3/5 - $500 max bi table. Game is a bit looser and stickier than the 1/3 affairs I usually play in.

Hero (240) - MP - moving up from 1/3 and playing tight short stack strategy, but I've only been at the table for 30 mins, so I don't thing anybody has noticed yet.

V1 - SB - unimportant

V2 (700) - BB - 30's white guy. He's been fairly active and aggressive but not aggro. Given my short time at table, I don't have a great read on him, but his betting ranges probably include at least some air.

V3 - button - unimportant

Pre: folds to hero who bets $25 with AK. Button, SB, and BB call.


Flop ($100): 9:63

Everyone checks.


Turn ($100): 2

Everyone checks.


River ($100): 3

V1 checks. V2 bets $50. Hero? V3 is preparing to fold...

Without a strong read, I would fold this almost every time in the super passive 1/3 nit fests that are the norm locally. Do I make an adjustment here?

If you were deeper, you could call, but I just fold. He probably has some sort of pair.

I would have c-bet that flop and probably followed through on the turn depending on action.

I don't normally cbet into 3+ players. I would cbet that flop. Super dry and unlikely to have hit anyone. I'd fire out about $35-40 to try to win it. I'd certainly fire on the turn after everyone checks.

As played, I fold and regret not cbetting. Hard to believe you win 1/4 times.

On the flop, it was correct to check it through.

On the turn though, you have to bet. Don't leave money in the middle of the pot to rot.

Still, I probably would have called the river with AK. The 3 is not enough of a scare card.

...
Now, re AKo ... it is a drawing hand. It plays better in tournaments than cash games. If you raise with AKo, you have 33% chance of hitting something good on the flop. If you miss, you should generally fold. I would normally check it down or call if anything hits on the turn or river that's lower than a T.

Why was it correct to check flop? Checking the flop into three players (esp. after two have checked) and then firing on the turn looks so FOS.

That said, the way this hand was played, if I had not c-bet the flop, I would have bet the turn, but I think the c-bet is a much more believable story, especially if you are willing to follow through on that turn (depending on action).

I'd fold with BB leading with two yet to act.

Flop - check is ok vs. 3 opponents.
Turn - when they check again, I'd bet $55 as the last to act.

I'd rather bet $55 on the turn than call $55 on the river

Keep in mind that I'm short stacked. If a villain calls the flop, he is going to get enticing pot odds to call my shove on the turn without having to worry about a river bet. I think size of my stack gives me less pressure on the flop too, but it does let me GII much easier when I hit. (Thoughts?)

Typically, I c-bet 70% of pot to rep a hand likely to be vulnerable. (10's+ is mostly vulnerable and not an easy sell without a tight image.) Not c-betting here could be a mistake, but I don't think betting less than 1/2 psb here ever pushes a moderately sticky villain off a better hand.

Seems like consensus here is that calling the river is stupid. (You all are convincing me too.) I know the typical 1/3 player where I live is bluffing much less than 1/4 of time with this river bet. Anybody with a good amount of 3/5 experience care to comment how a 3/5 game is not that different?

Then just check flop, check turn, fold river.

I honestly don't like short-stacking, especially when you are taking a stab at bigger games. Really tough to "learn" when you have no room. Just buy in full and play poker.

Not really. If you cbet $40 and get one caller, you have one PSB left. 2:1 is not good odds for most hands.

First sentence makes zero sense. Why would OP call if deeper but fold now when the pot odds are the exact same? Only possible argument is if you think V is adjusting his range based on how it performs against a shove by OP for $215 vs a shove for $500....which shouldn't even matter much if at all even if V is a good thinking player.

OP, call if you think you're ahead more than 25% of the time (plus a little extra to account for the possibility of a player behind you also calling with a better hand...lets bump it up to 40%). If you have no idea how often you're ahead, folding is fine. As a default, I'd fold. Other players behind you can call instead.

I always thought aggro was just an abbreviation for aggressive (confused by the description of active/aggressive but not aggro).

Anyway, just fold. If V2 has half a brain, our hand looks exactly like it is. Sure he can be bluffing to push us off of it, but he always has to be bluffing the other 2 guys in the hand. I would value bet any hand that can beat 6x; including hands like A6/9x/77/88/etc.

Hero calling with Ace high here just because you want to adjust to a more aggro table is over adjusting imo.

Are you semibluffing or value betting if you bet turn? What hands other than AK are you checking flop with and betting turn for value? The EV of checking flop and betting turn with AK depends on the answer to that 2nd question...

We need to win this pot >25% of the time at showdown.

a few things make this unlikely:

He actually has to be bluffing >25% into 3 other guys. I mean cmon, is he really going to check-check-bluff this runout with 3 guys from up front 1/4 times?

sometimes when hes "bluffing" he actually has a better hand (2x, 44, ect)

one of the other dudes may have sandbagged a str8 or backed into trips/boat or MAY even make a weird multiway hero call.

This thread is a dumpster fire.

99% of the responses are ridiculous.

We dont have great equity and we have POOR POOR fold equity.

We have 3 players, no depth, and we have a player behind us.

Mostly a semi, but getting value from 87, which I would also bet the turn with.

For value, betting the turn with 88/77.

No matter how tight the image, my experience in c-betting missed flops with > 2 opponents has been spew. Balance can be achieved in checking a flopped TP hand, and going for two streets on turn and river.

Sometimes you gotta give up with AK. If I was going to bet turn it would be like $30.

Don't randomly hero multiway with A high. He can literally have anything. The times to hero with A high are heads up when obv draws miss and villain bets river in a spot where it makes no sense for his value range to be betting.

I have no problem paying for a little info, especially if there is a chance I'm ahead. Yes, it'd be nice to know if I am ahead more than 25% of the time, but we don't always know that -- and we don't know it here. I'm more willing to "risk" it when it won't affect my stack. And, win or lose, next time I'll be closer to knowing the 25%.

Of course, I wouldn't have played the hand this way short or deep.

...prescient. Anyway, hero makes the dumb call with A high. Villain flips over 23 for the rivered boat.