Let me preface this by saying that I honestly wasn’t sure how to approach this hand on several streets and I think I made some errors so I’m genuinely looking for help. Just a quick intro about me- I think most people view me as fairly tight and I actually DO NOT play much Hold ‘Em anymore; my game of choice for the last 6 months to a year has been PLO— $1/$2 with a $5 bring-in or $5/$10 when it runs about once per week. I keep meticulous stats and I’m a winning player at PLO ($110 per hour over 8+ months of regular play) but when I first moved over from NLHE to PLO I was on a massive heater and seemed like I always got there or flopped huge and people bet into me. I only took poker serious and started keeping stats about 6 months prior to playing PLO and my NLHE stats for those 6 months I averaged around $30 per hour for 2/5 but I would guess I was a losing player the first several years that I played NLHE in a casino setting.

I’m late 20s, clean cut white guy but I don’t wear shades or listen to music/screw off on my phone while playing. I like to interact with the table, socialize and genuinely enjoy the game so I don’t look at my phone unless to check a sports score or reply to a text quickly. Most people would say I have a fairly tight image I would guess.

Anyway- I find myself in a $5/10 NLHE game that generally only runs when a specific player is in town and he will start this game. Optional $20 BTN or UTG straddle that 70-80% of the table employ. The $2/$5/$10 at this casino runs most days and plays big and is $1,500 cap so this game doesn’t run but 1-2 times per month. The guy I’m talking about we will call AB is a MLB player that’s made ~$200M in his career and loves to give action and have a good time. He absolutely loves the game and he definitely understands certain advanced elements of the game but I don’t think he’s thinking anywhere close to the level of a professional or even ranging opponents particularly well however he can spin up a huge stack when variance is on his side. Anyway I bought in for the minimum at the smaller PLO game ($200) a couple hours earlier and was up to $1950 when AB shows up for the game. I take my $1950 to his table so that’s the effective stack in this hand. Everyone else bought in for at least $2K I was the short stack at ~$1,950. There’s a $20 BTN straddle by Dr X who’s a local physician and about a 55-60 year old Japanese man. He’s obviously very intelligent and understands the math of the game but he’s a rec player as well and I don’t think he’s ranging his opponents very well either... he’s capable of running up a big stack as well but he usually gives it all back if he plays long enough. His biggest weaknesses by far are calling 3-bets super wide in fact I can’t recall him ever folding to a 3-bet when he opens and when he limps he always calls the PFR as well. Then when he 3-bets it’s always to a sizing that doesn’t make sense. So anyway he BTN straddles to $20, our MLB player AB is UTG and he makes it $50 which is the standard EP open in this game. UTG+2 calls $50. I’m two seats to his left (MP2?) with 6♥️7♥️ and I call $50. The CO calls $50 and Dr X on the button flips in a black $100 chip and says “RAISE EET UP” so he effectively min-raises. Everyone that put in $50 already called the additional $50. So we’re 5 ways to a flop with $500 in it. By the way 5/10 here is timed rake.

FLOP: 5♥️ 8♥️ J♠️

AB checks, UTG2 checks, I check, CO checks and Dr X flicks two black $100 chips in very casually almost trying to show everyone that he’s not really paying attention and is watching the basketball game on TV. Only UTG2 folds, everyone else calls $200. What should I be doing there? Just calling as I did? I’m putting Dr X and AB on pocket pairs or two high cards... generally speaking 8s-Qs and I would say AQ, AK and at the weakest two suited broadways... JT, QT, QJ, KT, KJ, KQ, AT, AJ suited would be a the weakest portion of their ranges in my mind.

POT = $1,300 & TURN 5♥️ 8♥️ J♠️ 9♠️

AB leads out for one yellow $1,000 chip but announces “$400”... I only have $1,650ish left which is basically just a pot-sized bet! What should I be doing here?? I turn the Straight with an open ended straight flush draw. In my mind the only personal capable of holding some version of QT here is the CO who’s probably the best player in the hand. Do I really want to jam here with my hand? If I don’t jam what the heck am I raising to? Should I call with two people behind? I’m honestly not good enough to really know what to do here. I go with the low variance route and call the $400. My thinking here is if the board pairs I can get away from my hand on the river because I feel like if anyone has a set here they are not folding anyway even if I do jam the $1,650. I think my hearts could be good here depending upon what the CO does but in my mind if Dr X, AB, or the CO had a big heart draw we would have seen more money piling in on the flop... thoughts on that? The CO calls $400, and Dr X calls $400 as well and makes a comment looking directly at AB saying something along the lines of “I call whatever you bet on river AB!!” which gets a chuckle from the rest of the table. However if the CO (he’s a pro by the way not sure I mentioned this yet) or Dr X raise here am I sticking the rest of my money in? So now the pot has $2900 in it and I only have $1,250ish behind.

RIVER = 5♥️ 8♥️ J♠️ 9♠️ 9♥️

I get super-bailed out here especially when AB jams $2K on the river as I obviously call the rest of the $1,250 I have left. The CO folds, and Dr X snap calls too. AB shows J♦️J♣️ and Dr X mucked but later said he had AA not sure I believe him or not.... CO said he folded 10♥️10♠️ getting an excellent price on both the flop and turn with two blockers to the nut Straight as well as two blockers to both flush draws that would take away possible hand combos so when he turned open ended he figured that if he made a straight on the river he would more than likely have the best hand and get paid.

Obviously I get bailed out by the deck this time on the river but that’s the most boring part other than winning a $6,600+ pot which was the biggest of my life. But I’m wondering what I should be doing on the flop and on the turn to maximize value AND then on the river what if it comes a 2♣️? Or a non-pairing board ♥️ like say the K♥️? or the 3♥️? Both those cards make me a flush but they both have different implications if possible heart combos for the other players... I feel like the K♥️ would be a better card to see hit the river versus the 3 because it takes away big heart combos that a pre-flop 3-bettor would have as well as a player that calls a pre-flop 3-bet. Now I have a small flush am I committed to sticking my last $1250 into ~$4200 when AB jams a non-paired board heart? Does it depend on the heart? Or do I just not have enough money to call it off at that point? If it comes an off suit deuce or non-straightening/non-flushing card am I sticking the money in with the Straight that I had? If the board pairs on the river and AB instantly jams it all in like he did am I insta-folding? What if the river is the J♥️? I make my flush but he still jams for the rest of my stack? Am I folding there too? Are players really ever bluffing in that spot? Especially ones that are not world class professional players.... Should I be trying to get this pot to heads up prior to the turn or river? And if so when? Is it ever best to go low variance in this multi-way pot simply looking to either make my hand and get the absolute maximum or fold and lose the minimum if I don’t? That just doesn’t feel like the best way to have played things... obviously being results oriented I got bailed out tremendously as well as some good for AB making a full house on the river making it easier for the money to go in but I have a feeling he was jamming any river.... maybe not.

This hand really had me at a loss in real time and even after thinking about it for awhile I truly wasn’t sure what to do. I’ve never had a hand go 4 ways like that especially all the way to the river where no one showed enough aggression to get the pot to heads up or at the very least where all the money went in and the cards played out without anyone making decisions.

The last few months I’ve been studying my ass off online mostly on the correct ways to play certain PLO hands but I’ve also put some serious time looking at NLHE hands and spots too. After this hand happened I honestly felt like I had no clue what was going on and had almost no grasp on the correct play on any street. I think I ranged at least two of my opponents well but that’s all I did well in the hand IMO.

I would really appreciate anyone’s thoughts, comments, questions, etc.

I realize I probably suck compared to most of you more advanced players/pros so be easy on me. I’m really trying to get better at the game as I truly just love playing live poker.

Thanks in advance guys.

I think you'll get more responses if you can cut down some of the text.

I'm not much of an analyst but I'd have jammed the turn. QT is such a small portion of what calls you and flatting, as you outlined, puts you in numerous unenviable river spots.

I do not play this high but given the description I would raise the turn. I would probably go all in but might consider making it 900 if I thought that Dr X would call with over pairs at that size but fold them to a shove. My assumption would be that AB is calling either way. Seems unlikely Dr X raises Q10 pre so if the pro shows up with it that's poker.


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Dude... way too long of a post.

If you feel like you have a big edge here I can see calling turn and folding river when you feel like you are beat, but I prefer shoving turn and hoping we hold.

Flop looks like a standard raise.

I think you don't mind getting all your money in on the flop??

Raise flop, gii ott. The competent CO has exactly 1 combo of QT (spades) based on his flop call.

Disclaimer: I have not played 5/T.

You moved to this game to play with the whales, how are you not fist pump gii on the flop/turn?
You say you put them on over pairs or Broadway cards. Raising the flop should fold out their equity with 2 overs and even if they call with all of their pairs you are an equity favorite. You are never folding flop. This is a no brainer high equity semi bluff raise otf to balance out your sets that take the same line.
Turn you have a PSB behind with the 2nd nuts in a mutliway pot on a draw heavy board. Why are you not gii here?? You're only shoving stone nuts? Highly exploitable.
You did not get "bailed out by the deck". You were a massive favorite on the turn. River is just a semi cooler since the whale is bet/calling the river with top set regardless of the river card.

Seriously, the most important thing you should take from this hand is you should not be playing these stakes. Your thought process is scared money and you will get wrecked by any semi competent player who sees this.

Shove the flop. Fortunately for you the meek way you played it allowed you to get maximum value in the perfect way the board ran out.


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OUCH!

I dont see how you dont know what to do when you a made hand (strt) and a str flush draw? Sorry- You are a winning 2/5 player and dont know what to do?
You are 55-60% to win just on flop and when turn comes there's only one hand that can potentially beat you if he hits a 2 outer on river. ( jacks)

I just dont get it...

This post is way too long. I did read most of it. You are way overthinking things. A lot of the information given was unnecessary.

Hehe, 195BB stack is 5BBs short of the buy-in and is a short stack. I laughed a bit inside. This isn't going to make a difference, but it was a bit comical to read.

You should make a decent sized bet on flop with intention of getting your stack in the middle if raised. As played, shove turn.

Congrats on a $6000+ win. That was a pretty sick hand. Not every day you get a straight flush.


Dr. X exhibited a classic tell of strength. Now AA isn't all that strong with that board and number of players to the flop, but in his mind it is a strong hand. When he bets as if he doesn't care and looks away this is a strong indicator of strength from an amateur player. Regardless though, your hand is very strong and should be looking to get it in anyway.

Jam the flop. Easy game.