About 4 hours into the session. Hero has been very card dead. Hasn't played many pots and is viewed as a losing/nit. V has been running well and been involved in a lot of pots but I don't view him as a strong player or hand reader. Doesn't appear to be positionally aware. Over the course of the session, I've seen him 3 barrel a flush draw into a pre flop aggressor and I've also seen him check/3-bet ship a nut flush draw on the flop. I've seen him 3! preflop with TT, AK and KK so far. I've also seen him donk medium strength type hands into PFRs in multiway pots. In this particular hand, I would put V's PF calling range at something like A2s+, Any two broadway, all pocket pairs, SCs 76+.

Hero ($270)
V1 ($135)
V2 (covers)

Straddle up in the HJ
Hero opens JJ for $16, V1 calls on the B, V2 calls in the SB,

Pot: $50
Flop: Q96

V2 checks, Hero bets $35, V1 Calls, V2 ships, Hero ?

-I find it hard to believe that V would take this line with nutted hands given previous play however, the flop could be wet enough that he might also donk with his strong made hands as well.
-Also, having JJ with the J obviously blocks a ton of his draws.

Seems like a pretty easy snap fold to me.

He could have crap and still be ahead of you. Fold the J's.

Yup

Snap fold as well. You have marginal equity against anything he ships. You are not far ahead semibluffs and he would likely play made hands fast 3-handed on a wet board.

A better question is the merit of your c-bet.

Check flop. AP fold.

Flop looks like a check to me. Keen to keep the pot as small as possible.

Anything other than folding is epic spew.

"Hero has been very card dead. Hasn't played many pots and is viewed as a losing/nit."
My autobiography for 1/3 of my sessions LOL!

APlayed, i think you're beat here. I posted a hand like this earlier in the week against a psycho fish. He called 25 preflop and beat me with Q10.

Thanks for the input. I guess i have a few questions given the responses though:

1) How short do we have to be to make this either a) an auto shove on the flop regardless of texture or b) auto call given the same action. I feel like the straddle puts me in an awkward spot if I were to have a shorter stack and i'm curious how others would handle that.

2) Interesting to see so many people advocating checking the flop. Would AA, KK also be checks? Given my image, I'm repping a very tight range here and I feel like checking is a little weak/passive. I guess if i break it down:

-A bet will fold out most hands i'm currently beating from both Vs except some of the better draws, and the fact that I hold two Js with the J eliminates a lot of those combos anyway. I don't have absolute position in the hand so can't take a free card/control the pot size on the turn if checked to after a flop bet, also doesn't look like i'm getting any better hands to fold given board texture.

- Seems like a pretty big RIO situation to me since when it's checked to me I don't really know where i'm at and there aren't many cards that improve my hand to something that beats what V may already have or be drawing to. Doesn't seem like pumping money into the pot in this situation is a good idea.

Sorry for the rambling response. Did I get all of that correct?

It's a fold. Don't mind the bet though.

Put him on a hand you can beat, and call.

I don't bet flop because we have a weak hand on a vulnerable board. Betting JJ on this board 3-way seems like a bet without purpose. Is it a value bet? Is it a bluff? Is it a bet because we had a good starting hand and raised pre and the board only has one overcard?

I would aim to keep the pot small in this circumstance. Obviously the downside of pot control is potentially giving a free card and being outdrawn but this board really smacks the flatting ranges of our opponents.

AA/KK is not a fair comparison given that we can get value from Qs with those holdings.

If we check and it goes bet/raise we have an easy fold. If it checks through we can evaluate turn, perhaps calling a bet on a brick or even a scare card that gives us some river equity.

But if stacks go in, we are almost never in great shape.

Snap fold. Check flop too. I know others have said this, but I agree.


Why are you betting the flop? What are you trying to accomplish?