1/2

Utg ($800) is a maniac type. Calls down a ton on all streets and bluffs often

Mp ($500) is mawg, no reads

Btn ($550) is younger tag ish tighter player. Haven't noticed him doing anything of note.

I cover everyone.

Utg straddles to 5
I call 5 with 55
Folds to mp who raises to 20
Btn calls
Utg calls
I call

Flop ($80)
595
Utg checks, I check?, Mp checks
Btn bets 50, utg calls, I call, mp folds

Turn ($230)
595 Q
Utg checks, I check,
btn bets 125, fold, I call

River ($480)
595 Q 4
Btn has 350 back at this point. I check, He bets 225 then i obviously shove.

Every option pre seems reasonable. I chose to limp because it's just such a comfortable spot to limp and then evaluate (most likely call any reasonable raise if it's multiway). Don't love raising as much because it's just bad if I get 3 bet. I want to play this multiway and hit a set.

On the flop I chose to check but maybe I should just take the betting lead and start building the pot. The maniac already checked before me, so unlikely either guy left to act will bluff. However it's kind of likely no one hit anything either. Close spot I think.

Thoughts on whole hand?

yea check flop, you don't want everyone to think you have a 5 if you donk out. I usually raise the turn OOP in these spots but with quads we don't wanna chase him off his hand but I would have lead out otr though to not risk a check back.

I think you played it as good as you could. Even got the btn to bet the river. I would have probably bet the river assuming no reads that he will continue to fire away. But in the end it looks like it worked out for you.

Open limping small pairs in EP is disgusting, but glad it worked out for you

Flop check-call seems reasonable, if you raise you are announcing that you have a 5

I would raise the turn, this is going to be tricky to make money because button just called preflop. He might fold a 9 but you're not making money out of a 9 however you play it. Raising is rather mindless but I'd rather raise now and try and build a pot now if he has a draw

I like how you played it after preflop

raise pre

If I raised ott or lead out otr I just couldn't think of hands that would call, but that also wouldn't bet out themselves on the river anyway. Thought that I might as well leave whatever few bluffs are in his range.

Why do you feel it's that bad? I know generally open limping isn't good. But with the chances we get 3 bet and then just have to fold, I think folding is better than raising. So then it comes down to if limp-deciding is better or worse than folding.

Because you need a lot of things to go in your favour at once.

You can't represent a big pair at any point in the hand (unless you have a history of limp-reraising).
If someone raises you'll mostly have to fold and now you've thrown away a BB.
If you limp-call, the vast majority of the time you'll check-fold the flop and now you've lost 5BB.
In the ideal scenario of a limped pot, you'll be OOP for the entire hand with all the problems that entails (even in a limped pot it's going to be tricky to win the hand at all without hitting a set). You'll have to hope that your check-raises or drinks get called, or that IP players are going to continue bluffing or going for value.
Finally with a small pair you're going to get crushed set-over-set from time to time...rare of course, but enough to gnaw away at your profit margin over time

Limping was fine in a low stakes passive game. If someone raises, what's wrong with setmining if there's enough room? Of course we have to fold if we miss, that the definition of a set mine (and if we get crushed with set over set, it's not because we limped it would have still happened either way) and we only risked $2.

I think open limping PPs are fine if 3-betting is extremely rare and raise sizing is not giant and you are not short stacked.

Postflop is fine. I don't like having a limping range at all. Your hand is very transparent. I would just fold pre.

If you are at a table where you are likely to get 3bet pre, then it makes it even more of an open fold. I would set mine more by opening from a later position, or by cold calling from CO or later when the players left to act are passive and very unlikely to 3bet.

It is hard to actually hit your hand and have your opponent have a strong enough hand to call you/and or be a station and not realize you hit a set.