Here, I decided to 3bet to $100. V called.

Flop (~200) 683dd - not too bad, a few draws, but nothing major. He would have had a call a big 3bet to play 79 or 57, Ax (dd or not) or Kxdd is always a possibility. JJ-AA is of course possible, but not likely. I decide to bet out larger than my usual cbet size or instead of my more recent usual check raise because it seemed like a board than could easily be checked behind and I could fold out a lot of whiffs but betting out. So I bet $135, V called.

Turn (~470) Ah An ace is very much in his range. What are opinions for my move here? Check/fold, bet/fold, check/shove?? I have to admit, if I was in his position and was checked to, I would be almost 100% of the time, whether I had an A or not.

I like to 3 bet a bit on the larger size when deep, but I think $100 is too much. About $65-$70 is more than enough. I really don't understand the massive 3 bet, especially when you state that you have been making small 3 bets that people have been folding to.

Bet size is also too large on the flop. Your sizing pre and on the flop is really going to have an effect on villain's continuing range. It's really hard for villain to have a lot of hands, if any, that you beat by the time you get to the turn.

As played, if your read is that villain plays fit or fold post flop, I think there is some merit in turning your hand into a bluff on the turn to fold out better pairs than yours. I think betting $190ish should work.

I wondering why you did not make your standard 3 bet say $45(~$93) then bet flop $60(~$213). By making such a bigger than usual 3bet I would be suspicious that you did not like your hand and wanted this over with. At this point I guess you are beat or he only has draw to flush. If you turn into bluff tell yourself you are and play it like the nuts.

3 bet is too big pre. I would raise to 60. Bet flop and x/c turn and x/f river

Why do we x/c turn and x/f river

I don't like the sizing on the 3-bet preflop, $100 seems to big unless you are "trying" to look like a bluff/squeeze play...

but there doesn't seem to be a lot of dead money in the pot, so I would have just 3-bet to $55-ish...

like the flop bet

Turn sucks donkey dick, but we have a few options.

#1) We can turn our hand into a bluff and bet/fold turn
I would like this line if V's range had a lot of Ace rag in it and our image was strong enough to blow him off his Ace rag and fold him out (provided V was capable of folding inferior Aces as high as AJ).

The other merit to this line is if we have tiny testicles and are prone to folding if V bets turn and river.

However, the only problem here is that if V has Ace rag than based on action he either now has two pair or he has Ax and is never folding.

The only other part of V's range that merits us bet/folding the turn is if V has JJ/QQ and based on his initial preflop raise sizing of $15, I'm not sure how often he does that with JJ/QQ. Seems too small for that so I discount JJ/QQ from his range.

#2) We check/call turn and river
This line keeps in more of V's bluffs and underpairs however we get taken to value town with all of V's Ax hands.

If V's range is wide and he will be aggressive if we show weakness then this is our most optimal line. We would need V to have air or underpairs around 35% of the time for me to want to take this line.

#3) We check/call turn and check/fold river
Initially I was not a big fan of this line, but the more I think about it, the more I think it might be our best option; However that depends on V's tendencies.

Reason I say this is that most players at this level can bluff once and fire that first barrel, but it is RARE for villains at this level to have the stones to fire a double barrel. So, if V has underpairs or air I expect majority of the time he will NOT double barrel it. However, if this is the type of V that "could" double barrel then we have to call him down on turn and river...


overall, this is a tough spot. I hate the 3-bet sizing pre and would like it more if there were a lot more dead money in the pot. Flop bet is okay, turn sucks donkey dick and I think our best line involves us check/calling the turn and bird dogging hard for sizing tells and any physical tells we can use to see if we should c/c river or c/f river.

Great post dgi. Agree with everyone here. 3-betting in this spot is great, but $100 is way too big. His calling range now should be really strong.

Flop bet is a perhaps a bit large but not bad.

Turn, sucks. I also would go for the check/call depending on the size of his bet.
I think his range is just too strong here to try to blow him off it with another strong bet.

Playing OOP does suck, other than reducing that 3-bet size I think you are playing it well so far.

I disagree that an ace is very likely to be in his range ott, unless he has specifically Axdd. He probably raises his strong hands more than $15 otb (unless you've been folding to all his raises). When you raise to $100 and fire $135 otf, he is likely folding his AK because he is going to end either chopping or way behind (you mentioned he plays fit or fold postflop).

That being said, there are tons of hands we beat which can call the flop that would love to see a free river, such as Kxdd or worse FDs, 99 and (unlikely) TT, and 98/78 type hands which felt they could crack AA and couldn't fold the flop.

Therefore I bet turn for value, although I do probably give it up if we're raised. If called, I probably check almost all rivers and try to get to a cheap showdown. If we check the turn, we're giving up way too easily and allowing V to either see two cards for the price of one, or steal from us a large % of the time (as you mentioned, you steal here frequently).

Edit: If we know that V is floating flop 100% of the time to take it away on the turn, I check and allow him to bluff, and would then have to make very thin calls. This villain does not seem to be that type, however.

What hands do we beat that he's calling 100 pre with

Appreciate the replies. I agree it was overkill preflop. I've been frustrated with oop play that I think led to that. I've tightened up my blind range a lot recently, especially in the SB, but I think sometimes that makes it even more frustrating to lose and/or have to give up with big hands. I need to work on this aspect of the game a lot.

Oh, btw, results on turn: testicles shrink, I check, V bets $375 (good bet I think), I fold. No show.

I was steaming, so I took a long walk around the casino. Came back with better frame of mind and made it a small winning session. Don't think I played another hand from the SB tho, lol.

Thinking about the responses, I think I like the bet/fold option. Thanks again for the thoughts - always looking to improve my game.