I am not sure, I find it all that interesting to try to guess, what the opponent had. As described it could probably be a lot of different
hands. If this is basically a bad beat story ("look how poorly he played, and how unlucky I am"), then it belongs in "bad beats and vents" rather than here. But I think, the hand as well as the situation is worth discussing, so here we go:
Preflop
Obviously a standard open, and if 3BB is your standard size, then you should also use it with AK.
Flop and turn
Here I think, the discussion is mostly about bet sizing. You went rather big, which sets it up for a river jam. And maybe thats ok against a maniac, but in general 50BB is a bit much to put in with just one pair. So this is at least something to consider.
River
Obviously not great that the BDFD came in, especially since he can have AX and 4X of it, so there are definitely hands, that naturally call on the flop, which now got there. You also have one of the worst AK combos, since you dont block any flushes. Having Ac in particular would be very usefull. But with that being said I guess, the decision to stack off was made on the flop and turn? And then you probably have to stick with that plan, even though the river card and action was less than ideal.
Results
Its obviously kind of crazy, that he called a big flop bet with basically just J high, and then backdoored into two pair. But at the same time, if J6 is part of his range, then he can have more value, which you lose to. And does he have enough bluffs to compensate for that? Its not easy to find natural bluffs on this board, since he would almost have to take a hand like 76 and turn it into a
bluff, when he miss his straight but river a pair. You write:
Against most guys I would fold, but since I've seen him go wild with mediocre stuff or even nothing numerous times before, I called.
But what exactly does it mean, that you have seen him "go wild"? Was it by making bad calls on the flop, like he did here? Or by going all-in preflop with mediocre hands? Or was it by doing, what he did here, to put out a big river bet as a bluff in a situation, where his opponent had shown a lot of strength? If you had seen him make several big river bluffs, then you probably have to close your eyes and make the call.
But there is a risk of letting emotions cloud your judgement, so that you call, because you want him to be
bluffing rather than because, you have an actual reason to think, he is bluffing. And the problem is, that then calling and seeing, how he sucked out on you, will only put you on even more tilt. So if a player like this annoy you, if it often best to sit out and close down the table, even though they should be some of the most profitable opponents.
