1/3 NLHE 8 handed.

V1 - Handsome young man. Winning TAG. Plays a solid game and has begun playing 2/5 with some of the bigger guns like myself. 450$. CO.

V2 - Straightforward loose passive asian man. Covers. BTN.

H - LAG. Runs over this game. Winning player. 520$. SB.

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Folds to V1 who opens 10, V2 calls, H sees A Q and raises to 45, V1 calls, V2 folds.

Flop 100 (405 back) - Q J 4

H cbets 65, V1 raises to 175, Hero?

Question 1: are we committed here?

Question 2: is V1 committing himself here?

Question 3: If you think we are committed, what is the weakest hand you are committing with here? KQ? What about KT no ?

PRE - I don't hate the 3B, but think I'd prefer just flat calling, unless the opener is frequently out of line and the caller is weak.

FLOP - OOP against two V's, I'd just check. We can check-raise a small bet, check-call a big bet, or make a delayed c-bet if the flop checks through.

V's raise is saying he can beat TPTK. That's 2P+ for value or a big combo draw as a semi-bluff. We're either crushed or flipping.

AP, I think we can comfortably fold here. V will have some 2P and sets we won't have in our range, balanced by good combo draws. Spiking another ace or queen may not help us. We're basically hoping to go runner runner to make a straight or flush, or that he's FOS and will give up on the turn.

1 - no, we're nowhere near committed yet. We've put in $110 of $520. We may have torched it, but we don't need to torch another $340 with 1P.

2 - V1's put in $220 of $450. I'd say he likes his hand and isn't going to release.

3 - for value, against most of the population, I'd like to have QJs (preferably dd) or bottom set before I decide I'll die on this hill. I could also live with KTss as a semi-bluff. Against V's who are frequently out of line, I might go to war with AQdd. If the stacks are short, V is tilted or spewy, and I'm running well, A4ss might be good enough.

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Q1: No. I might just give it up on the flop vs described villain.

Q2: Probably, which is why I consider folding to flop raise.

Q3: AQ, but I usually just let it go unless I get some other read; maybe nut flush draw.

Hands we're folding? Quite a few - AK, QTs, AT/KT(no spades). KQ is on the borderline - you could make a tight fold with that. But AQ, not even close, you can't fold that. Even if he's super tight - T9s, KTs, ATs, AQ, QJs, JJ, QQ.

What hands are you really afraid of? QJs (2 combos)? JJ QQ (6 combos)?

1: No.

2. Yes. Assuming he has value he's not folding, and all combo draws (likely bluffs) are priced in to call.

3. N/A.

This hand highlights the very real problem created by using large size on a flop that a single raise leaves us thinking about 3bet jamming a single pair hand on a connected board.

Are you splitting your bet sizing? I don't think you have much of a nut advantage here on this board. I would have bet 35 on the flop giving more room to navigate and keep his Jx hands in. By going so large with your cbet in a 3bet pot you are isolating your medium strength hand against the top of his range.

Interesting answers, very informative.

Results:

I think spr 4 is right on the cusp of commitment.

Dude, you're killing me. If you're going to do some switcheroo stuff like this, at least use some pronouns after the reveal, so we know who you're referring to.

So, if I got this right, V1 was actually you, with 44, and "hero" was one of the best Lags in the room, but also possibly spewy, with AQdd?

With that understanding, your open pre with 44 in the CO seems fine. His 3B is probably usually ok, but also possibly too aggro/spewy. Your call is probably wrong, because it's just too small a PP to continue with when we're not quite deep enough to set mine. It's kinda fishy, but it worked out.

If you called with the idea that you're going to rep wide post and just out-play him from IP, I salute your willingness to engage in such shenanigans. Tell me you were willing to run a huge bluff if you didn't flop a set, and it's cool, but only once in a while.

His flop 2/3 pot c-bet from OOP when HU is fine. Not sure how I feel about your raise size.

Part of me loves it for inducing spaz-jam. Part of me hates it because if he flat calls and folds turn we lost value, and I think he's going to be flat calling a lot more than spaz-jamming. As an alternative, you could flat call, and raise turn on a brick, and really put him in the blender.

He shouldn't jam. He should just call. You shouldn't have many if any sets there, but you could have 2P or a draw, and he's got too much going on to fold but not enough going on to jam. He could call, check- evaluate turn, possibly pick up some equity and continue or abort mission.

Good luck with the reverse hand history police, if they show up to clamp you in irons.

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OOP without a huge crapload of dead money and against at least one solid player and not shortstacked and with a hand that plays fine multiway, I might lean to a passive flat preflop.

Kinda awkward spot postflop, OOP with a marginal SPR (although typically one where I'm not completely comfortable stacking off with versus a player with half a clue). I really would rather the chips get in passively underrepping my hand than being the aggressor, and I'd hate to face a raise on the flop. So I might lean to a flop check. But a lot of that has so much to do with how much I hate facing the raise here (where I think I lean to a very uncomfortable/nitty fold).

ETA: FYI, reverse HHs are a no-no here.

GcluelessNLnoobG

A few brief comments: 35 to call the 3b, with 440 back and we're effective, plus another 65 already in the pot. I think it's fine as a set-mine.

The SB should have the nut advantage. CO is really just calling QQ/JJ with button in the middle, and not 4b?

Cbet by SB is w/e. Obviously wants to not give free cards to spades or broadway SDs. I don't mind it.

Can simply call as CO if we want to see if Button also wants to contribute here. If we had the read that SB would be induced by this raise, great raise sizing.

I think the BTN folded pre.

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Calling just to set mine is a terrible idea, especially when you're not deep enough.

However, if you call to set mine and exploit postflop, then it's acceptable.

Posting as the villain isn't permitted.