Note: rushed this post a bit, sorry for any errors or if something isn't clear.

2/2 game. Hero has ~400, Villain to right has about 250 or so.

Hero's image is very tight aggressive. Not playing lots of pots, but winning almost every pot I play, unless of course I decide I'm beat, and fold –– but I consider not paying people off part of winning. Usually not showing down; since Villain has arrived at table, I showed a top set that won a big pot, as well a hand contra villain which I mention because it's relevant. Overall, very tight, very solid, people are pretty scared of me –– I'm really playing super good tonight.

Villain is young typical loose passive, limping too much pre, mostly calling and folding post, except one hand where he had bottom two on the flop he raised a c-bet pretty big and other guy folded. HISTORY is relevant; in this hand, he raises to 12, I 3! button w/ AK to 36, other guy calls and is all in, another guy who flatted now flats the 3!. I'm not sure what his opening range is, since he's limping so much, but I'm guessing it's like ATs+, AJ+, 88+ or there abouts. J23 two tone flop, checks to me I bet 50, only villain calls. Turn 8o goes check check. River Qh villain checks in a certain way that I like, I bet 90 and get the fold. I end up having to show because another player was all in pre. This happened just last orbit and no one's forgotten. In fact, the table is uncannily silent. And I'm so confused –– it's like I've marked myself, or did something impolite –– whatever. Normal ****.


So on to the hand:

Villain raises to 12 in EP. Still don't know what he's doing this with, but it's not super tight. Could be A9s, wouldn't surprise me. Really, who knows. (Loose) player after him calls, now I decide to just flat AKo here (hmm, I think I do prefer flatting here, now in this spot, I still like it). Folds to SB who calls, BB folds.

Flop (48): AsQc5s (I have Ks, but Ad)

Checks to V, villain bets 24, one fold, I call, SB calls.

Turn (~120): 8c

SB checks, V quicky (?!) checks (like weakness it seems to me, like he had nothing on the flop and is just done with the hand, it looks like), I bet 90.

SB folds, V thinks a bit and cuts out chips and then says he calls.

River (300): 7c

Villain looks at the (flushed) board, checks his cards. Thinks a second, checks (again it looks weak to me, but I can't correlate).

He's only got, like, 120 left or something. Still, this alone isn't just a reason to get it in, though it definitely pushes me towards it. Thinking back over the hand, I think this is a pretty perfect spot to shove for thinnish value.

If villain had a set or a strong two pair he would have let me know by now, UNLESS he's trying to trap me becaue he thinks I'll just keep bluffing into him (this idea, though not very likely I think, did scare me a bit and have its part it influencing me to just check it back). I know it makes no sense, but villain isn't thikning on a very sophisticated level.

I guess I'm looking to get called by AJ, AT, A9, or maybe worse aces. Possible hands that are beating me? A7 maybe? Honestly it looks like nothing is beathing me. Unless he's really just getting stupid tricky with AQ or QQ or something.

Anyway, thoughts? In the end I chickend out and just checked it back, feeling pretty sure I was good. The thing is, given this recent history of me bluffing him, he's WAY more likely to call me down with a weak ace, so I feel failed to capitalize on this dynamic. This is what bothers me the most; this is why I think it was a big mistake. I was still a bit afraid of some weirdly played two pair or something, though –– you know, I have TPTK, it's a good hand, but do I really want to get stacks in with it on this board on the river? Alternatively one could argue that I'm commited on the turn –– what if someone shoves over the top? Pretty gross, then, huh? Still, checking back on that board? I'm pretty much all for betting here and deciding then if someone x/raises. As it is, it worked out, now here I am on the river with the option and all the control.

Any thoughts appreciated. I rushed a bit, so if somethings not clear, I'll clarify. Obviously some play on earlier streets is also debatable (e.g. 3! pre, potential for a raise on flop [don't like this], bet sizing on turn [I think it's pretty okay, maybe a bit bigger, like 105/110, but I like 90 also because 90 was the size I used to bluff earlier, and he'll remember that] - –– river action is what interests me most though.

Cheers

You gotta let the station station. Thin value is value even though he has some hands that beat you here, he's ck-c far too many that don't.

Shove river. Given your recent history, he will call you down light.

Yeah this is my feeling too, it's actually just that:

There are few hands I'm beating that I can expect to x/call; still, who knows, maybe he'll call with second pair or some ****

Board is scary, tons of hands beating me, but he's just highly unlikely to have almost any of these hands.

I agree, though -- just not because he has tons of hands that I'm beating AND will call, but so few that beat me, and some that might call. It's a bit of a fine line, not a very common spot for me to find myself in. But yeah, kind of lost my nerve and took the easy way out.

Flatting pre seems garbage given that we have already established the table is calling 3b's too light although that is in part probably due to your really small sizing in the previous hand offering anyone who had flatted the open too good of a price to fold, I'm not too sure what that's all about.

AP river seems like a pretty obvious jam, if he had better than TPTK OTT he would likely have just chk/jammed and if he rivered you he still likely open jams for 120 into 300. Doesn't seem very thin to me when considering that.

I don't consider the river thin at all. This hand should have ended much sooner though, either you raising the flop or 3! preflop.

Definitely stick it in - can easily get called by worse (esp with history) and very very unlikely villain has a better hand than us with how he has played the hand so far.

While flatting AKo in late position isn't categorically bad, given description of villain and history this seems like an ideal spot for a 3-bet.

Anyway, raise flop; as played, obv shove river, plenty of value there.

Ok, I agree river is a shove, then.

But 3-betting pre, here's the thing. I will get called too light, and even in position, it puts me in less than ideal spots when I whiff the flop. I can't bluff because I just got caught bluffing in the exact same situation. So I'm basically hoping to check it down and win with A high. If hit I may well not get any action because Villain may well put me on an A or K.

I still like flatting, concealing the strength of my hand a bit, and getting solid value from weaker A's and K's when I hit.

Getting called with hands <AK in a 3! pot when you have position is a good thing. When hero and villain both have Ax or Kx you are only going to flop the same pair 12% of the time so outkicking someone is an overrated concept. If they are x/f A-high and K-high flops in 3! pots then they have an elementary leak you can exploit.

Not thin