$400 NLHE Full Ring: Maximizing value with the near nuts

Hi guys I played an interesting hand yesterday at a 2/5 NL table and would like some feedback on whether or not I played the hand to maximize value.

Starting stacks:

Hero: $600
Villain: $350

It gets folded around to Hero who opens to $20 in the HiJack holding 5:diamond: 5:spade:. Villain in the CO and the BTN both call.

The flop comes: 5:heart: Q:heart: T:heart: $63 in pot

Hero bets $40. Villain calls. The BTN folds.

The turn brings a T:spade: $143 in pot

Hero bets $100. Villain calls.

The river brings a J:heart: $343 in pot

Now at this point would you put villain all-in hoping that he was chasing the flush or just check and hope that villain shoves? I was leaning more towards shoving myself since if checked to villain might check back low flushes and Qx type hands. Moreover, if villain has the A:heart: we will most likely get it in on the river whether I shove or check so checking seemed definitely -EV in the long run. Thanks for the feedback guys!

Definitely, checking would be -EV in the long run.

Ask yourself what villain perceives on you that will guide what to do next.

Personally, value betting here or shoving is fine for me.

Def would bet here. What to bet would depend on the opponent, is he one that talks himself into calling off?, is he one that likes to make big bluffs? any physical tells? I could see a bet from $75 to $200 based on what I thought the opponent would call or shove over.

I think you played it fine, on the river its actually a bit close but I prefer a shove. The heart squarely hits the villains range and we are getting paid in full a lot of the time. If villain folds that really sucks, because we know that a check could have induced a bet from a hand with no showdown equity, but thats exactly why its so close.


One interesting thing you chose to do was size your bets relatively small, which under normal circumstances I would consider not to be optimizing value. For example, your flop bet was 40$ into a 67% pot (59% pot) and your turn bet was 80$ into 147$ (54% pot). I actually prefer the smaller bets because of the villains stack size and because we make the nuts on the turn. The bet sizing is perfect.


Karozi

After villain called our big bet on the turn we should bet/shove the river all day long for value. Checking at this point is not really necessary.

I think a shove works well too. He has almost half his stack in and he'll never fold the ace of hearts. It is a little awkward because you bet half-pot on the flop and turn, and then you're shoving the river, which should set off alarm bells, but at the same time it's close to standard considering villain only has $200 left behind.

I agree with the others: just shove and you're unlucky if he had a Qx hand and folds.

If he had the same stack size as you, or like $600, I'd say a pot-sized bet or 3/4rth pot-sized would be optimal.

You can also make a small bet, a very small bet, lets day 40$. Maybe villian can think he can bluff you if he has nothing. If he has the Ah he will surely shove, and if he has a weak flush he will call for odds, while if you push you only get called by Ah and maybe Kh, in this way you make room for bluffs, Ah shoving, Kh possibly shoving, and you get small value from weak flushes that will never call you shove, and will check behind if you check
Information about villian is needed in order to be able to conclude on the best play, remember you have to play the man not the game.

making a value bet as i think it would be answer with a fold or call and almost never raise by the other side.