1/3$ Bellagio weekend night
Hero: 650$, white male late 20s, pretty standard TAG play got my stack up, winning pots with the goods. Not playing out of line.
V: 1200$, white male about 30yo, won some bigger hands with sets in somewhat coolering spots vs. his V's. For the most part, also playing TAG; has not been out of line.
V2/OMC: about 225$, new to table and initial read it OMC

Major History: hero and 30yo villain are good friends on a Vegas trip for golf and poker. So far we have played about 25 hours together this trip and have pulled out all the tricks. I would say V is a little more prone to get out of line than hero is, though. We have traded chips back and forth the last few days. He has bluff shoved, slow played, c/c c/c lead bluff...anything is possible. Villain and I talk strat very frequently and we both beat the game for solid amounts.

The hand:
Villain opens utg for 15 - standard for our table and this V - hero calls with 44 in MP1, omc calls in SB...3 players to flop

The Flop: K94r (45$)
Checks to hero who bets 30. This seems pretty standard to me. Both call

The turn: K948 (135$)
I can't remember the suits here, but I'm fairly certain a BDFD comes but idk if it was or wasn't the King's suit. So the top pair + FD combo MIGHT be possible...I just can't remember.
Checks to hero who bets 100$.

Do we like this?

Yes

Concur

Yep. Standard so far.

No, we don't.

yes. bet 100 and take it down. Are you trying to find a way to get rivered?

Great effing idea! Let's get rivered!

Hero bets 100, omc folds, villain raises to $250 all day...
Hero?

Against an unknown, V's line screams "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger, DANGER!" UTG raise, X/C very dry flop, X/R turn looks like top set

Against this V, you have a lot of history and have to rely on that...

I would not be calling preflop, but post flop you have done well.

Once he raises the turn you should ship. u have 3 of a kind. does look like set over set tho.

Villians line is just sooooooooooo KKK.

I don't think I can find a fold given the dynamic between you two and the myriad of BDFD/BDSD/pair+draw possibilities coming on the turn. He should know our range is very strong here when we peel the flop 3-way against a UTG opener and an OMC left to act and then try at the turn with the OMC still there, but he probably mostly assumes we have Ks that can find a fold here.

I think I just flat IP since shoving just isolates us against the hands that have us beat, and I want to give him a chance to hang himself on any of the 37 of 44 rivers that don't give him the best hand.

A+

It is, but this is one of those spots where you gotta lose that money.

Feels like this V would Cbet his gutters on such a dry flop and could ck AA and play it this way for the same reasons to get 2 streets from Kx. I think 98 that can't bet nor ck-c turns is a contender as well, plus any bluffs he wanted to work in.

So just shove in the rest, you shouldn't be folding sets vs a non-nit for 110bb. Flatting only allows him to ck-give up missed draws/air every rare once in a while, though he's shoving almost always.

Super MUBsy thinking. If V was a random tourist, maybe. More likely a high pair or AK. As described, no way.

V has no particular reason to put H on a strong hand. So why on earth would V try to end the hand with a super strong move like a big turn c/r?

You should definitely not be auto-stacking off with bottom set 215bbs deep against a competent player on a dessicated flop. And the fact that we're against an UTG opener and we were 3-way to the turn against an MP TAG and an OMC makes all the ranges much narrower.

I don't think we should fold to the x/r because of the dynamic and because this can certainly be some backdoor draws or he could even be FPSing value with an AA sort of hand because he thinks running a weird line is the best way to get our stack, even though I think that's overplaying his hand in this spot.

This is a classic classic "lolFR" spot. I guess if you've never played 100nl+ FR on PokerStars and you don't follow the full-ring subs, then it's tough to have an appreciation of the lolFR effect, but the second a TAG opens UTG and a TAG flats in MP, ranges are already strong. When the TAG continues into a 3-way pot against two players who both have strong ranges, then it's immediately like "Oh holy ****, time to pot control with TP2K." [1]

If V is good, then he's giving our 3/4 PSB turn bet a TON of credit. Of course, I think V is also an LLSNLer who doesn't have a full appreciation of how strong our range is and is probably more focused on, "Lol, my image so splashy, he'll never suspect my Aces here, mwahahaha." So I'm not encouraging a fold, but I think it's important to recognize how nitty you can be in an EPvMP TAG-reg battle.


[1] Of course, I myself haven't regged those games in 4.5 years, and I believe things have loosened up considerably, but that has nothing to do with this spot.

+1.

Thought it was 2-5 my bad... Not like it says so in the title or anything and that whole "1-3 at the B" was just so misleading.

I'll add it's a pretty weird spot to ck turn w KK given the board got wet and there's so much less for hero to bet and ck thru is bad ... Yea still a call given dynamic.

Decisions look good so far. I'd call the c/r. If you shove, all bluffs and even AK/AA can fold. Use your position to put V in a tough spot on the river. I'm calling all rivers unless I get some kind of solid read.

I'm guessing V's turn range is AA/KK/AK/99 and some JTs, 98s. You crush about 75% of his range.

hero calls the c/r.

River: K948A (no flush; 835$)

Villain open shoves...hero?

Hero has about 325$ behind

Lol, sorry you lost to aces.

EZ call. I'm sure the story doesn't end well for hero

I really dislike the bet sizing OTT when he check calls the flop, you are value cutting yourself by folding out the bottom of his bluff catching range. Make a bet that KJos would call.