Live 1-2 game, 9-handed. The villain in this hand is a good reg who has been playing a lot of hands as a call in position. The effective stack between us was ~$700. The game was pretty loose preflop, with not that many limpers, but a lot of callers.

Hero is UTG+1 has AA

Hero opens to $10, Villain calls in the CO, button calls, SB calls and BB calls.
5-way to the flop (pot: $50)

J54

Hero bets $40, villain calls, everyone else folds.

Turn (pot: $130)
4

Hero bets $100, villain calls

River (pot: $330)
2

Hero bets $155, villain goes all in, hero folds

I know I have misplayed this hand. I am totally not used to deepstack cash games, and I played this hand as I would have played it 100bb deep, barring maybe the river fold. Villain was a solid player, so he would never pay me off with KJ or something like that.

I imagine the flop bet can't be too bad, even in a 5way pot, but maybe I should start checking on the turn already and bluff-catch rivers depending on runouts? Or maybe bet-bet-check is better?

So I have two questions: what is the best line in this particular hand, and what are the major adjustments that I should make in deepstacked cash games?

Check flop, at the very least check turn. What do you think Villains calling range OTR is? If he is good he never pays you off with Jx. You block AJ as well so you think he’s paying you off with a hand like KJ?

The higher the SPR the lower in value overpairs become and the higher in value hands like Axs and suited connectors become.

With a table you describe as "pretty loose and lots of callers", I would never open less than $15. Actually I never open less than $15 at any 1/2 game.

Bigger sizing pre at a loose table. I would make my standard open 15 and then add $2 for every limper.

Flop and turn are fine. I’m check/calling river. This gives villain some rope to hang himself as pretty much every draw missed. Interesting jam from villain, and I would expect most bigger hands to raise flop/turn. Probably just puke folding in a standard 1/2 game as most people just don’t know how to bluff jam on the river.


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Agree than $10 is never my opener sizing. I don’t think, generally, 1 pair is a 3 street hand this deep. Flop bet is solid, V is competent and the turn clearly doesn’t help your range. I’d check back turn like AK cbet them slowed down. River isn’t great for us but i’d Get my 2nd street in there. AP I think you’re folding.

How is the river a bad card? The flush draw missed and the only hand that gets there is 63 which probably isn’t calling as the first caller from the CO. Villain has a max of 7 value combos (3 JJ, three 55 and one 44) and more likely 4 combos (three 55 and one 44).

Hero put himself in a gross spot OTR committing 40% of his stack vs. the one competent player at the table. If he’s never paying off Jx on the river then betting is pointless. Hand should be a x/c on river.

I agree, but are we calling all our aces here? Or can we split them, i.e. call without A, fold with it.

You can’t x/f AA. Holding the A is not enough reason to x/f this river.

Flop is good but once it goes HU and villain is "solid reg" you should adjust and know you cant get 3 streets from JX.

X/F AA with As here seems horrible.

I like c/c river but fine with rest other than pre which needs to be bigger.

Against a weak station I am absolutely 3 streeting this hand. Against a tough player I think you chose a bad size on the river. Either polarize yourself and make him call with a bluff catcher or x/c and let him value cut himself or bet a missed draw. I'd only put in the big bet against someone who is sticky enough to think they're always getting bluffed.

Of course it’s not that bad of a river. Agree with your whole post.

Pre is good. Flop and turn just too big. Otherwise, I see no problem betting 3 times here, but for much less. Easy fold river even w one of your strongest hands as he just should have no bluffs here and only maybe KK sometimes, maybe.

I struggle with these spots myself.

Anybody like a turn check?

Standard open for me in a typical 1/2 or 1/3 game is 15 as most tables are call happy, I'll bump it up from there if the game is really splashly. Flop and turn are fine, river for me is either a check/call or a shove (although if I was planning to shove I would've sized up a bit on the turn).

Bet/fold is really a travesty, I mean on one hand most 1/2 villains never bluff-raise rivers, but on another hand what value hands does villain really have here? I expect JJ to 3-bet pre, 63 of spades to raise flop, 54 to raise flop, any weird 4x hand to raise turn, so really he should just have 3 combos of 55, 1 combo of 44, and 1 combo of 63 of diamonds. Calling ~350 to win ~1000, if he ever shows up with just 2 combos of bluffs you are winning, so I think you just have to pukecall river as played.

This is a super interesting hand for me for some reason and I can’t stop thinking about it. Odds are he has 44 or 45 but depending on read I think V might have realize you overplayed this hand. I mean what possible hand would be played this way? Even JJ might slow down on the turn to help the draws get there. Does he think YOU would ply AJ this way? Maybe he’s got QQ?

Bleh. 1/2 players aren’t that tricky so you are probably beat, but if this guy can rip a bluff on the river in this spot you should hang out with him more often and discuss strategy.