We're playing 1/3 NLHE

Hero has been playing a standard TAG game. Has huge stack of about $1400 have won a monster pot with the nut flush about half an hour ago. Has a tight image.

Villain is a young guy in his 20's. We stacked him earlier in the night when Hero open raised with AK in EP and Villain called with KQo. Flop had a king on it. He has done well since then and has doubled up.

Effective stack size is about $600

OTTH

Villain raises to $15 UTG
4 callers.
Hero is dealt AQ in the BB
$79 in the pot.

Your action?

3-bet to $75

3b or fold.

That said, you’re setting up a relatively low SPR for the effective stack post and H will be oop.

I think we need to answer some important questions that we need to take into account before landing on a preflop decision here. Like for example:

1) How tight is this guys UTG opening range?

2) How tricky can he be to play against postflop? Does he fold alot to 3 bets or getting sticky? Does he play honest/faceup post in 3 bet pots?

Just blindly 3 betting here because its a good squeeze spot with lots of dead money from the callers is clicking buttons in my book. We need more accurate info in my opinion to determine if this is a good +EV spot to squeeze with AQo or not.

1) Hard to define as I had only been playing for about an hour with this guy. But he wasn't raising every second hand. I think maybe he open raised about 4-5 times. In the hand where he called with KQo I was UTG +1 and he's right next to me, so I think a default range would be TT+ AK, AQ, AJs, ATs, and KQs.

This casino has a Royal Flush jackpot so maybe he would raise with other suited broadway cards like KJs. I don't think KJo would be in his range.

2) I didn't see a hand where he open raised, and then got three-bet, so no idea how he responds in this situation. I haven't been playing with him for long, but its clear he is an amateur player (he called an EP raise with KQo).

Yeah, i understand the limited info available thing when you havent played with him for a long time.

I am weighting this towards a 3 bet spot then,cause i dont see any important reasons not to. $75-80 seems appropriate.

Totally depends on V's UTG raising range. If it's pretty wide, I 3bet; if it's tight, I fold.

Not sure why you guys are suggesting 75 pre OOP here, there are 4 callers, at least 100 closer to 120 for my liking

$115 given that range and a lot of dead $. Fold to a 4b.

$90ish. As Javenewt mentions, there’s a lot of additional information needed, for example who are the other V’s in the hand, it against general population i’m Trying to end this hand preflop but am OK getting called in a spot or two.

The other villains were all recreational players. Calling stations, looking to gamble and have fun.

One of them was a well off Indian guy who I chatted to. He was talking about how he had lost a pot the night before, when he flopped the nut flush, and got it in against a set, which then boated up on him. The reason I remember this conversation was that he was shocked at the beat, and inwardly I was LMAO because one beat like that is nothing, as I'm sure we all know. I told him some stories about way sicker beats that I had seen. That's why I knew he was an amateur.

I dont know how your games plays, but if i go something ridic big here, like 115-120, i get no calls unless i am beat. We have a pretty good hand, and can size accordingly and aim to get called by worse+ get a chance to take it down pre.

Going too big just isolates us against the nutted parts of villains ranges, unless they are maniacs peeling flops for any size.

This.

Zero reason to see a flop 6 ways.

I'm definitely betting at least $100 in this spot. Lol at wanting any callers in this hand. Very happy to scoop the 26bb unopposed.

This. AQ off doesn't play well 6 ways.

My guess is there are arguments for every action (folding, calling and raising). I think overall at this stack depth I would lean to calling and just more-or-less ~nutmining postflop due to decent price and high IO, although I realize we can get ourselves into some awkward spots (we might have to lean to making ~relatively small mistakes and nitty folding a lot of TP hands on the flop to little action).

FWIW, if a 3bet preflop is going to take this down a whole heckuva lot, then that is an *awesome* result. But it's the time it doesn't that can really set us up for some sick spots OOP for big stacks, so I'm not convinced it's worth the risk; at smaller stack depths (say a $200 stack where we can 3bet and then shove any flop) then the risk/reward is worth it.

GcluelessNLnoobG

Lol at folding

Prob mixed call and 3b though many players will just make it 80 and be done w the hand. Rarely do we have the luxury of really knowing what utg range is, I’d just make it 80, that’s a big bet in this game.

AP hero calls.

6 players to the flop
Pot is $90
Q83

Hero is first to act. Your move?

x/r

Either check-raise or lead out for $65 (hoping to get called by a weaker Q or A8 maybe). Check raise better if at least some players are aggressive. If all are passive, I like to lead out here.

Gotta agree here. I think we're getting fine immediate odds in a hand that will play super straightforwardly post flop. When we flop pairs, we often just play for a limited amount of value and (Stewart Smally Voice) That's... OK.

We won't pay off when moderately coolered, but Vs might.

We can take a little stab on the flop. The PFR can't float us. We hope one of the recs calls with worse. We don't give free cards to all the PP's, backdoors, 8s, etc.

Fold to a riase. If someone is bluffing here, hats off.

Check.

We were all systems go for the 3b pre.

Check/evaluate.

I really dislike the flat pre, but whatever.

I didn't call the $15 preflop just to stack off for $600 postflop with one pair against the world. It's not really the flop I was looking for, so I just check / evaluate, and I might just sigh nitty fold to little action.

GcluelessNLnoobG

What's the minimum flopped strength that you would continue with with this hand? 2P? Trips? Flopped straight?