PROS PLEASE HELP! I'm feeling beaten & unsure of my play.

Hi, my poker enthusiast. Would like to share a hand and get feedback from my play in this unbelievable run out against a WHALE.

Uncapped 1/1 game. (8 handed)

Hero: AdKd in UTG. (Effective stack 500)

Pre-flop: Limp 1 dollar UTG as this is a call happy table and main Villain in the small blind has been opening to 15 pre-flop as he was down around 2k

1) Limps around to Villain in the SB who opens 15, Big Blind folds, Hero limp-raise to 55 (I wanted to isolate the field and play heads up against Villian in Position. Everybody folds.

2) Villain completes (Pot: 117)

​

Flop: Jc 6d Ts

1) Hero bets 35, around 1/3 pot, Villian calls (Pot: 187) -> assuming he is calling with his entire range

​

Turn: 2d

1) Hero bets 125 with 278 behind, Villian check-raise shove Hero all in for 403 (Pot: 715)

​

Hero needs to call 278 for 993 -> I ran the numbers, I'll need around 28% equity to call assuming that I only have 12 outs (Inside straight draw + Flush draw)

​

To call or not to call?

Hi, welcome to the forum. We strongly recommend that you don't put the results in your OP. It biases the answers you get. You can give us the results in about 24 hours.

As played, I appreciate that you have a check/raise range pre-flop beyond AA. I'd check the turn even if I had AA. I think you have to call the shove.

All that said, you should have never been at this table with 500 BB if you felt the need to write a HH about it. Buy in for less and get up from the table if your winnings got you there.

If your turn bet can't stand a check raise then it should have been a check in this instance. You basically pot committed yourself ott.

I'm not checking that turn. I think it's fine as played

@venice10 thank you for your suggestions and edits. Still trying to figure out the website as I’m totally new here and I’m honestly stuck with my poker knowledge and appreciate the community’s thoughts.

Yeah I admit that the table might be over my bankroll limits and I shouldn’t be playing 500BB deep at 1/1. But Here in sg, players are typically aggressive and buy-ins are crazy. My table avg stack was 500BB and the biggest stack was around 3k

Anyway, would like to understand your thoughts on checking AA on the turn? Shouldn’t our aim be trying to get 3 streets of value from a maniac like player? I do understand that getting check-raised in this spot is terrible but the only possible hands that got me beat are probably JJ or TT?

Also, when and how do you determine if your hand is going to be a 2 street value or a 3 street value hand?

Thanks for your thoughts @GatorXP

I think I might have chosen the higher variance route and be more aggro on this particular turn card but it sucks it made his 2 pair. How unlucky, but knowing that it wasn’t the wrong play, well that is kinda comforting.

I like your rationale for limping and I am happy you followed through with the 3bet.

Against a player who is as wide as you mention (IE raising any two cards pre and calling your 3bet wide), we have to keep value betting AA on the turn. AKdd,AQdd,KQdd make our highest equity semibluffs. I’d keep betting these hands on turn as well. On turn facing the raise you most likely have at least a 12 out draw. There’s a chance your A/K outs are live if opponent has Jxdd or Txdd. So I think we’re getting at least 28% against Vs range. I’d call.

With the description of the villain, any flush, or pair outs should be good. So, it's a call.

Preflop, I'm not a huge fan of the limp/re-raise and seldom use it. However, I like your reasoning and logic. So, right, or wrong, as long as you're thinking about an action beforehand and learn from it, I'm OK with it.

On the flop, I don't think this is a 100% bet against a whale. Yea, it's mostly going to be a c-bet, just not every time. But then, sometimes I'll check after hitting an A, or a K as well. The more observant I think my opponent is, the more often I'll check, say up to 33% of the time. As you can see, that alone will change the dynamic of the rest of the hand, sometimes radically.

The turn, for me, is a 100% check-through. Whales, by definition, don't like to fold. You have a very decent hand, which may, or may not be good and assuming all of your outs are good, you're still a 2:1 dog. You're really only ahead if the Whale has a straight draw and behind everything else he would call the flop bet with. This is the time for a little pot control.

Venice makes an interesting point about being in a game 500 BB deep and feeling the need to post this hand. A whiffed AKs with a draw on the turn is a super common spot that people learn to deal with before playing a deep-stacked game. Personally, my stack is usually in the 200-300 BB range.

This hand is more like a 100BB effective hand…given the $15 open it’s like a 2/5 game. Stack depth isn’t determined by BBs but flop SPR.

The reason to keep betting turn is to get folds from 63s,64s,65s,76s,86s,96s,A6s,65o,76o,86o,A6o…and gutshots 97,Q8,…. The list goes on. Even a whale is gonna have a lot of folds on this blank 2 turn.
You can just give up on river if he calls turn

I think I understand what you mean, but not what you said. Yea, SPR plays a roll, but it's different and I'm not throwing that at a new poster.

Also, $500 / $15 = 33.3 BB, not 100 BB.

Edit: I get what you mean. $15 is a standard open in a 2/5 game, therefore ...

I still disagree.

Bart Hanson often discusses how in Texas the 1/3 games play like 5/T because…
1. Players open to $15 (not 3x)
2. Players open very loose ranges.
3. Players overcall opens with too wide ranges, bloating the pot and further lowering the SPR.
4. Players 3bet with wide ranges facing the large opens.
There are more variables to determine “stack depth” than literal number of BBs. $300 is a short stack in Texas 1/3, but a regular stack in Vegas 1/3.

$500/$5=100 “BBs” so if standard opens are to $15, this is more like a 100BB effective stack at Vegas 2/5.

Yea, I play a 1/3 that is frequently deep stacked and plays a lot like a 2/5 with $15-$25 opens and the SPR gets (or threatens to get) rather low. All that really means is that it's a loose and aggressive 1/3 game, not that it's a 2/5, just that it sometimes plays like a 2/5.

I did say it’s “like a 2/5” game, not that it literally is a 2/5 game— obviously it’s literally a 1/1, LOL.
I think we’re just disagreeing on semantics but we otherwise agree … I guess.
I took yours and Venice’s comment to mean that OP should buy in for shorter in this game. I don’t agree, that’s all. It’s okay for OP to feel frustrated in a down-turn and his frustration doesn’t imply that he isn’t rolled for the game. Also the fact that we already have two different opinions on turn play means that OPs post has generated disagreement and some discussion, which is good for the forum. We don’t want to discourage OP for making this post by implying it’s a trivial spot.

The reason I don't think the OP should be playing 500bb deep is his apparent skill level in the game. Raising AKs, c-betting a whiffed flop and picking up a draw, in position, on the turn is a very common scenario, one that is normally a trivial matter, however one chooses to play it. Because he is asking for help with it suggests, rather strongly, that he lacks post-flop skills and therefore shouldn't be playing deep, or for that matter higher stakes.

I will note that sometimes Hero will hit the turn hard and should also check some of the time, but only with observant opponents. That, however, also requires some post-flop skills to know, or at least have a good idea of, when that is.

Huh?!?

He is asking whether to call the turn check-raise and he seems familiar enough with the concept of equity to know that it is a *very close* decision. He isn’t asking about the c-bet, turn barrel, etc.

I’ll just say this, if the Villain had another 100 dollars in his stack and he jams turn it’s a fold.

We only have 29% equity against a range of {22, 66, TT,JJ,JT,62s,J6s,AJ,KJ,T5dd-T9dd,J5dd-J9dd}. This is a very close spot given the stack sizes!

Also I don’t get the continued focus on the number 500BB? This is one buy-in in an uncapped 1/1 game that plays bigger. Game sounds juicy and if rake isn’t out of control he should play. He sounds more competent than his opposition, that’s for sure.

played well imo. Not a fan of limping utg but if you're gonna you prob need an effective limp/rr range and AKs would obv fit into that. Flop is fine but this is lowkey not a great flop for your range. A check back wouldn't be bad imo but with a gutter, two overs, and a bd flush draw I think betting is just fine and prob standard. Turn just bet what you would bet with an overpair since you have pretty much your ideal bluffing hand. Call as played.

well u took a massively +EV spot and turned it into a 0EV spot feelsbadman

(X back the turn)

This 100%! If this comment doesn't make sense to you, then further study if how to play draws is needed. Yes we need a few draws for bluffs, and GTO I am pretty sure has this as a bet a high percentage. I would suggest an exploiting deviation of checking back turns with hands that don't like a x/r is good.

Honestly I think the flop bet is worse. Why bet flop against a Manic who will call all pairs? We just value owned ourself this entire hand.

As played you are pretty indifferent so it doesn't make much difference what you do. Precisely why you should bet larger or smaller on the turn if you insist on betting.

Fwiw... if you bet turn this is a good spot for an overbet bluff. Has the chance of moving villain off all TX, and draw equity.

Flop bet is good if it gets you a free river as it could have.

Flop bet is good if opponent is raising 60% of hands and continuing 100% to the 3bet (spoiler, I saw results of the hand before Venice deleted, and he is).

Turn barrel is maybe fine for the same reason? Villain has full combos of 97o, etc, in turn range and all Ace highs down to A2, and these are probably folding to turn barrel. We did bet quite small on flop after all.

Thanks @ChaosInEquilibrium. That's what my thought process were too when I bet the turn to hopefully fold out his weaker Tx or Jx hands but I am also glad that this forum has also provided me with another perspective on how the hand could drastically change if were played as a check on the river.

Thanks JayKon for your input, and I agree with your thoughts on being overly aggressive with AKs on a whiffed board to put myself in that situation. This will definitely help me in my future games.

I thought about it and it does make sense to check back the turn. Will definitely keep this in mind for future games to improve. Thanks man

Can anyone also help me on how to edit my 1st post to show the results?

River (blank)

Villian shows 6c2c