$2/$5 underground game. Small player pool, everyone is familiar with how everyone else plays.
V1 (CO) - White guy, late 40's, absolute maniac. Normally characterized by super aggressive play, but also capable of calling down with extremely marginal holdings. Will call large bets on the flop and turn if he believes he has any outs, but will fold river if he doesn’t hit anything. (Example from earlier in the session: V1 raises to $35 on the BTN over a couple of limps, Hero 3bets to $105 from the SB with T
T
, V1 calls. Hero bets $140 on a 5
4
2
flop, V1 calls. Turn 6
, Hero moves all in for $175, V1 calls with K
Q
and the river bricks out.) $1000 stack.
V2 (SB) - White guy, early 50's, tight passive ABC player. Rarely gets out of line, but has enough experience to recognize spots to cbet bluff and stuff like that. $400 stack.
Hero (BTN) - White guy, early 30's, nitty/TAG image. Stuck a couple of hundred for this session after getting it in with a set against top pair on the flop early on and losing to runner runner flush. Has somewhat built his stack back up since by playing a tight range and value betting against loose passive villains. $900 stack.
Hero is on the BTN with J
J
. 2 players limp in MP, V1 overlimps, Hero raises to $35, V2 calls from the SB, the limpers fold and V1 calls.
Flop ($110): Q
5
2
V2 checks, V1 checks, Hero bets $80, V2 calls, V1 calls.
Turn ($350): K
V2 checks, V1 checks, Hero checks it back.
River ($350): A
V2 checks, V1 checks, Hero ???
My flop bet is for value, really targeting V1 since I know he will call multiple streets on a Q high board with tons of hands that can’t beat JJ. V2's call worried me a bit as he definitely has a lot of Qx in his range here, but he can also show up with a mid pocket pair or even AK, as I don’t think he ever 3bets any of those hands preflop.
I was planning to bet again on the turn, but I felt like the K was a terrible card for me. First of all, it makes it less likely that V2 will continue to call down with lower pocket pairs because now he can’t beat AK. Then there’s the fact that V1 is definitely capable of check/calling the flop with a unpaired Kx type of hand that now got there on the turn. So I decided to check it back and see what happened on the river.
Now that the A comes on the river and it gets checked to me, I’m wondering is this a good spot to turn our hand into a bluff? I feel like we have very little showdown value with three overcards on board, and I think V2 will fold all of his single-paired hand to a bet here. V1 is never going to fold anything that beats me, but there’s a chance he just doesn’t have anything.
So, bluff the river, or just check and see a showdown? And if we do bluff, how much?