Hi all, hand I played a couple of weeks ago -- been debating if I made the right decisions ever since.

I'm UTG+1, sitting with about $750. UTG limps, I raise with AK to $20, get a couple of callers, including UTG.

Pot is about $80

Flop is:
A105

I decide someone will bet this flop, and that a CR will probably take it down right there. Villain immediately to my left bets $40, everyone folds but UTG, who flats. I have played a lot with the guy to my left, I am pretty positive he has Ax, doesn't have two pair, and I know that he hates to fold top pair. He has about $170 more behind him. I raise to $225 expecting an all-in call, and UTG to fold a flush draw.

Guy to my left thinks for a while, keeps mumbling about how I overbet the pot, and doesn't know why I would bet so much. Finally, he calls. Villain to my right sees some friends of his, talks about how he thinks this is going to be "it" (as in, he might lose all his money) - asks me if I flopped trip aces or trip 10s, then calls. He has about $500-$600 behind him.

I had originally put UTG on a flush draw, but after his flat, I'm thinking trip 5s, or bottom two is a possibility (at these games, limping UTG with T5 is definitely possible). Flush draw is still a possibility. I specifically don't think he has an ace (if he did, it would be odd of him to ask me if I have AA when it's clear that the guy all-in has an ace, and one is on the flop).

Main pot is $710, side pot is $30

Turn is a blank, maybe 6. Villain checks. Now I think a flush draw is likely and I would like to bet him off of it, but don't want to become over-committed here with TPTK. He might have two pair, and be concerned about getting felted from my trips. I check.

River is 10.

Villain very quickly bets $200. Call or fold?

i would bet the turn heavy.

As played i call river.

I'd fold riv. As if villain leads into you for 1/3 pot on the riv without having AK beat

You made two significant mistakes that make calling the river inevitable. Your first mistake is that you did not raise enough preflop. Maybe UTG would have called regardless, but you have to raise more if you want to get the 10/5s to fold. Although your only 4 handed post flop so that is not a death sentence.

Your biggest mistake is that you decide to build a pot with a hand your not fully committed with (in your mind at least). If you plan to c/r then you have to play the hand as it lies and cannot bemoan ballooning the pot afterwards. Meaning do not c/r a flop like that if you are going to be too scared to follow it up on the turn. There is nothing wrong with leading out or even c/c on a board like that. However, when you decide to inflate the pot, you have to be willing to play the hand aggressively.

So I think you have to call river. It is a relatively small bet, and I can see villian doing it with a weak A hoping for a chop with a poor kicker, not to mention value betting a hand like AQ.

As played easy call on River. By checking turn you greatly widen your previous range of hands to include a lot of draws and possibly a hand like JJ-KK and some weaker Aces. So Villain's river bet can really mean a lot of things. Could be bluff or blocking bet w/ a weaker hand like A5 or soemthing like that.

You definitely need to bet that turn. I would definitely rule out 55 here. Most live players are incapable of peeling a card on a board like that with bottom set especially when there is someone else who seems to like their hand. And after the turn check I would be almost 100% certain he has no sets in his range at this point. The only thing here I could give credit to villain if they're especially passive is maybe Top and bottom pair or bottom 2, but most won't call w/ T5s. Even then most of them are getting those hands in on the flop. I would say the largest part of his range has to be some type of FD. So in short BET THE TURN, given the stacks I go all in here. Then you will have no awkward river decisions.

Thanks all... I couldn't possibly see how someone could bet $200 into a dry pot (to win only $30), and be behind of my AK. After his call on the flop, I felt certain that he had a flush draw or a big hand. After his check on the turn, I should have went with my gut feeling about the flush draw and bet hard... His $200 river bet was with K7, a complete bluff to win $30. I folded. The guy who was all-in flips over AJ, and after scooping the pot, brags to the table about his win, that he just couldn't understand why I overbet the pot. I was tilted pretty bad.

This had happened at a new local casino where I had become a little gun-shy after losing some big hands to strange plays and awful suckouts.

Good news is that my game seems to be improving a lot recently. Last week I won about $1000 over 5 sessions. And I won another $1200 today. My reads at the table are generally becoming much, much better.