Villain (V1) was a 30-something Asian who was playing consistent with a loose-passive read before this hand.
1/3. V1 (a bit over 200) limps UTG. Hero (600) calls with 88 UTG+2. V2 (500) raises to 12 in MP. Ends up being three to the flop, surprisingly.
Flop is J52r. Checked around.
Turn is 8
, putting two spades out there. V1 bets 15. Hero raises to 45. V2 calls. V1 calls.
River is non-spade A. V1 checks. Hero bets 100. V2 thinks and unhappily folds. V1 tank-calls.
V1 turns over JJ and says he was worried I had AA, which I believe based on his body language and his not raising.
V1 later got felted twice. First when AA all-in preflop lost to a set of kings. Next, when he got it all-in with KK and lost when AQ hit an ace on the river. With KK, he didn't insta-call a shove and said he had to call even though he was probably against aces. I expect to see him again.
My assessment of this player is that he is nervous about non-nut hands, but he won't fold even though he is sending out signals of weakness.
When I am at the table, I like to think through scenarios of possible future hands so that I take less time to act. Here are some scenarios I considered. V1 is sitting two seats to my right in all examples.
Scenario 1) Limped pot. Hero has 98o in the BB. Flop is QJT. Hero bets 2/3 pot on flop and is called. Turn is a 2. Hero bets 2/3 pot and is called. River is a 7, no flush possible. Hero bets whatever amount and is raised. Should I fold to a min-raise? Should I ever call to a raise larger than the minimum?
Scenario 2) Limped pot. Hero raises on the button with Ax. Villain is one of two callers. Flop is AJ2. Check to hero who bets 2/3 pot and is called. Turn is 7. Checked to hero who bets 2/3 pot. Villain calls. Other caller folds. River is 9. Villain checks. For what values of X should hero value-bet the river?
Scenario 3) Straddled pot. Hero is in BB. Five limpers. Villain is short-stacked and shoves for $87 OTB. What hands should hero be playing in this spot?
Scenario 4) Villain open-limps. Hero raises with A
K
. Heads-up pot. Flop is 872 with two spades. Hero c-bets. Villain check-calls. Are there any cards that are not A, K, or spade that hero should fire again on the turn if villain checks? Should hero consider a thin value bet unimproved since he might be against a straight or flush draw and have the best hand?