The two biggest pots I’ve been involved in in the last month have been full house over full house. Fortunately I came out on the winning end both times and the pots each exceeded $1000. How they played out though, has impacted my thinking on the situation and I’d like advice on the matter.

Coles: V with weaker boat goes all-in after the river.

Pot #1
Hero - 88 (c.$600 stack)
V. - A5 suited (c. $800)
Board: 8 5 3 A 5
There’s about $150 in the pot when I bet $100 for what I think is value on the river only to be shoved all-in for a $1200 pot. With the third nuts, I know he doesn’t have AA but feel if he’s got 55 (which would pretty much play the same) that’s just my bad luck, so I call. The shocked look on the V’s face as 75% of his stack disappears was apparent. Over the next 10 min, he must have repeated 4 times “I had no idea you were so strong.”

Pot #2
Hero: KJ suited (c. $500)
V: JJ (c. $450)
Board; K K 7 J 5
I bet $120 into a $120 pot on the river, again for what I think is value. V goes all-in and is shocked at losing his stack. As he leaves the table he says “I guess I shoulda just called.”


Later in the same session as pot #2, I hit a boat with 3 3 on a A 3 Q 10 Q board and just called the river bet for a $180 pot. Guy next to me says “I can’t believe you didn’t raise that.” Several others nod.

Here’s my thinking that I need advice on.
When hitting a weak boat:
I’ll go all-in if either myself or V are short stacked.
If both of us are deep, I’m just calling. I don’t want to be like the V’s I won big from, so focused on what I’ve got and not what someone else could have.
I’m folding/avoiding $1000 pots with my nut low boat.

How far off/good is my thinking? What is the correct play with a weak boat after the river?

Hands don't magically start at the river. Without knowing how the action went preflop, on the flop and on the turn, how can I know what the right decision is?

By the way never try to figure out what others at the table would do other than using that information to exploit them. It tends to be "poor" advice

I was on the receiving end of this last night