Hero (SB) - 23 years old, always wearing hoodie (up) at table, probably presented as a looser player due to this. I am sitting around $550 off my $300 buy-in. Up the $250-ish in about 45 minutes and feel like it is one of those run-good sessions I could end up quadrupling up by session's end.

Villain (BB) - Just sat down no more than 3-4 hands prior, so nothing to pick up on yet. Around 30 years old I would say, and appears to be a $1/$2 grinder. Bought on $250


Pre-flop action sees three limpers, and I limp with A3 on SB and BB checks.

FLOP ($10) - A23

-With top two pair, hero checks first to act.

As soon as I did it, I realize this is a terrible check, because there are no real good turn cards that can come off, so I should bet right into a 5-way limped pot with this, especially since I could have got some silly spades or straight draws to fold with a flop bet, and they could of course come right on the turn. I guess I was initially thinking check-raise.

When everybody else checks, I wasted an opportunity to build my own pot in case something like the following turn comes off:

TURN ($10) - A

-Hero finally announced himself a street late with a $10 bet.
-Villain takes about five seconds and calls.

RIVER ($30) - 2

Hero bets $25, pretty much pot-sized bet. Villain acts as if he is going into the tank and slowly checks his cards. He min-raises to $50.

Is this always a re-raise for hero?

you have the nuts. villain's raise sizing does not look like "i have quads / SF, please have a boat". It looks more like "I have Ax and I hope you missed the fact that the board double paired".

and yes, bet the flop, you probably cost your shot at stacking bb (maybe).

Pre this is fine to limp so long as you're able to fold top pair OTF to a single bet. The implied odds of flush v flush are huge at LLSNL, but this EV can be counteracted by a single flop call with TPNK.

OTF I would definitely b/f about $15, since even for this overbet, K, AxX, and lower two pairs are almost definitely calling regardless. If raised OTF you're likely up against a set, straight or made flush (most players flat with a lower two pair), so it would be a trivial fold.

OTT it is an interesting spot, because we no longer fear a , with the possible exceptions of the 4 or 5. Any other Ax hands are likely to bet this turn anyway, so I could see a C/R line on this turn working because the vast majority of LLSNL opponents can't fold trips (remember, at this point we're up against 3 other players besides the 'grinder'). A lead is also fine, but I feel it isn't extracting maximum value from other Ax hands. If we lead here, I would also go for an overbet of $15-$20 for the same reasons as on the flop.

When called by V, if he is a grinder, the main hand which makes sense for him to flat is Ax. On a paired board in a limped pot, most 'grinders' would have the sense to fold a naked K here, since he is only getting money in OTR against a boat or SF. Similarly, a lower boat of A2/22/33 would also probably raise here since a OTR would kill his action. Indeed, it is likely he would have led with these hands OTF anyway. The only other hand which makes sense for him to take this line with would be 4 5, since there are almost no bad cards for him for obvious reasons. However his range is weighted towards Ax much more at this stage.

OTR I would bet MUCH larger, simply because even most grinders aren't laying down Ax here (and almost no rec. players would). I would bet about $50-$60 if the V is indeed a grinder (If it's a rec. player I'm shoving), and expect to be called or shoved on by Ax.

AP, facing the min-raise, this makes it MUCH more likely we're against Ax rather than 4 5, because any competent grinder is shoving here (or at least raising larger) with the SF (min-raising is losing loads of value). Ax would min-raise since it might entice a crying call from 2x, a flopped flush, or 33, and is chopping against Ax anyway. I'm shoving over this min-raise, expecting to be good almost every time.

Note that if he showed up with any hand besides Ax here, he is likely not a grinder as described (or at least not a winning one).

You have the nuts. By the time you got to the river you should have bet in such a way as to be easy now to make the last bet of AI with great pot odds for the other dude and get called. Start building the pot from the flop, bet the turn and have some left for the river where you force the opponent to call you for his last chips.... lol...lol

AK

45ss and 22 are bigger nut hands knowing the cards the OP has. I'd raise but guy could have 22 or 45s...probably one of them seeing that this is posted. Most times it's Ax not thinking about a3.

I would have to have some specific history with this villain before I don't shove river here. If villain was super nitty and/or passive I might flat, and if villain was very timid in the face of raises I might min-raise him back.

Normally a 3rd bet on the river with less then the absolute nuts is bad because only the absolute nuts will call and the villain's raise means his having the nuts is more likely. This sort of double paired board with an ace is one of the few where you can get called by lots of worse hands because any AX is likely to think they are good.

All in. He so likely has an A for AA222 full house that you gotta do it. Most players at this limit will never fold. If he has 22 thats just bad luck and horribly played for him to check flop with a set. Also by the turn, given how likely it is for you to only be betting with a flush, trip aces or a full house he is an idiot for slow playing, and does he really min raise with quads on a board where you basically must have a full house? Lost huge value if he does.

Most of the time, especially with the way V played it, he will have 2's full of aces and you will lose value if you dont re-raise.

+1

Also... Its 125bb. Go for it.

what am I missing? He is never raising with a flush so you are almost certainly chopping, small chance he has some lesser hand and is testing whether or not you really have an ace and there is a miniscule chance he is actually ahead.

Not always re-raising, in fact, usually just calling simply to get on with the chop. A min raise might actually be best but you're not throwing away much value in just checking, only those few times he is weak and still calls your re-raise, very rare.

He's not chopping with an A. He has A3, he's going to stack any Ace, just not 22 or 45s

He's never folding an ace here and he probably thinks any ace is the nuts. Ship it. Easy game.

There are exactly two hands in his range that can beat us. 22 45 No more, no less, and yes they are both possible. But possible is the real key. And we need to play against his range.
His range has a large number of AX hands in it also.

Given the way that you played the hand there is no reason that he wouldn't think that his AX is either winning or chopping. You didn't bet the flop, you bet the turn when he tripped up, and he filled up on the river.

This is an auto raise to 125 at a minimum and a case can made for shoving here.
Yes, you will get called by the two hands that beat you, but you will get called by roughly 25 combos of AX that boated up (with a worse boat) on the river. Never just call here.
Ever.

that's what I was missing, :blush: :brain fart:

not sure what's best but there are plenty of weak aces that fold to a shove.

There are no 'weak aces' in this hand. Any A has a full house AAA22...

lol, this hand is the devil, I'm don'e with it.

The river is ALWAYS a raise to get paid by Ax

54ss is the nuts, not A3. We're also beat by 22. Nitpick.

(Sorry to use you as a whipping post )

But this ^ is exactly why we're always shoving with A3 here. Ax is always calling. How awesome it would be if effective stacks were 300bb!

get as much money in as possible and post results in BBV if youre beat lol

I know this but the odds that he has 54ss is quite close to nil and the odds he has 22 is even closer to nil. The odds he has 22 here is a Planck length.

And this is the nittest of nits of picks.

Terrible if you shove with 300bb vs any good regular grinder.

LOL... wat? Who said he was "good"? Try re-reading the OP.

And LOL if you think even "good" LLSNL grinders are folding A-X here.

"and appears to be a $1/$2 grinder"

If good LLSNL grinders don't fold Ax here to a shove, they are not good.

125 bb effective stack to start.


Easy shove.

All in