Hi all, realised I had to create a new account after having not used the old one for 10+ years. Maybe a bit standard background: been playing poker relatively frequently through school from ~2005/6 until 2013/14 until I started working. Recently been finding some new love (and time!) for the game though, trying to play some live cash games in my local casino (mostly 2/2, 2/4 or 5/5).
Still feels a bit rusty though and of course the game has evolved, although I have to say my local cash game still seems to be at a very similar level. Therefore eager to start reading the forum again and also posting some hands to make sure I can actually play without to many obvious leaks - not intention at all to crush the game / move up in stakes etc., but would be nice to at least not be donating continuously

Just one hand I wanted to start with from last night (please let me know if I'm missing details, or not posting in the right clear fashion):

8 handed game, avg stack about $1k. Hero ~$1.5k, villain ~$1.2k.

Hero starts in SB with $10 straddle, 4 callers (incl Villian in UTG +2). Hero raised to $70 with Ah Qd UTG + Villain call.

Flop: 77J rainbow, Hero bets $75 - UTG folds, Villain calls - could/should I have checked flop?

Turn: Ad (believe d flushdraw) - Hero bets $200, Villain calls

River: 2 (flush doesn't get there) - Hero bets $440, Villain tank-calls - could/should I have checked - what would I have done to a river bet?

Some notes on Villain: seemed quite passive (saw him take a v passive calling line with KK before), but not overly loose I would say.


As you can probably imagine Villain turns over JJ for the flopped full house, and this might come across as just some moaning about a cooler. Have been thinking about this hand afterwards for quite some time though to wonder if I could have played it differently, or if by keeping the lead I might have lost the minimum?

You could definitely consider checking the flop OOP although I don't think the bet is terrible.

I like the thin river bet. Yes you might be up against 7x or similar but there are also sticky Jx. Your almost-half-pot flop bet probably folded out worse Ax though. It still probably played best as a bet (-fold) on the river.

Lol, the guy tank calls with the flopped boat? He thinks you literally only have AA? Absolutely insane he doesnt jam river or at least min raise. Thank him for saving you a bunch of money.

As for the hand, you could check flop, but I dont mind the small bet. Turn bet is good, river is thin but I like it bc you can get called by a lot of worse aces.

What are you hoping to get value from betting 3 streets? You need to pot control somewhere. I would check the flop because I don't see betting doing much, we want to keep the worse hands we dominate in and not too many better hands are folding. As played I would check the turn because we aren't getting value from anything, we would just be value owning ourselves vs better. River is an obvious check to me.

Your flop bet folded out the hands that can pay you off on river. Either check flop or check river.

Raise bigger pre. You've got the BB, straddle, and 4 callers to get through. $70 is not nearly enough to raise there. Surprised you only got two callers.

Yes you should check flop, OOP and multi-way, on this flop, and most others. A c-bet here has little to no fold equity, and you can't rep very much for value. If the flop checks through, we can make a delayed c-bet on the turn.

As played, after we bet flop and get called, we should check turn, even when we spike the ace. We were bluffing. Now we're bluff-catching. Don't turn our good bluff-catcher into a bluff by continuing to bet.

Just check river, to induce V to bluff and bet all his worse hands for value.

There's almost nothing you beat when you bet the river and get called, unless V is hanging on with weaker AX, which seems unlikely after we bet almost 2/3 pot on turn.