Sat down at this table 30 min ago so don't have many reads on players. Villain does seem to be fishy because he's limp calling a decent amount.

OTTH 2/5 NL

Effective stack: 900

Preflop Hero UTG with A Q

Hero opens 20. My standard open with no limpers.

MP, BTN (Villain), BB all call

Flop (4 players) ($80): A Q 3

BB checks.
Hero?

Hero checks. Sometimes raising here for sure but we block a lot of their calling range besides diamonds. And I think unless someone has a diamond draw, everyone's going to fold to a flop c bet.
Additionally, I need some strong hands in my check call range.

Checks to Villain on the BTN who bets 65
BB calls.

Hero?

Hero just flats.

With BTN's sizing, I'm squarely putting him on Ax or 33.
BB has a flush draw here a lot.

If I x/r here, it looks so nutted that I'm not sure we're ever getting worse to call. If I let a card roll off and it's not a diamond, we can probably play for stacks.

Turn (2 players) ($280): A Q 3 9

Great turn, shouldn't change anything. Sometimes it gives BTN a worse 2 pair.

Checks to BTN who bets 125.

BB folds.

_Hero?_

The flop is ??????

Just bet lol

Agreed as played ship the turn there is 500 in the pot and 700 in stacks once you call + you're OOP

We should almost always be betting the flop, especially without good reads on the players. Even most of the bad players know when we check raise here their one pair ace is no good and we win the minimum.

Yes we block a lot of their continue range, but this isn’t the type of board to trap. First, we have plenty of value targets. Second, this is the type of board where someone is likely to have something. Third, if our opponents have nothing on this flop, and improve to a hand that wants to put in a ton of money, we will usually be behind. If we have 55 on 522, our opponents can hit all sorts of top pairs etc we can get value from. Here, they either have a pair/draw and will call flop, or they have an underpair/gutter that will drill the turn or fold anyway.

Like I said, I think a overbet x/r shove on the turn looks more like a combo draw than a made hand to me. I think this targets Ax hands really well which is what he almost always has here.

Do we think someone with a Q is really calling when I bet flop into 4 people? Besides diamond draws, I don't see any worse hands that would call.


Even if it checks through on the flop. 25% of the time there's no diamond on the turn which is the only card im really scared of. The other 75% of the time, my turn bet will be much more likely to get calls.

Maybe I'm missing something - I thought it was a clever line to take but maybe it's just fancy play syndrome.

Roughly one million combos of Ax can call flop. People don’t like folding Ax pre. And yea I expect a decent number of queens to call flop depending on sizing.

Also, no need to balance your ranges in a 4 way pot.

don't listen to others telling you have to bet flop, your line is good, obv betting flop is standard but as you can see actually x'ing to x/raise or x/call worked amazingly getting him to put it in dead ott. Never raise to any size less than all in ott.

Result is pretty flukey, in my experience people don’t typically call a check jam here with Ax. I mean if they do then we should take this line every time, but I just don’t think that’s the case. This has to be one of the most under-bluffed combos of line/board in live poker and even most recs know that. I would snap fold A9 as V if I knew H wasn’t merely over-playing AK. It’s just never a bluff unless you are against a maniac or a crusher.

wont most player call flop w any 2 broadways, any ace, any FD?
flop is a pretty clear bet for me, but i never continue after checking so my whole range folds after i check the floop