Trip aces

[Pjay068]

So I was playing in a 1/3 NL cash game at my local casino and I had a question about a hand and I wonder if I could have played it differently. So playing 8 handed I had a stack of about 650. I was under the gun with AQ off suit so I raise to $15. I got one caller until the big blind and they raise to $45. I call and it goes heads up to the flop. Flop comes out AA4 all different suits. Big blind checks and so do I. Turn is a 2 and I don’t remember the suit. Big blind bets $50 and I call. River is a 5 not sure the suit but no flush possible on river. Big blind bets $100. I end up raising him all in for $110 more on river so it was a total bet of $210 on the river. He snap calls and turns over AK off suit. I figure that’s the only hand that beats me given the way the betting went. Obviously I’m not folding here but could I have found a call to save the river raise given that it was played like AK the whole way? Seems like just a cooler right? Just would like to know because I was up $60 on the night before this hand and was just about going to be done playing. After this one I won a little back but lost a little more and ended up with a loss of $345. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Banjois]

I don't think there's a lot you could have done differently. Granted, just calling on the river would have been better, but with AQ I think it was a reasonable all-in. Just bad luck.

 

[flail1]

Just a bad cooler I think. You played a big hand for max value that earns you money on so many other Ax combinations that opponent could have and pay off.

 

[Jblocher1]

Definitely fine to jam here for 110 more as played. Villain is never betting 100 and folding for 110 more which means that we stack all of his random Ax by jamming. Overall we are losing value by just calling unless you think the only Ax villain 3 bets pre is AK, then its fine to just call because we only have a bluff catcher and jamming will only get called by AK.

I also think its at least worth considering betting flop when checked to. Having opened from UTG and calling a 3 bet we certainly have a lot of Ax in range, but we also have a lot of non Ax in range that totally bricks this flop and may want to create opportunity to win by betting when checked to, and we can balance that by also betting some of our Ax. It's definitely good to check back our Ax at some frequency and to bet at some frequency, so I can't fault your play here. I just think a flop bet is worthy of some consideration in this spot.

 

[300HPGOD]

This is just a cooler and imo you played the hand well. I personally think it makes little sense to only call the river there unless the villain is super tight with their 3 bets pre. I have not played live in a long time as many others haven't either but in the past 1/2 and 1/3 games had very little 3 bets pre. If we are really able to define villains 3 betting range as tight enough to be 1010+ and AK then I calling on the river is best. If villain is unknown or known to 3 bet anything outside that tight range then you should be putting them in here. We want to get value from the AJ-A9 that could be in their 3 bet range. I will point out that A5 suited seems to be everyone's new favorite hand and that did get there so it would be better if the river was a 6 and not a 5 but I still would be going after worse aces. If villain does have KK-JJ which I don't think would bet turn and river but possible they will fold to the raise but might also consider themselves priced in. All in all this is just a cooler when you both flopped trips top kicker vs 2nd kicker.

 

[Batarang96]

Personally, I don't care for the UTG AQ raise. I'd limp and then come over the top of a late-position raiser.

My question, to everyone, is: are you sure that you can't get away from this?

The way that I see it...

• You're blocking AA and QQ.
• His 3-bet means that he almost has to have AK or KK.
• He's twice as likely to have AK as KK (12 ways to make AK; 6 to make KK).
• If he had KK, then why would he bet the river?

 

[Vallet]

Big pots on the preflop are not very good. I think there is only one chance to avoid such situations. If you know that your opponent is a tight player and he raises on the preflop, then his hand range is small (for example, AK, QQ, KK, AA) and is better than yours. Folding on the preflop is difficult, but it is quite possible.