$1 180 players

PokerStars - 150/300 Ante 25 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

MP+1: 36.77 BB
CO: 35.52 BB
BTN: 36.02 BB
SB: 8.2 BB
Hero (BB): 48.62 BB
UTG: 14.73 BB
UTG+1: 18.78 BB
MP: 29.85 BB

8 players post ante of 0.08 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.17 BB) Hero has 5 A

fold, fold, fold, MP+1 raises to 2 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 1 BB

Flop: (5.17 BB, 2 players) Q 5 5
Hero checks, MP+1 bets 2.58 BB, Hero raises to 7.75 BB, MP+1 calls 5.17 BB

Turn: (20.67 BB, 2 players) J
Hero bets 10.33 BB, MP+1 calls 10.33 BB

River: (41.33 BB, 2 players) 6
Hero bets 28.45 BB and is all-in, MP+1 calls 16.6 BB and is all-in

I could be wrong but I think x/r flop is pretty standard.. def my go to line

Yeah, c/r and c/c are both fine here. If we're raising should prob raise more so you can jam turn or just flat and c/r turn when he inevitably bets most of his range.

I prefer calling flop and raising turn, but this is a bad cooler and such things happen all the time. Don't get discouraged ( and don't post the results)

Just out of interest, what bluffs would you have in your range when check raising on this board?

I'm not x/raising this flop. Although you have more 5x than he does, villain still has a big range advantage on this flop because he has all big pairs and good Qx. Plus you don't want to fold out all his missed stuff or middling pairs. As olivestone pointed out, you don't have bluffs like draws in your range here so your x/r looks super-nutty.

Hands that block 5's and turn backdoor equity are good. 67ss/hh/dd are good to start with.

Why does villain just have to fold a middle pair when we c/r? If he's folding a middle pair here then we can just c/r a lot more to exploit him. Villain needs to defend some pairs below Qx to a c/r or he'll be overfolding. He should be calling with 99-JJ to a c/r some % depending on how he views us. If we're not c/r this flop then villain can just b/f too much here. If we're not including 5x in our c/r range then we just can't have a c/r range. Which isn't great since according to Darth he has range advantage which means villain is suppose to be at a higher frequency (more often, not sizing) for a small size here. We combat his position and wide range with high frequency by c/r. We add a value combo to c/r to give the c/r range validity. We could argue to call cause A5 is the literal top of our range besides quads tho and raise worse 5's. He has a range advantage pre but we have more value hands than villain that can go 3 streets. Sure villain has KQo+ prob and QQ/middling pairs but we have basically every 5 and that crushes his naked Q's. So just count the combos and we should be pretty close with all the 5's we can defend here.

This is probably a good point, Olivestone too. I think if the flop was say 55(9,8,7,6) we can make a good argument for raising our 5's because we should also be raising our straight draws (gunshots included), and often top pair.

Yes, a flop like 556 or 557 would be a much better flop to x/r for value, especially if there is a flush draw.

How is having a flop that gives villain even less value hands a better spot to c/r for value?

For balance, since villain will expect us to x/r bluff on that flop often.

it is a balance thing but also if you look at the hands villain is continuing with after we rise the Q high board it is AQ some KQ and a few QJ. If we look at a board like 559. Villain (I think) can continue with a lot more hands. Basically all of their 9s, some smaller pocket pairs like 88, 77, 66, over pairs and some combos like two over cards with a BDFD

If villain's only continuing range is Qx then we can just literally c/r at such an absurd frequency cause they should be betting this flop pretty often. So how does villain call down 3 streets or fold future streets if his only holdings are full houses (I assume top boat flats if we c/r flop obv) and top pairs?

So to circle back if villain expects us to not be bluffing as often then it seems like a good time to c/r bluff more. But what always happens here is people say well they're never folding and then I light myself on fire.

it might make sense to raise that board (Q55r) with hands that block the the Q like JTs or AK but I don't really think it is about balance so much there just because the population doesn't really bluff raise that spot too often

I was doing one of the Upswing quizes today and this came up, thought it would be worth sharing as it relates back to this hand: