1/2 game at a local bar, HERO had been at the table for approximately 2hrs... Straddles on the button are quite common, and range between $5-$15. Hero has $226 going into this hand and is 2 spots off the button.

V1- Loose, gambly black guy with large headphones playing a VERY large range with no method to the madness... (Called $110 PF 3! AI w/ 32ss in the SB a couple rotations earlier, spiked a flush! Really!!!) He the table easily covered, with ~$900 of which he purchased roughly half. I have watched him the entire time I've been seated, he is definitely a target!!

V2- Middle Aged Arabic guy with baseball cap, this will be his 3rd hand. He 3! on his BB to take it down (1st hand on the table) and folded the SB. ($212)
On to the hand...

V2 straddles button to $5
SB Calls
BB Calls
V1 raises to $25
Folds to HERO
Hero raises to $75 w/ 1010 (100% planned on iso V1, expecting a call...)
Folds to V2
V2 raises ALL-IN ($212)
SB Folds
BB Folds
V1 calls $212...

Action to HERO... (What are we thinking here? Range is AA-KK only? Crazy good odds to call, is a fold even possible?)


Thank you in advance for your help!!

I would have just called the initial raise. V1 is loose, but it sounds like he's more passive than aggressive so his range is probably way more narrow than 32s-AA lol. I don't fault you for 3betting though.

As for what to do now, there's no right answer. No reads on V2 sucks, although this is his second aggressive action in 3 hands. He's either gambly or just picked up two good hands. I would probably lean towards gambly. You're getting over 3:1 but this is a lot of action for TT and it's very vulnerable post flop 3-way. I think it just comes down to whether you want to gamble or not.

Man this spot is fissssshhhiiieeeeee!

Push your chips forward. V2's range consists of more paint here then premium pairs, and V1 can have ATC that are sooted, so you're way ahead here. You're looking to triple up by dodging 2 or 3 over cards, most of the time...I mean, it's a gamble, but I say you win money here. How often do we need to win here to profit? 40% of the time? Something like that.

In all actuality I probably do just call it off here. While ordering another beer. Probably my 14th. But I think you should fold here.

More like 22% of the time (that's not exact because I didn't calculate tiny side pot which will occur when you ship).

V2 is on straddle which could widen his range significantly because he might be "protecting his straddle." This is an easy call given pot odds. I don't really like our raise preflop, but when you make it you should be doing so with the plan of never folding a 3+ way pot given the effective stacks.

If you range them wide it's a call. If you range them tight, it's not.

Pretty simple. Just run a few equity calculations.

I probably wouldn't fold after putting in $75, or 1/3 of the eff. stacks.

To those suggesting against the PF raise against V1, I'm just curious as to why? A call offers great odds to the 4 players behind me, 3 of which already have money involved in the pot... If I call, it begs anyone with anything to come see the flop. (Especially anyone thinking about the implied odds, and actual hands that SHOULD call when given 3:1) This will make a large chunk of flops scary for me, and seems like I'm relying on flopping the set at that point. Seems like the same spot as if I had JJ or QQ, would the advice be the same? Thank you all!

Thoughts?

I can't speak for the others but personally I treat TT like a medium PP (same with JJ but I consider QQ to be a big PP of course). Because of that, I rarely 3bet that hand and default to flat calling raises. And I'm quite happy to invite others behind me because that just juices the pot the times I flop a set.

I also don't worry about scary flops multiway because most flops suck for TT. All the more reason to see a cheap flop instead of bloating the pot pre and then trying to figure out what to do on Q95.

It takes a lot for me to 3bet TT. If a loose shortie raises, I'm happy to 3bet him all in. If there's a player who raises too much pre but folds to 3bets frequently, I'll reraise TT. But otherwise I'm happy to set mine or play some poker if I flop an overpair.

+1

In the best case, they both have underpairs and you have 66% equity.

In the worst case, one has an overpair and the other has over cards suited. (That may not be the actual worst case, but you know what I mean). In that case, you have 17% equity.

In a medium case, one of them has QJ suited and one has AK suited, and you have 30% equity.

The truth is a subset of a large number of possibilities that are bounded in that fashion, or roughly similar.

If this decision was cold (you had not acted yet) you could in good conscience throw the cards in. But AP, you are priced in, and rather than tank, bemoan your bad luck, wish you hadn't raised, etc., just put the chips in.

It's actually uncommon to be dealt starters that are better than TT (24/1326). Just accept that possibility as a risk that was inherent before the cards were dealt, and shove for value. You can't win it, if you're not in it.

suck this spot and I agree calling pre seems better.

AP I think a call is correct solely based on the fact that V2 has shown a lot of preflop strength before and we have to base our decision on this short impresseion.

You are ahead of V1 range and lets hope V2 has AK or AQ

Regarding your question about QQ and JJ, there is a significant total $ risk reduction (aka increase in EV) for each incremental increase in card rank. But all that means is that e.g. you're in a significantly better spot with JJ.

Obviously you'd prefer KK or AA.

this is a slam dunk preflop 3 bet. You guys are so results oriented lol.

TT is MILES ahead of the PFR. The fact that he got cold 4 bet is just bad luck.

The 3-bet sizing basically prices you into calling. You don't want to put in over 1/3 of your stack and then fold to a shove. So don't make the play unless you plan to get it in.

Given your description of the table, i like the play trying to target villain 1. Unfortunately V2 got it in as well, but I still think you've got to get it in at this point. You're getting a great price, V1s range should be very wide, and three hands in V2 has already demonstrated multiple aggressive actions (three-betting, straddling and going all in here).

This.

You are thrilled to GII with V1. You are rarely getting four bet by V2 here and that makes it a tough spot. You can justify a fold or shove here I think. With no range or reads for V2 there is no right answer.

V1's call is kind of irrelevant based on your read of him.
V2's push is suspicious, but you do get to see his cards.
The problem is that you 3! with a plan focused only on V1 completely forgetting about V2.
Now you've put 1/3 of your stack in with possibly the best hand.

If both V1's and V2's ranges consist of a lot of overcards, any aces, and smaller pairs, then you should be ahead equity wise and call.

If they're more normal ranges (99-AA, AK, AQ), then you should fold.

Given your reads, I think I call.

You put in a third of the chips for 52% of the equity; you found a good game. The 4-bet with AK was questionable: if we change V1 to 7 6 V2 still gets only 35% of the equity (bringing you down 10%).

This is why pocket pairs (along with AK) are such powerful hands. You're not blocking yourself in any way (a form of free-rolling), and if someone does have a blocker, you have him crushed.

It happened to me only one time that two opponents with pocket pairs blocked each other. They both had AA and I of course had KK; my "career" in a nutshell.