Two hands against the same Villain and similar spots, where I'm left with a hand that I don't trust to be good and have to consider whether to bluff the river. As a little history, before both of these hands, I had shown a river bluff after Villain had folded face up showing he missed a draw (I showed I had been bluffing with a better missed draw -- it was a friendly table).


#1

Hero has KsQh on the button and opens to 15 over a couple of limps, about 500 in stack.

UTG+1 limper calls, The limper in the LJ, main Villain, min-3-bets to 30. Limper in CO calls. I call, as does +1. Villain is a so-so reg with maybe 400 in stack.

(120) Flop Kc Jc 6d

Checks to Hero. Hero bets 50 with TPGK. Maybe should have sized up to charge draws more. LJ calls, down to heads up.

(220) Turn Kc Jc 6d 6c

LJ checks. There are still some draws (straight or single-club hands) and worse value hands that may call-- Villain has been fairly sticky/chase-y -- so Hero bets 65. Maybe should have gone larger. LJ calls. Others fold.

(350) River Kc Jc 6d 6c Qc

LJ checks. Hero rivers top 2, but there are 4 clubs on board. There's a good chance Villain has one. Do we:

A) Bet small for value. There's still a chance we get called by worse, e.g. KJ.
B) Check it back. Nothing worse calls and nothing better folds.
C) Turn top 2 pair into a bluff. We block the reasonable boat possibilities and some combinations of AK/AQ that contain Ac. Assuming Villain does have a flush, can we get him to fold a mediocre one?




#2

Later on, Hero has QJdd in BTN with stack around 175.

Same Villain in LJ opens to 10. CO calls. Hero calls. BB calls.

(40) Flop Ts 8c 3d

Villain c-bets for 15. CO calls. Hero has 2 overcards, a gut shot straight draw, and a backdoor flush draw, is in position, and is nearly closing the action (only BB remains to act). There are a lot of cards that will improve us, so Hero floats. BB folds.

(85) Turn Ts 8c 3d Ad

One of the best cards in the deck as we turn the 2nd nut flush draw and a double gutter. This time LJ slows down and checks. CO checks. Hero bets 50 as a semi-bluff -- the ace should scare Tx hands that had top pair and Hero has a zillion outs. LJ calls. CO folds.

(185) River Ts 8c 3d Ad 3c

LJ checks. Hero has missed everything and has about ~100 left. Do we go for it or check back and give up?

(Yes, I know that recommendations for #2 may in part be based on the outcome/history of #1.)

FYI - in hand 1, you said it was heads-up going to the turn, then on turn, you said others folded. Probably doesn't matter much which it was, but could be a factor in turn action.

H1 -

PRE - his limp-min-click multi-way is fishy AF, and most likely total BS. I'd consider 4B'ing, with the dead money in the pot.

FLOP - you've got TPGK on a board that's going to connect with a lot of opponents' ranges, but in a pot where no one but you showed any real aggression pre, and the LJ min-clicker checks to you. Bet 1/2 pot ($60). Maybe a little more, like $80. If LJ had any sort of hand here, including a flush or straight draw, he probably would have c-bet. Since he didn't, he probably doesn't.

TURN - the board-pairing/flush completing 6 is actually a semi-good card for him to donk-bluff. If he had KJ or better, he probably would have x/r'd flop. I think you're good to bet 2/3 pot here. Maybe full pot or even an OB.

RIVER - yuck. Just check back. Top 2 is too good to turn into a bluff.

H2 -

PRE - you're probably not deep enough to 3B here, so calling seems fine.

FLOP - calling seems fine.

TURN - they both checked, you have no showdown value, but something like 15 outs to a big hand. If we're going to bet, I think we should be over-betting, so just jam. On the BTN, you could have A8, A3, and just a lot of weakish AX hands that don't want to see another card when action checks to you.

RIVER - as played, I dunno - you'd be jamming 100 into 185, laying him 2.85 to 1 on a call, which is pretty good (for him to call), considering you flat-called pre, flat-called flop, and only bet turn when they checked to you. Your line looks like some weak AX for value, which wouldn't always necessarily be jamming.

I think a jam is going to get snapped off by any AX in his range, and some TX+, at some frequency. You probably have to jam, like it or not, but this is why I would have preferred a jam on turn.

Check back turn in hand 1. Third club AND the board pairs. You could be drawing completely dead against villain’s stronger holdings.

Don’t two barrel to set up stacks with just 1 pair here, and by checking back you embolden his river bluffs.

As played, definitely check back river.

Hand 2 depends entirely on how hand 1 went to showdown. If it didn’t show down, or we got value bets in, I’d be more inclined to empty the clip in hand 2. If not, then don’t.

Also, top up your stack, and consider raising flop in hand 2. A gut shot, back door diamonds, and two overs is a fine spot to semi bluff. This is how you wield position.

You win more with your winners and lose less with your losers in position. The opposite is true for being out of position.

Results:

#1

Hero does indeed check back river. Villain shows AcJx for second pair that rivered the nut flush. He said he was hoping I would bet again on the river. Obviously I avoided some pain here while only getting money in good.


#2

Hero does go for it and jams. Villain snap-calls with QT for second pair. Cue "honey, he called me with queen-ten!" I don't know if he just read me or, with all the draws missing, it was too obvious a bluffing spot. But I feel like I had to go for it. I was a little stunned he didn't remotely consider the possibility that I had an ace in that spot. Maybe given how hand #1 played out I should have given him credit for possibly setting a trap on the river, but given his exact holding here, that's not exactly a trapping situation.

Hand 2 is a great spot to bluff the river. His C-bet was weak, he x-called the turn and now just checks the river. He wasn't making that c-bet into 3 opponents with A-high hands that might have hit the turn, and a turned 2-pair should have shown some aggression by now. I would bet big, maybe a little under pot.

Hand 1, a villain limp-reraised, which until proven otherwise is always AA or KK. I would be very cautious. I would honestly probably check back the flop despite the possible draws.

1) dont post 2 hands at the same time

2) Hand 1 check turn youve already overplayed your hand by the river. No idea what in the hell youd be repping with a river bet, and I have no idea why you think theres a good chance V has a club. He check called flop and turn bets with what exactly that has a club? Youre good a lot of the time, but dont have enough to value bet, check river.

3) hand #2 im probably 3 betting to 50, but i understand most people just pay rake and see the flop. Im raising on the flop, i dont love the 3 way float as much as if it were heads up, but its perfectly fine. Turn wp, river jam all day and if he calls whatever, you only need him to fold like 40% and he easily folds that often.

Seeing results, theres a good chance that either you are giving off big reads, or are missing big reads on villain being a station. I mean maybe he just snapped you off cuz you showed a bluff before. Maybe you arent value betting on the river often enough and you were simply outplayed.

All the draws missed? What draw? Flop was T83r, the big draw was “overcards” which is weighted towards Ax and an ace hit the turn. He put you on J9?

You're playing the turn too weakly, in both hands.

In hand 1, you had the best hand on the flop, but your opponent picked up equity on the turn. You should have bet much bigger to charge him to draw and deny equity.

In hand 2, you had the worst hand on the flop, but you picked up equity on the turn. You should be taking the betting lead and betting big when your opponent checks this nut-changing card.

Checking back in hand 1 is fairly obvious. Checking back or jamming in hand 2 is debatable, but potentially could have been avoided had you just jammed turn and gotten him to fold.

I agree in #1 I should have gone bigger on the turn and needed to commit to charging draws heavily. I was a little concerned I could already be beaten (a flush, or trips less likely) so ended up with an in-between sizing.

In hand #2 I did take the lead and bet 50 into 85 on the turn. All-in would have been almost 2x pot.

True on hand 2, but you'd have max fold equity, and you don't have to think about what you're going to do on the river with less than a pot size bet left behind.

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Hand 1 6c is about the worst card for KQ, why would you put V specifically on a single club? This is some hindsight reasoning.

1. Is this limp re-raise someone older/ That's typically a sign of AA or KK from OMC. I'd proceed with caution and typically I like to continue with lower cards when that happensno tKQ. A K or Q coming could mean you're up against a set or aces.

2. Yes you have all of that, but you're also short stacked, you're easily out kicked should either of your cards hit. Longshot to make a flush but it also wouldn't be the the nut flush. The shorter stacked you are, the less you want to proceed here.

I'd suggest topping up or going home. If you can only play with $175, call it a day.

Not at all. Go back and read my original post, right under the OP. Before the reveal, I suggested betting 2/3 pot when V checked again.

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