Villain 41/21, and does bet quite a lot postflop (he's no nit or rock but I wouldn't call him a maniac either).

Any thoughts? Check-calling is a bit annoying but folding and raising didn't seem appealing at any point.

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo - 6 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter By DeucesCracked Poker Videos

Hero (SB): $32.70
BB: $21.25
UTG: $70.00
MP: $22.50
CO: $41.20
BTN: $39.80

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with 2 8 T A
2 folds, CO raises to $1.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.25, BB calls $1

Flop: ($4.50) 8 6 9 (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, CO bets $3.50, Hero calls $3.50, BB folds

Turn: ($11.50) K (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $8, Hero calls $8

River: ($27.50) T (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $26.20, Hero calls $19.70 all in

What could you possibly beat on the river or the turn? I understand the flop call, but the turn and river are puzzling. The only possible hand that I see you beating on the river, given the action, is AA2x. I see A257 for the flopped str8 and nld (and posibly the nut flush draw, too) as more likely, especially with the preflop action.

Also, if you do continue on the flop, you are weak for the high and in risk of getting quartered. Those bets mean something, whether they are simply pot building or continuation bets. What do you do if the turn is a low diamond? Any diamond?

These hands give me trouble and while I nit it up sometimes, I don't like getting stacked and wondering why I kept calling bets.

As discribed the villain I would say two pair is not good enough. May have been on a flush/nut low draw, but also very likely playing for/with a straight. Guess I would have folded on the turn assuming my high is not good enough.
You have probably caught a missed draw and posted the hand bacause of it, still I think drawing here is a bad play.

Then I represent I was drawing to the flush, and pot the turn. It would be very hard for the opponent to continue there unless he actually had the flush too (which is just bad luck, and I have the low draw as backup even then).

On this sort of board there is a lot of fold equity once you make your low, which is why I was tempted to call the flop turn. (I can completely understand folding the turn though).

I don't give him credit for a flopped straight, I mean, he raised preflop and stacks are fairly short, it's pretty long odds he actually flopped it.

Grunch:

PF- Seems okay with the As and the 2 in your hand. Your side cards aren't great thought. Seems like you're going to be stuck playing this hand OOP focusing more on a low than anything else. Your hand really isn't that coordinated, and other than flopping a flush draw and some extras, seems eh...maybe 3-bet or fold PF is better? Or is defend her standard? Not sure.

Flop- You have mid pair + gutter + low draw. Seems fine to peel here. I think that your high could have some serious ROI though and just purely going on the low could be marginal (as you don't want to get quartered). That said, flop seems like a standard c/c, as c/r-ing is a bit ambitious and c/f is a bit weak. Leading is interesting but I prefer doing it with a better hand, I think.

Turn- Eh...this is marginal. We didn't complete our low, our high is looking ******** and ******** (same with the implied odds of making a high hand, which is looking more and more likely). Further, Even if you hit a 7 on the river, your implied odds aren't great, since he'll fold his sets/etc and he also could have a higher straight.

In summation, I think turn is a fold.

Given the way you got to the river, I don't like it much...your hand is a pure bluff catcher on a board that can very likely hit villain's range. I fold.

At some point, you either give the villian credit for the hand or you blow him up with a reraise. Calling down is not good. I think that having more than a low draw is necessary to commit all my chips.

Calling for info is expensive, but it may be worthwhile for meta gaming. I can see the villian bluffing the flop, but not the turn nor the river.

There are plenty of times when I have caught bluffs with bigger hands.

C/R shove flop. As played.. looks like you are trying to bluff catch and that can be expensive. I wouldn't do it often, but every now and again it ain't all bad. When villain bets big on river it is either a bluff or you being smoked.

Fold the turn for reasons listed above.

your hand is pretty much a bluffcatcher... that said i call. villain may have nailed the flop or spiked the turn/river but could also have a ton of busted draws or just have lost his mind. in any event i always pay to find out. pretty sure it's +$ev long term and informations always worth having.

Can you explain that more? Say villain does have the hand. Then reraising and calling down are both just as bad. But if he does not have the hand then if I reraise he folds and if I call he loses extra money. So calling seems to dominate.

With a pair and nut low draw and a gutshot you've gotta put more money in on the flop.

But what hands play back at you? Only hands that crush you imo.

I prefer check call flop, check fold turn. River call is way out of line unless you've seen villain exhibit this kind of behaviour before.

Very, very few hands crush hero on this flop. Basically only nut lo draw hands with a way better hi, which are really rare. Many hands are in the 55/45 or 60/40 range ahead of villain like Nut lo draw + better pair or nut lo draw + flush draw +.

yes.

put 2nd nuts no redraw vs hero's hand, for example:

ProPokerTools Omaha Hi/Lo Simulation

600,000 trials (Randomized)

board: 689

Hand	Pot equity	Scoops	Wins Hi	Ties Hi	Wins Lo	Ties Lo
57KK	63.83%	261,516	490,930	0	138,647	0
As2cTs8h	36.17%	95,614	109,070	0	307,258	0

[ ] A28T crushed.^

ProPokerTools Omaha Hi/Lo Simulation

600,000 trials (Randomized)

board: 689

Hand	Pot equity	Scoops	Wins Hi	Ties Hi	Wins Lo	Ties Lo
99KK	59.32%	204,142	507,703	0	0	0
As2cTs8h	40.68%	92,297	92,297	0	380,947	0

^top set no redraw
[ ] A28T crushed.^

ProPokerTools Omaha Hi/Lo Simulation

600,000 trials (Randomized)

board: 689

Hand	Pot equity	Scoops	Wins Hi	Ties Hi	Wins Lo	Ties Lo
A2**	46.62%	97,419	224,053	30,640	65,950	343,370
As2cTs8h	53.38%	103,132	345,307	30,640	0	343,370

... [ ] crushed

if you're read is that two of his cards are the A and the 2.. river seems like a call bec. he needs exactly 57 or 7 10 to beat you and take this line. But if he's good he'll know that his line looks like the busted low draw and only take this line for value. so I guess it comes down to a guessing game between you and villian. if you think he thinks you're a call station then fold but if he thinks you're a station then call.. if that makes any sense

No, actually he just needs a 7 here with any of those other straight cards on the board to have a straight. Should have check raised him on flop and taken the guesswork out of check calling every street.

When you are just check calling he could easily just put you on chasing the low which is why he would 3 barrel it as well. As played you have no way of knowing one way or another which is why you should take the shot on the flop that he would fold to c/r or possibly call you allin with a way worse hand. Either way at least the cards are laid out that way and you can see where you stand.

does villian ever show up with a set or a better two pair here or is his range air or straights?.. if he's capable of merging seems closer to a fold

Good analysis, so the verdict is I should check/pot theflop and ship the rest on pretty much any turn. Things seem a bit simpler after the fact

lol... hes taking a line full steam ahead every street with some raggedy hand and you give him some kind of thought process.

good call kittens. slap a note on him and hope he plays a lot more.

Will do, but my roll can't take much more of this

agree with lucius that it was good play on villain's part.

villians who understand relative hand strength and merge their ranges are nightmares to play against imo... especially when they have the initiave...

What is 'merge their ranges'? I guess from context it means the opposite of 'polarise', i.e. they will make an unconventional bet often enough that their range can reasonably contain any hand?

yea like they will make super thin value bets or super thin bluffs with showdown value instead of having the nuts or air