Hey guys how are you? This is a hand I played at Borgata 2/5 NL only sat down a few minutes ago, so no one really knows how I play. I'm a MAWG and Villain is a middle aged Asian gentleman.

Hero AcKh
Effective stack, 600

From UTG, hero raises to 25. In the BB Villain calls

Flop As, Kc, 9h

Villain checks, hero checks. (At the time I had convinced myself that I had the board crushed and thought to slowplay. Looking back on it, i should probably always be betting in this spot)

Turn 3d

Villains bets 60, hero calls, trying to keep villains bluffs in since this is a super polarizing bet.

River Js. Villain bets 135, hero?

ez jam at this depth

you’ll likely see a couple nitcall posts itt

ignore those

I think this is a jam as well. He's got a bunch of two pairs here that won't fold.

I am fearing he had a set or straight because you came into the forum to post the hand and referenced the flop check (maybe he had pocket 3s?).

Turn call is standard.

What do people think of flop check? I am OK with it occasionally but would typically bet ~80% of the time.

Especially given you just sat down, balancing isn't much a factor. I like betting the flop small.

As played, I would raise the river 100%.

What's interesting is jamming is almost exactly pot sized, which makes me a little suspicious, the 135 is fairly precise! *If* it's not a coincidence, I think Villain has carefully decided not to commit his stack.

So if the bet seemed very deliberate, I would min-raise.

Just getting back into poker, so I'm likely wrong. Thanks for the hand.

I don't like the flop check against an unknown, as you're giving up much needed information. C-bets are so common, most villains expect it, don't read much into it and float regularly. Depending on what happens with the c-bet helps decide on the turn action.

As played, you're blind on the river and while I'm OK with a raise, but not a shove and folding to a jam. I'm also OK with flatting the river if you plan to use that call in the metagame later.

Have to bet flop. I know we don't want him to fold but it's just so good for our range that we have to start piling it in. I'd bet 3/4 but 1/3 is probably fine too.

As played jamming river is close, we are beat a lot. 20 combos of qt and qts 3 of 33 and 3 of 99. It's just a question of if hell call enough 2 pair hands to make it profitable. Vs an unknown you gotta just go with population tendencies at your casino. In LA Texas or Florida it's a clear jam, if you play with a bunch of nits just call

Any reason for large open size? I mean it’s clearly fine to open AKo from any position if you’re using a 5x strategy. Just curious.

I’d be large cbet range on this texture in live poker. He’s going to have a lot of “well I have to call once” type hands that will be relatively inelastic, like an A5, so I’d rather size up larger in live poker and then make smaller bets on later streets if I was trying to milk. If I wanted the jugular I’d bet like 35 on flop and 135 on turn.

Might as well keep the slow play up on turn.

Jamming river, sometimes he has QT/99/33 but beyond that we’re winning.

The fact that you got a reasonably good runout and you’re asking this question shows why you need to bet flop. Then we just get stacks in with bet bet bet and feel good whether we win or lose


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I, too, like a bet on the flop, but you know that already.

Turn is fine. River I can get behind a shove, but is worse really calling? AJ? A9? What worse is calling, seriously? What would you be bluffing with and why, especially after checking flop and flatting turn? Is better folding? I highly doubt it.

I'm just not sure I see the point of the shove except to not have to show your hand

In future, please put pot sizes on each street. Thanks.

Sorry it's been awhile haha.

I've definitely been hemming and hawing on the river. The more I think about it, it would be very odd for an ace type hand to call me in that spot. But when you see the hand he did have, it's even stranger.

Results: Hero shoves and villain tanks for a minute before calling with JJ. Catches the set on the river. I think not betting the flop is what's haunting me the most. Could have avoided the whole situation. But I wanted to make sure it actually was a cooler and I wasn't being lazy and just defaulting to saying that.

Don't think it's that strange: He took a shot when you checked through flop. He probably didn't put you on an ace, and then caught a two outer. Rough luck.

Ouch. River sucks, but happens all the time Honestly, I think the only hand that you beat that calls there is AJ -- and that's a crying call. I wish that's what he had!

All the biscuits in the middle.