Hi all,

I was playing my local 1/2 game on the weekend, and I got dealt A K Q J in middle position with one limp before me. So I raised to $10 and got two callers, then the small blind, a very splashy and aggro player, pots it to $50. I call and all the other players fold, there is $125 in the pot and we have about $450 behind.

The flop comes: T 4 3 the small blind pots it and I call with nut flush draw and backdoors ($375 now in pot and $325 behind). The turn comes J giving me a monster 13 outs to nut straight and 6 outs to nut flush (after removing those accounted for with the straight outs). Small blind jams and I call after some thought - easy call really as I have 18 outs against any set, which is the worst case scenario, and the turn bet is not even full pot, so I only need 30% equity or so to call, and 18 outs is almost 40% equity here right?

The river comes the 6 and the small blind announces 'nuts' and turns over 8 7 6 5 - so I had him completely dominated in the flush draw and the straight draw, and was actually ahead with top pair on the turn and he needed to hit one of his 11 small straight (non-diamond) outs to win - which he did. I believe I am about a 72% favorite when the money went in on the turn.

My questions are - am I correct to simply call the 3bet in position before the flop? I believe so, right? Better to take a flop in position rather than 4bet against what could easily be an aces-heavy three bet range (although this player does 3bet pretty wide). Secondly - is the call on the flop correct, or should I consider raising, seeing as I have the nut flush blocker and perhaps therefore some more fold equity? From what I've read, the naked nut flush draw is not enough to get it in on the flop, especially against a player who does not like folding.

Any other thoughts on the hand in general greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

-T

Hi

Definitely dont 4 bet this hand. You have a ace high potenital FD, and a high card wrap. You're gonna dominate the other players holdings, so you want to keep them in the pot for sure. The aces thing is eh, he doesnt have to have aces and shouldnt be raising all his aces anyway, but for the aforementioned reasons just call

OTF you flopped pretty good, and If you wanted to play this hand in a less then optimal manner for this EXACT hand but better for your overall range (and in a aggresive manner), potting here against a aggro player who LIKES to fold when he knows hes beat could be good. Id probably just shove this 55% of the time and call 45% to stay balanced.

"From what I've read, the naked nut flush draw is not enough to get it in on the flop, especially against a player who does not like folding." given this exact info id say just call for sure though haha

Think we can just get it in on the flop vs this player. Most of the time at least one of our pair outs would be good and we have backdoors. Villain holding a set is also not likely on this flop. But don't think it would matter for the outcome

Rest seems fine.

I like the way you played this hand

That said with Spr so low on the Flop you can just go with it and pot him back with 4 overs, backdoor straights and NFD

You were def big fav to win on the turn, that's just PLO.
That turn card was on of the best cards you can ask for besides any diamond.

Thanks for the feedback guys - so it seemed I played the hand well enough. The only question really is whether to get it in on the flop, and in hindsight I think it may have worked (I.e. gotten a fold). Villain cbets far too much in general, especially out of position and/or in multiway pots, and I think that fact combined with having the nut flush blocker might have given me good fold equity.

I've played many sessions with him and seen him cbetting with complete garbage in multiway hands. That said, he also does not like to fold and, on the contrary, likes to gamble - and if he does have for example an overpair with some other equity, perhaps I don't want a call as I may be getting it in behind.

In any case, when in position I like to be sticky and force them to fire the second barrel/give up so I can stab and steal. Villain often gives up on the turn, so I was honestly surprised to see the second barrel, but of course there is no chance I can fold - and, as it turned out, my pair was ahead anyway and I was a 3-1 favorite to win the hand.

Villain has an amazing knack of getting it in behind and winning. I have lost count of the amount of huge pots I have lost to him in a manner similar to the above. I guess I have to embrace the variance right? I may have a bit of a downswing in the short term, but in the long run I should end up way ahead.

Thanks again for your thoughts, really appreciate it.

-T

You’re not going to fold out a wrap and flush draw out on the flop with that stack size and getting led into

So is it correct to flat call on the flop, or do you think I should pot it?

my thoughts on how you could have played it, Refer to my previous reply post

That said with Spr so low on the Flop you can just go with it and pot him back with 4 overs, backdoor straights and NFD

You were def big fav to win on the turn, that's just PLO.
That turn card was on of the best cards you can ask for besides any diamond.

Sure but is "4 overs, backdoor straights and NFD" really enough equity to get it in vs. a small blind 3bet range vs. EP open? Note that we were playing a full ring, nine-handed game.

I'd just shove the flop. It can never be that bad and it's a huge mistake if you ever fold the best hand on the turn or river.

i get it in on flop to make sure to realize my nut equity, while also having good enough eq vs his range. by flatting turns could get awkward.