Villain is chatty and friendly. He's in every pot, raises about half of them, bets the pot on the flop or turn with 3rd or 4th pair and then says, "but I was good, right?" when exposed, knowing full well he's trying to knock people off 2nd or top pair. He'll show one card as if to justify that he "had it". However, I do recall at least one time where he voluntarily showed betting the pot on the turn with 4th pair. He is fairly competent post-flop, though (in that he knows what he's doing and where his value is coming from), and folds to aggression. This is the only big pot on the river I saw him in, since most people folded to him on earlier streets. However, he's only been playing about an hour before this hand (came from a broken table) and I've never seen him before.

Hero ($500) is in SB with red QQ. Villain (covers) is in HJ. There are a few limpers, villain raises to $11, I pop it to $41. HJ calls.

Flop ($85): T84. Hero bets $45, V calls.
Turn ($175): J. I check, V bets $150, I call.
River ($475): A

This is where I felt he tried to angle me. As soon as the A appeared, he says, "Oh, what a card!" Then he starts muttering openly about what a difficult spot it puts him in before he confidently announces "all-in".

Hero folds, and he's surprised. He offers me his cards to turn over, but I decline. I don't have a lot of experience, but what I do have tells me in this case he "has it" and wants the table to see it to cement the idea that he's not really a bully.

First he says, "J no good?" then he claims he had AJ. I believe he had me beat, but he could have a lot here. KQ or AK are good candidates.

My question is really about the turn. Is checking too passive here? I need something to defend my checking range here OOP, and I probably don't have many flush draws after betting the flop. But maybe AA is a better candidate?

Also, if we are facing a player who likes to build big pots with mediocre hands, is the proper adjustment to raise more with top pair and overpairs? I imagine that would depend on his reaction: does he fold them or not? And if we don't try and raise him with those type of hands, is he going to bet again with just mediocrity?

Thanks in advance.

Read title saying deep in position, read post saying hero is the small blind...

OOPs (pun intended)

c/r jam the turn

I guess I am too mubsy... What calls that x/r? I figure he has all the sets plus JTs and maybe a combo or 2 of KK+. So we are looking for about 15 combos of worse.

I suppose most AJ plus some KJ will call plus we would be denying equity on a bunch of draws (notably the flush and OES draws that he didn't raise with) plus we are offering villain a chance to make a mistake and call with those draws.

This is not an angle.

It certainly felt like it. Why would you openly debate to yourself about what a difficult spot you are in? Seems like something you keep to yourself unless you are angling for a call.

Made me think of something a similar player did recently versus me. Usually when he was bluffing he would put his chips in quick. But one time when he hit his flush on the river he Hollywood'ed like it was such a tough decision before confidently putting his chips in.

Or does the term angle have a more devious connotation and I am misusing it?

This.


What you described was either ordinary table talk, or in some places against the rules.

Yeah not an angle.

Oh and next time always turn cards over when offered.

I had to laugh myself because most of the feedback I'm getting is not about the actual hand, although still all very useful. Maybe I was being stubborn by not turning over the cards. Part of the reason was I knew I'd go on tilt if I had folded the best hand and would have to walk away. But I was fairly sure I hadn't (although there is always that possibility) and assumed he wouldn't offer if I had (he'd just show the bluff).

I'm still thinking about the turn action. Betting and check/jamming with QQ here seems to be the consensus. What's interesting to me is that the runout analysis says any card on the turn except a K or A sinks the equity of my range below 50%. I take this to mean that a competent villain is likely to bet if checked to, or raise if bet into.

Let's say villain calls the flop with AK, AQcc+ss, AJcc+ss, KQcc+ss, any club in AJo, AQo, KQo, plus all is Tx and 8x hands, pocket pairs down to 44, A4s, A8s, all flush draws and the straight draws like Q9s and J9s. Made hands that call the check/jam that I beat are pretty much 7 combos of AJ plus maybe one or two of AT. So I'm concluding that denying equity to the 6 combos of KQ plus the flush draws is important enough that it tips the balance. (Q9cc adds another combo to the 15 that beat me which I left out earlier.) That's a new concept for me.

I could also have bet the turn and expected a call from most of villain's range. At the time, I probably would have folded to a raise or jam but it looks like calling is probably more correct.

/thread.

Whatever he put that bet in with. Essentially V paid an entry fee, we now have the option to tax him. Even if he has 22 we cant just let him see a free river. Check-raise really is the most superior option. I think there's an argument to be made for just going into callstation mode and letting him fire off no matter what the runnout is, but i like x/r better for future meta. This deep we're going to be playing a bunch of draws vs him and he needs to know that whenever we raise it's not just because we made our flush.

Any feeling on what he might think of you?

If he's a bully, checking the turn will prompt him to bet, so the x/r shove makes sense.

Ugly river, though. He's probably pulling your chain saying he had AJ. More likely A T

x/r turn is the best play here..