$10 NLHE Full Ring: 3bet AQ to steal but was called.

Villian Stats (VPIP/PFR/AF): 16/12/2

He had a high fold to 3bets 100% - 5/5. I thought his range UTG would mean if I call I am dominated or will win only small pots when I hit so I suppose I am turning my hand into a bluff but if he calls with like Qs or Js I still have some chance to hit my ace. He calls. I throw out a cbet and was ready to give up if called.

I hit an ace on the turn and check because I don't want to fold out smaller pairs and he's quite aggressive so might bluff at the ace. I didn't expect AA, KK because they don't call preflop and AK wouldn't normally call the flop.

I hate the river bet. Any thoughts? I didn't put this guy down as a fish purely because of his stats. I know I was playing pretty risky every street.


pokerstars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed) - PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($4.47)
MP2 ($12.14)
CO ($5.89)
Button ($11.33)
SB ($4.35)
Hero (BB) ($10)
UTG ($10.52)
UTG+1 ($5.95)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A , Q
3 folds, MP2 bets $0.30, 3 folds, Hero raises to $1, MP2 calls $0.70

Flop: ($2.05) 5 , 6 , 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.30, MP2 calls $1.30

Turn: ($4.65) A (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $3.23, Hero calls $3.23

River: ($11.11) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $6.61 (All-In)

I'm confused. You talk about his UTG range but the HH says he was MP2??? You say he's a fish by his stats but you list them as a tagish 16/12/2??? You cbet OOP against what you describe as a strong range (since he'd never called a 3bet in the past) yet fail to bet again on the turn when you hit top pair???

I'm not a fan of 3betting AQ from any position. Here I think you can flat or fold and save your bluff 3bets for hands with less value.

Sorry I thought he was UTG +1. I said I didn't think he was a fish.

I didn't bet the turn because I didn't want to fold out worse hands so I checked to look like I hadn't hit the ace. I didn't think he would carry on this that hand with pairs like 99-QQ after the 3bet preflop and the ace on board.

Do you think it is okay to call OOP with AQ against this guy? What if he actually was UTG lol?

Beacuse there are 3 clubs on board he's going to call a turn bet with some of his less than TP hands because he will have one club. I think calling preflop with AQ here is what I would do almost 100% of the time since we can't really 3bet for value against someone who folds to most 3bets. If he's UTG it's a probably a fold rather than a call since AQ becomes the bottom of his Ax range.

I don't like 3betting aq against this guy as it's not really a hand that should be in our polarized 3bet range IMO

Been reading this article recently. It's pretty good at explaining 3betting ranges and why you should 3bet polarized range as apposed to a merged range. Before reading this article i'd usually 3b AQ but after reading it i'd just flat as is explained in the link; it'll just fold out a good portion of hands you already beat and you'll have to fold against his strong 4bet range.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/15/poker-theory/nlhe-3betting-facing-3bet-988213/

That thread is gold.

I just read that thread it is indeed gold! Thanks Jbbb. A question though, he is choosing complete trash and said he picks hands like Q7 that has a blocker to opponents 3bet calling ranges. Are hands that aren't complete trash like small suited connectors not just as good because they have more potential to flop well than like Q7 and I think potential to flop well is better than having one blocker card?

watchtowel said:

I just read that thread it is indeed gold! Thanks Jbbb. A question though, he is choosing complete trash and said he picks hands like Q7 that has a blocker to opponents 3bet calling ranges. Are hands that aren't complete trash like small suited connectors not just as good because they have more potential to flop well than like Q7 and I think potential to flop well is better than having one blocker card?

Click to expand...

Em well I think he's refering to sitatuions where its either a 4bet or fold. So when we're 4bet we can easily fold even if we're getting 2:1 because our hand is so weak against the 4betting shove range we still can't call. So suited queens and kings are usually dominated and so a call isn't good from us. Nowadays people tend to call more often to see a flop so I suppose hands that have better flop potential would make more sense to 3b. He does say you can choose your own 3b range aslong as it's polarized.

Against a 16/12 opening in UTG or UTG+1 im folding AQ when OOP, i've also learnt to stop getting fancy and trying to 3bet UTG opens, of course it has its place and can be very good because some people think holy **** he's 3betting an UTG raise he must be strong, but in my experience too often you get 4bet and feel like a fool.

Against a MP open i can see a call or fold, depends really im not too happy about calling, i doubt its gonna be mega profitable long term, if it even is.

But yeah, 3-betting AQ is something i'd never do unless its against a loose fish who calls 3bets too much and that part is a must. Look for the guys that open too much in middle position and late position and punish them with your 3-bet bluffs, and always think why you're 3-betting before you do it theres not much to think about when you do think about it; does he fold a lot to 3bets? bluff him more with junk. Does he call too much, 3bet stuff that is ahead of his range for value like JJ,QQ,AK,AQs etc, which all depends on how loose he is and how often he calls 3bets if its a bit too much then add like QQ,JJ if hes a loose fish and calls every 3bet then go lower like AJ and stuff. Is he a TAG stealing with a wide range? flat call hands like AQ and stay ahead of his range. Just think logically about villains tendencies and our cards before you play every hand and it will help postflop.