Hero ($220) UTG+1 - 40 yr old WM - winning rec 1/3 player with years of experience looking to move up to the next level. Usually, I buy in to the max and play aggressively to exploit the folding tendencies of the nits that exclusively populate the 1/3 tables. Tonight, my plan is to play tight while I evaluate how I match up at the new level. I have bought in at $250 to maximize the advantage of my strong starting range and minimize any potential skill disadvantage. I have been card dead and have not raised yet in the hour I have been sitting at the table. My image is tight.

V1 ($300) BB - late 20's WM w/ hoodie and earphones - playing snug preflop but usually betting post. Betting the obvious steal spots. Probably a better card player than I am and trying to play for living.

Rest of the table - fairly tight. Mostly young white males with a couple young Asian males. Regulars all. Preflop open raise standard at table is $15-$20.


UTG folds. Hero, from UTG+1, looks down and sees AA. Again, my image is tight and I have not yet open-raised in my hour at table. How should I bet?

4x sounds standard open. With stacks being so short. I don't mind opening 3x. As we can likely get 47 bb in by river with any luck.

C'mon man, if you're going to do a PAHWM, then at least start it at an interesting decision point. If you don't know what to do here you should not be playing 3/5.

After an hr at table. I suggest getting 100bb on table. Playing 50 bb isn't the most profitable spot. IMO. Should have decent reads by then.

Good luck at moving up.

Open $20.

Edit: What happened to this "drawy board"?

Edit Part Deux: Since you've got about 40bb, I GII on this hypothetical drawy board.

I included it b/c it seemed like a potential spot to depart from the standard given: 1) image, 2) UTG+1 position, and 3) shortish stack. Or was I overthinking it?

Do this ...

If you haven't opened yet ... go with $20

Are you suggesting limping as a possibility here ... bc thats really bad...

Overthinking it FTW.

Without knowing how villains play outside "tight" there's really no ideal way. So, barring good reads, open for $20.

Hero bets $15. HJ calls. Button calls. SB folds. V1, in the BB, calls. (Definitely more calls than I expected but I may have been overthinking it.)

Flop ($60) - KQ7

V1 donks $35. Hero?

BTW - neither of hero's aces have a diamond.

Shove - Do not see much merit to anything esle.

Yep, shove. If you're short and BB isn't a complete drooler, he knows he's getting your $ if he has anything of value on the flop. A king hits your opening range. V donking could be "to see where he's at", a draw, a Queen, whatever.

Arrrrrrrrrrrr eeeeeeeeeeeeeen.

Hero bumps it up to $80. HJ and Button fold. V1 thinks for a bit and calls.


Turn ($220): 4

V1 checks. Hero shoves his remaining $105. V1 calls and flips over KQ.

River ($430): 7

Hero sucks out.

Question - given V1's range (he is fairly tight as well as aggressive), would there be any merit to taking a c/f, c/f line on the turn and river had the turn binked a diamond? (1/3 rule not withstanding.)

Bet bigger PF, shove flop. What's the point behind making the flop raise so small? Are you planning to fold if he shoves? What do you do if he flats your tiny flop raise then stop n go shoves on a T, J, Q, K, or diamond turn?

Fold to the diamond turn donk - I would be ahead of significantly less than half his range, and I don't want to give him credit for bluffing the scare card every time, not with plenty of SD value in his range. Might consider folding to a K turn donk. I can't see why he would use it to bluff. Shove/call all other turns. Wouldn't be happy about the 9 though. Not concerned all that much much about the Q,J, or 10.

IMO, flatting the "tiny flop raise" isn't something to be done lightly given stack sizes. I don't think a decent player does this with second pair here ever. Kicker should give him pause for thought with top pair depending on the V.

With a short stack...

Make it 25...plan on shipping it if we have multiple callers pre on all flops....plan on potting it with 1 caller and shipping turns.

Nh

lol at people suggesting that we 3x pot it for a flop jam.
Pot the flop, pot the turn.
Easy game.

Raise more pre, $20-$25. If the table is known to be very aggressive, and you are 90% sure you will see a raise from ep/mp we can think about lp/jamming or lp/raising and jamming all flops. But raising is standard, and should be used 90%+ of the time.

Not sure where you're getting 3x pot on the jam. Once hero announces raise, the pot is $130 and he had $170 behind.