1/3 live, 7players

mp $500
hj $300
co (Hero = A J) $400

hj sat down a few hands ago so no reads. (middle aged asian)


pre:
mp/hj limps, hero raises to $15, blinds fold, mp/hj call

flop ($49): 5 j k
all check

turn ($49): 7
mp checks, hj bets $30, hero calls, mp folds

he could have a K, a weaker jack or on a straight/flush draw

river ($109): k
hj bets $30, hero?


his weak bet makes me think he doesnt have a flush.
I beat his jack.
if he has a k, hope he fold trips if i push?!
or just call?

What would you do?
and more importantly, Why?

Generally, I always raise "same bets." Here, though, you're unlikely to get a fold from trips and as you say, you beat most of his jacks. It's even possible it's a milking bet from a flush. I just think we don't get enough folds from better/chops to raise here, and we have enough SDV to call.

Agree with Garick. From my experience, not much folds here that beats us -- and very little calls that we beat. Call, see what he has, learn.

Personally, I would have bet the flop.

This would make sense if your hand was weaker but AJ is good enough to call

You'll get the "I guess I'll have to pay you off" calls to a raise. A random player isn't going to bet small on the river to fold to a raise. They'll check instead.

I faintly recall back when I actually played poker that I was beginning to wonder whether this was actually a raise preflop. It's such a meh hand, the raise is unlikely to reduce the field after 2 limpers and still 3 to react behind us, passive players can easily be in here with dominating hands, raising versus limping likely has no real effect on whether we gain the Button, etc. I dunno, the raise here is something I've always defaulted to but I've begun questioning it. That's just where I am.

I think I would lean to betting the flop. We're not folding better, but worse can call, we can be ahead and are simply protecting our equity, and we'll likely be setting our price to get to the river where we can re-evaluate.

I also call the turn.

I would not be attempting to get anyone off a K here, although admittedly the betsizing does indicate some weakness. You'd think overall that a busted straight draw would size up a bit for the bluff. Most people don't continue betting weak hands like Jx here (although the bet is a blocking bet size). If you're a fan of blockers, we reduce some of the value flush hands he can be betting. We're getting a great price tho and readless and we showed weakness on the flop. So I don't hate a call, although honestly most people don't intentionally open up the betting on the river with a weak hand for fear of facing a raise.

Gdisclaimer:Ihaven'tplayedasinglehandofpokerin8mon thsG

To add to what Garick said, I'm generally adverse to bluffing unknown villains. At low stakes you run into a lot of terrible players. Without some sort of read it is very hard to judge if a situation is good for bluffing or not.

I see too many cases where a LAG makes a seemingly good bluff into an unknown player that turns out to be a station. I have lost count of how many times I have heard the station say something like "I must be beat but I have to see it." Plus various villains that are just terrible at bet sizing and have boat/flush and are never folding in this situation.

Definitely +1 to anything regarding never bluffing unknowns / readless / both images unknown.

GcluelessbluffingnoobG

I would have bet $20-$25 on the flop as it hits my range.

As played I call river as he could have a smaller pair or Jx holdings.

I think our hand is simply too good to turn into a bluff. I'd expect to be good often, and wouldn't expect to fold out better hardly at all.

To get a better hand to fold, generally you'll have to put in a very large, polarizing type of bet...at least $100 more.

And even then, trips won't fold a lot of the time.

Raising when you have NO IDEA what your opponent has (or how he plays as you just sat down) seems pretty reckless.

I'd just call here pretty much 100% of the time.

:grunch:

More preflop over 2 limpers imo.

I think the flop check is fine as I don't know what better hands you'll get to fold or worse hands to call outside of a few straight draws.

Turn call is fine. Keep V's range wide.

I'm not ever raising this river. only the Oldest Rockiest OMC is folding a K here at these limits. AJ is certainly good enough to just call but I don't even think i'd try for a raise with something like 66 (provided the same line was taken).

If you're going to bluff this river there's only one sizing you should be using (all-in) but I wouldn't trust a random fish to fold trips here. He made it cheap enough that you can probably call and expect to win 20% of the time.

I think raising is sexy, you block the NF and can rep it, Vs line doesn't make much sense for Kx/flush, looks like he binked a 7 on the turn. You get the FE from the raise and possibly get called by worse (a worse jack/7x). $75-$95 sounds gooood.

I don't see the point of bluffing when you beat some value hands.

Please don't bluff here. It's a bad spot to do so.

You have SDV with middle pair top kicker. Most Vs in 1/3 will never fold a king if you raise to $100-125. They won't believe that you backdoored the flush. In fact, V could even have a flush and is trying to induce a raise. You're getting over 4-1 for a call. Take the call, see what he has and incorporate that info for future hands.

I think if you were going to raise, the time to do it was the turn.