1/2NL, playing 7 handed.

V1 (Covers). He's a live tourney player, possibly a pro. He seems to know V2 well, and they have been talking poker history a bit, but no real strategy. I've played with him once before. He's a bit loose with his late position opens but otherwise seems fairly component. I've seen him isolate as wide as Q3s in late position before, but he won't call you down light and can apply pressure when he has a hand.

V2($280) He's a bit of a bad LAG. He's not playing as wild pre-flop but he's never one to let a hand check down. He will stab at pots quite often if you let him. I haven't seen him let a turn check through after a flop check around yet.

Hero ($400). I might have a nit image from being super card dead. If V1 remembers our previous session I might have a bit of a looser image, but if not I probably look like a nit.

Hero is dealt A8 in MP and opens to $10. V2 on my immediate left calls, and V1 calls out of the big blind.

Flop ($30)76K

V1 checks, and I bet $15. V2 thinks for a second and calls. V1 also thinks for a second and calls. I was very surprised to get 2 calls as these guys aren't calling with air but I crush this board. I think checking the flop may have made some sense, but the bet worked here.

Turn ($75)76KJ

V1 checks again. My instinct is bet-bet-bet this hand, but I'm wondering if the dynamics and player types warrant an alternate line. Any thoughts on where to go from here, and how to play any rivers depending on how the turn goes?

Definitely keep firing in spots like this all the way, live 1/2 people don't like folding, bet 45-50 or so on turn, and another good sized bet on the river.

Usually not a good idea to slow play big hands in 1/2.

Exception might be when we flop top quads, it's hard for our Villains to have much to call with.

When you get 2 callers on the flop keep betting. Your play is obvious but with 2 opponents one of them is probably drawing to beat you and you don't want to give them a free card. Sometimes you will push both of them out but the profits are more then made up for by the times both call.

This is a good board for betting because KxQh/QhJx are not going away easily, you can get calls from hands drawing dead.

I like $45. You don't want to jump your bet size up too much from the flop but with 2 callers aim for more then half the pot.

Bet turn.

Bet flop larger. All kinds of hands call.

b/b/b

Koss - I think b/b/b is the line. It's that simple. One smaller point, I will generally size up on the flop and down a bit on the turn. V's notoriously will disbelieve a bet on the flop. Fire $25 here and probably get the same 2 callers (Nobody would nearly PSB with he nuts here, right??). Now that you've built a $100 pot to the turn, the same $50 bet that showed escalating aggression with the smaller flop bet now looks like a blocker bet to thinking V's and is a good value bet for non-thinking V's. Aggression/aggression will get V's to fold so ramp up the aggro on the flop and down a bit on the turn. Then, assuming you see a brick river or really any river an overbet will get paid off quite often because the turn looked weak and now a larger river bet will be seen as bluffy by a ton of V's. 60% of the time this works every time.

raise larger pre, bet flop either bigger or smaller, but id prefer bigger. keep betting.

Pretty good card for the opposition ... $40.

yup, 3 shell time and hope someone has KJh and wants to GII on the turn. Wheeeeee