Pocket Aces from SB
Hello there pawelmad9 thanks for sharing your hand with the Cardschat community. Nice hand.
Let's go for parts here
1) Preflop action
You Open Raise of 2.5x is default or you raised 2.5x because you had Pocket Aces (AA), and wanted desperately Big Blind to call it? If so, I think it is okay, but generally when it comes in gap to the SB we are raising 100% range versus any kind of player in a 3.5x size, because it is clearly a Steal Spot.
When you raise 2.5x Villain in the BB 3bets you In Position for 3x or so, and then you call.
Why did you call? Because you had notes on the player? Because you play a lot of
hands with it and saw he/she does donkey moves? Because you want him to maintain his bluffs and the weaker part of his/her range? Because the guy was with his stack broken (yup, when the action starts Villain in the BB has 99 BB left, just a little but important information).
Let me know your thoughts about it, but overall I don't believe the calling is bad (or good), but I usually elect to 4bet here because I will play out of position and in this case it does not matter if I get dealt Pocket Aces or better (kidding, there are no better hand preflop than AA).
Position matter quite everything in Poker and we know that Postflop SB is a horrible position for
equity realization, actually the worse position ever postflop for equity realization, once again, it doesn't matter if in this particular scenario you got AA.
2) Strange Flop movements, be aware!
Pot size: 16 BB
Flop: Tc 7d Qd
You decided to check to the aggresor and then he/she bets 12 BB in a Pot of 16 BB.
Again, this is, I believe the chief mistake at lower stakes, when people have a strong hand or a strong draw they bump it up and put the ships in without any concern or fear.
Let us agree that the Villain BB is betting almost 100% Pot, clearly for protection and which hands need protection in a Flop texture like that, heads-up, 3bet Pot? Let us see
Villain BB has these value hands when he bets so large and out of proportion for a 3bet Pot in Position, clearly trying to represent a protection for its range which includes:
TT, JJ QQ, and KK (AA, almost never because of the SB Removal) and believe me 77, because sometimes a player can 3bet a 77 from the BB in position versus SB Stealing range which is 100% Range, so once in a while in a situation versus BB defense versus SB steal we might find some pocket sevens. He also could have QTs in his Range, that she/he elected to 3bet for the same reason 3betted 77.
Now let's look what semi-bluffs BB might have in a spot like it:
AKo, AKs, not so many combos because of the SB Pocket Aces Removal, but still he might have it, KQo, KQs, KTs, JTs, 98s, J9s, KJo, KJs, and the Diamond Flush Draw.
So, when BB is betting such a strange huge amount as that already in the Flop, she/he is trying to show that "I am superman don't mess around, I am very strong now".
Hero SB elects to Check-Raise to 35 BB, I believe for the same reason that SB made a huge C-bet Flop (protection). Remember, we are still in the Flop and the Pot is already gigantic. And for the times Villain hits his equity with Flush Draws and Straight Draws SB will not be able to make a Fold because of the SPR, even knowing that it would be impossible to be ahead.
3) A dangerous Turn card.
Pot Size: 86 BB
Board configuration turn: Tc 7d Qd Ks
This is a mistake I made a ton of times playing 2 NL and 5 NL and lost more than one time my entire
bankroll doing such plays: charge the draws of my opponents and whey they hit their equity I simply forget why I charge so hard and decide to ship al the chips in, being certain that I rarely, very rarely be ahead.
Let's reason together: When you Check-Raise Flop you are telling your opponent that you are VERY, very, VERY STRONG with your range, and you Raised a size that compromissed both players (your Check-Raise was 2.91x to the Villain's C-bet Pot), and that you wanna charge real bad all of his draws and forcing her/him to leave all the trashes and continue only with the best draws and hands which could include:
KK, TT, 77, QQ, AJ (not so much of these because SB has AA blocking it considerably).
So, when Villain in the BB calls your very strong and decent Check-Raise and the Turns complete the equity it was missing, omg, what a disaster because now we are SPR to the pot and Hero SB improved his AA to a gutter now any J give you a very strong hand, but aces sucks because as we already know, BB has a couple of JJ in his range that could complete a Straight in the River and get us coolered down.
You play is not wrong but I believe it is not optimal. You could be either calling the flop, as long that Villain decided to bet a considerable size or check-raise in a form that you stack will not be committed in the River, remember that we are not playing hands, such as Pocket Aces, but our entire Range.
Final thoughts: Donkey Shove Turn
You have less chips in your Effective Stack than chips in the Pot which could maybe justify the Donkey-Shove Turn. SB could only calls you with Sets or Better, so for this point of view the play it's okay.
But, once he/she made a huge C-bet Flop in a 3bet Pot and you Check-Raised it monstrously, you should not expect him to have Pocket Deuces (22) and call it down.
When he calls you on the Flop he only calls you with the strongest part of his range, he will never call you here (I guess a decent player, at least) with Tx, Qx, 7x never!
When BB calls your Check-Raise he has a lot of Two Pair such as QTs, even Q7s, who knows, he has KK, QQ which are destroying SB's Range, and once in a while he will have AJs, or AJo, but not so clear because Hero blocks almost everything about this range.
So he/she will be calling your check-raise only with better hands such as Two Pairs and Sets, ans once in a lifetime he will call you with a gutter or a Flush Draw, even though he/she has no real odds to be calling it down at 2 NLHE, mostly.
Thus, Villain in the BB should be a very weak recreational player to be calling it down with Flush Draws, Gutters, and losing hands, in the face of your Donkey-Shove Turn.
IF the player had not made a 3bet Preflop, then I defend that it would be the best play. But a 3bet Preflop narrows its range quite a bit and then I believe it is impossible to continue.
Call me nitty but we are discussing 2 NLHE not High Stakes Poker where almost anything you do is correct because the Rake structure is so easy and low.
I also don't like default plays that people teach around that "you should be calling it or shoving it 100% of times this spot" because any situation in Poker is unique, genuine and also requires a genuine line of mental process. Let me know what do you think about it.
The devil is in the detailed stuff. Also God. We cannot react upon a C-bet Flop of 50% Pot the same way we react to a 3bet Pot, C-bet Flop of 50% Pot, changes a lot the situation and when the bets in the Flop, against unknown ones are over 50%, like 60%, 70%, 100%, 150%, BE AWARE. Observe that the Bet sizing is one of the biggest errors players do at the Micros and learn how to take advantage upon it, or get rid off it.
Regards;
Carlos 'Aballinamion' Barbosa
