Game is $2-$100 spread-limit WHICH WILL MATTER: the most you can bet is $100 over the previous bet (EG: if Villain bets $40, the most I can raise to is $140, then the most he can reraise is to $240.)

Blinds $1-$2, effective stack is $400.

I open 5d5h UTG to $8 (we are 7-handed), UTG1 calls, Button calls, SB calls, BB calls. 5 ways.

FLOP: 6d4d3h (pot: $40, 5-handed. SB checks, BB donk-bets $25, I call, UTG1 calls, everyone else folds.

TURN: 6d4d3h 5c (pot: $115, 3-ways).

BB leads for the maximum bet of $100 and with one player to act behind us we…?

I don’t think this an open but I could be wrong. I would probably limp and see what happens.

I fold turn, we’re not getting a great price and not closing the action. This player would have to be quite aggro / kamikaze for us to be ahead.

We have to fold since we cant really stack him if we boat up and unless he's capable of betting 2pair for this sizing, but its doubtful. He probably just has 76 or a 7x diamonds combo.

He's not folding another 100 dollars on the river if the board pairs so we have some IO. Throw in some 2p, lower sets, and the low stakes spaz factor and I think we probably have enough (though someone should do the math). Of course we could be in a world of hurt if he has 66,

Oh Edit....

Forgot the player behind. That probably makes it a fold.

With no reads and a player behind, this is a pretty easy fold. I don't like the open pre, especially so small. Just limp.

The small open seems fine, as it will often lead to a multiway pot. Raising large is probably worse than this sizing or limping. 1/2 players will not generally exploit varying raise sizing in cases like this.

There are some advantages to this sizing rather than limping. If you limp, someone may raise, and the field will be thinned more and you will have to pay more to see a flop. The chances the small raise will be 3! are not great, and then you probably will be able to call, and may have information the 3-bettor has a big hand, which you can try to stack him with if you make a set.

RESULT I call. UTG1 called again too.

RIVER: 6d4d3h 5c Js (pot: $415, 3-ways)

BB bets $100 again and I convince myself UTG1 has busted diamonds every time and it’s possible BB has 44 or 33 at least the 15% of the time I need him to and call. .

I'll admit I struggle to advise you on these spread limit hands, because it seems even more like Bingo than regular 1/2 or 1/3.

At first pass, when V donks out and you turn a set of 5's, I figure the odds of him donking out on the flop with some hand that turned an inside straight seem pretty low, and you could be up against another flopped set, or maybe this is 2P or a flush draw blasting off.

Even so, I dunno, the guy's betting the max. If you're beat, you're drawing to 10 outs to make a boat or quads. It's kind of gross, and the limit structure puts a cap on your implied odds. I hate folding sets, but I think we have to fold.

Then I read the reveal, see 74, which just reinforces the Bingo analogy.

To be fair, 74 is as likely as 64 or 43. Folding flop with 2nd pair and an OESD seems ludicrous. Folding turn after we've improved to a set doesn't sound right, but my guess is that the game structure forces us to play pots the way we would with higher SPR's, and that we should only be continuing with very strong hands.

Still, I dunno. It would be gut-wrenching to fold and see V roll over 64.

Not sure if I hate this structure more or less than the BTN straddle, but it's close.

I don’t see people continue with 2 pair or sets when there are 2 1-card straights. Maybe with a flush draw but that’s kinda kamikaze.

Haha. I’ve been playing it for fifteen years and I’m still no closer to figuring out the proper adjustments, lol.

fold pre, raise flop, fold turn

I think it's situation dependent. Usually, yeah, even the most dense 1/2 player can find a fold with 2P here. But in this instance, hero opened UTG with 55. Who the hell is going to think he gets here with 55, or very many hands that make a straight? If I'm the BB, I'm putting hero on a bunch of over-pairs and over-cards.

Honestly, now that I'm looking at it again, I'd be most worried about UTG1 behind us. THAT guy could show up with all the straights, when he just smooth calls the flop donk.

So, if this was HU on the flop, I could see continuing here, and not assuming BB or hero has a straight. When it's 5 ways to the flop, BB donks, we call, and then UTG1 calls behind us, yeah, I don't think we're going to be in good shape very often.

This whole structure is just so weird, it makes my eye twitch. I think I'd rather just fold all but the strongest hands pre from EP, and play super-wide from LP, the way all these spread limit hand histories seem to play out.