Does this always mean a flush?

[Poutine69]

pokerstars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players

BTN: $2.01 (100.5 bb)
Hero (SB): $3.45 (172.5 bb)
BB: $2.06 (103 bb)
UTG: $2.41 (120.5 bb)
MP: $2.07 (103.5 bb)
CO: $2.03 (101.5 bb)

Hero posts SB $0.01, BB posts $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has Kd Ah
UTG raises to $0.07, 3 folds, Hero raises to $0.18, fold, UTG calls $0.11

Flop: ($0.38, 2 players) 2d 8c Ad
Hero bets $0.20, UTG calls $0.20

Turn: ($0.78, 2 players) 8h
Hero bets $0.32, UTG calls $0.32

River: ($1.42, 2 players) 6d
Hero bets $0.70, UTG raises to $1.71 and is all-in, Hero ???

I feel that my main error here was that all my bets were on the small side. I have zero hands with villain. How did I played the hand?

 

[kidkvno1]

No! It could be A8 or A6 or A10 and up, or he has PP and hit a set.. With zero hands on him, you can't tell.

 

[fundiver199]

Preflop
Your 3-bet is way to small especially out of position.

Flop
A little over half pot is fine. No need to bomb it here.

Turn
Now your bet is a little small. Something like 42c is better than 32c.

River
This is the interesting spot of course, and maybe it is a little to thin to still bet for value on this card. Sure you still beat his AQ or AJ, but this card is scary to him, and there are more hands, you lose to now. He could have hit the flush with a suited connector like QJ, JT or T9, and he could also have trips or even a boat.

So overall I probably lean towards checking and then calling a not to large bet from him. As played its kind of a womit feeling in my mouth, when he raise. You are getting almost 4:1, so you only need to be good a little more than 20% of the time.

But in the micros a raise on the river is nearly always the nuts, and there are not even any busted draws, he could be bluffing with. So as played you probably have to hate live and fold here, even though it sucks. Calling off that extra half stack is probably just setting money on fire.

 

[sryImPro]

It’s kinda tricky, yes, it could be a flush what’s happened to be most likely here but it could be easily two pairs or even set

 

[pentazepam]

Check the river if you are not against a total calling station.

Since there is a flush draw on the flop it is mostly best to bet both flop and turn. But TPTK is often just a 2 street hand against competent players. Now you hit another ace one the turn that gives you a better hand in absolute terms but not so much in relative terms (one ace less for your opponent to have).

So as fundiver pointed out above there is not much your opponent can have that calls you (that you beat). So unless you have been bluffing a lot lately and/or your opponent is a calling station: Check the river.

If your opponent bluffs or overvalues a made hand a lot maybe call a bet on the river. But against most players you have to fold a very good hand since they don't have many bluff if any here. And almost always an insta-fold against a raise (if they are not beginners that overvalue an Ax hand tremendously).

As soon as the flush hits it is almost always a check that is best with a made hand if you don't have the flush yourself . That is true not only on the river, but often on the flop and turn as well. That doesn't mean that you give up or that your opponent can bluff every time you check. And sometimes you bet as a bluff or semi-bluff when the flush hits. But almost never with a strong hand (that is beaten by a flush but can improve to a better. You check made hands even as strong as sets often when the flush hits (and sometimes call if bet in to, depending on the bet size and how often villain bluffs/semi-bluff/overvalue).

But as you saw here you just hate it when villain raise you since it is very often a full house but at least a flush if he does it for value (and almost never a bluff or a weaker made hand).