$$2.00 NL HE STT: Top pair - strong kicker, multi-way pot

[LuisBoaC]

Game

Hold'em

Game Format

No Limit

Table Format

STT

Buy-in

$2.00

VP$IP

57

PFR

0

Currency

$

UTG+1's HUD stats from 21 hands. MP: 33/16 from 149 hands. HJ: 22/0 from 9 hands.
Not sure how I feel about my play here on any street. 3Bet PF? Lead flop, raise flop? Don't lead turn or lead smaller? How would you play it?
pokerstars, $1.72 + $0.28 - Hold'em No Limit - 10/20 (3 ante) - 9 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat

UTG: 1,239 (62 bb)
UTG+1: 1,422 (71 bb)
MP: 1,436 (72 bb)
MP+1: 1,836 (92 bb)
LP: 1,401 (70 bb)
CO: 1,554 (78 bb)
BU: 1,697 (85 bb)
SB: 1,610 (81 bb)
BB (Hero): 1,305 (65 bb)

Pre-Flop: (57) Hero is BB with A♣ Q♣
1 fold, UTG+1 calls 20, MP raises to 60, 1 fold, LP calls 60, 3 players fold, Hero calls 40, UTG+1 calls 40

Flop: (277) 7♠ A♥ 8♦ (4 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 checks, MP checks, LP bets 139, Hero calls 139, UTG+1 calls 139, MP folds

Turn: (694) 5♠ (3 players)
Hero bets 416, UTG+1 calls 416, LP folds

River: (1,526) 3♦ (2 players)
Hero?

 

[JappsPK]

Based on the information provided, it seems like you have a relatively strong hand with top pair and a decent kicker. Pre-flop, it's fine to just call and see a flop since you're in the big blind and getting good pot odds.

On the flop, you should definitely lead out with a bet, given that you have top pair and there are several players in the pot. By checking, you're allowing your opponents to take control of the hand and potentially bluff you off your hand. Betting also helps you to build the pot and potentially get value from worse hands.

When LP bets on the flop and both UTG+1 and you call, it's likely that they also have some piece of the board, such as a pair or a straight draw. On the turn, you can continue to lead out with a bet to keep the pressure on your opponents and to protect your hand from any draws that they may have. Your bet of 416 into a pot of 694 is a little over half pot, which is a reasonable sizing.

On the river, the board doesn't change much, so you should consider whether or not to bet for value. Since UTG+1 called your bet on the turn, they likely have a decent hand, so you can consider checking and trying to get to showdown. Alternatively, you could bet a smaller amount, such as a third or a quarter pot, to try to get value from worse hands. However, you should be prepared to fold if your opponent raises your bet, as they likely have a strong hand in that case.

Overall, your play seems reasonable, but it's important to be mindful of your opponents' ranges and to try to extract value when you have a strong hand.

 

[spunka]

Hi
I do not understand your turn bet of 416 into a pot of 694 It looks like you will push your opponents out of the pot, and when you commit half your stack to the pot it will be veryhard for you to fold. Your hand is strong but opponent can have a stronger hand or be a theif.
Basically that bet of 416 laves you with 2 options move all in on river or check and call what ever your opponent bets, so you really have to be carefull with you bet siezing, and be carefull what you do when you are out of position.
I would recommend a check on the turn and call it down as cheap a possible and fold to very big bets.
As played you might as well shove on the river as the 3 of d does not change much, as you have more or less committed you stack, and hope you hand holds up. (or hope your opponent is a thief 😉).

 

[fundiver199]

Preflop
Against an EP open I do often just call with AQs from the blinds. But in this situation there is both a limper and a field caller, and if you just call here, the limper will for sure call as well, which mean, you allow 3 players to see a flop with position on you and realise their equity. Thats not great, so even though you could be behind to MP, I much prefer to 3-bet this hand and drive some players out. If MP 4-bet, that will suck, but you can still fold, and if he really has AK or KK, that can allow you to get away from a cooler situation relatively cheaply.

Flop
Checking to the preflop raiser is standard, and when he also check, we can pretty much rule out, that he has you beat. The field caller now bets, and the situation is still a bit like, what it was preflop. If you just call, you allow three players to see a cheap turn and potentially draw out on you. It not the wettest board, but between them they can still have a lot of different outs. So I kind of want to check-raise this and be willing to stack off. If someone has A7 or A8 and got there, you sort of allowed that to happen with your passive line preflop.

Turn
Now you lead, and this dont make much sense to me, when you check-called the flop. If you were not willing to get it in on the flop, then why are you willing to get it in now? 5s did not help you, and it could potentially have helped someone else.

River
At this point you only have around a half pot sized bet left. UTG+1 has taken nothing but passive actions throughout the hand. Limp-called preflop, called the flop, called the turn. So right off the bat I dont think, there is any reason to assume, he will bluff, if you check to him. Which mean, that the reasonable lines now are either jam or check-fold. For a jam to be profitable, you need to be good more than 50% of the time when called. Its difficult to say without reads, but there are still some hands, that might pay off. AJ, AT, A9. Maybe even A6 or A4, if he is really bad.

Its tough to say without reads, but it is getting a bit thin. So its probably a check-fold spot. Check-folding does not mean, we give up. A big part of the idea is, a player like this will typically be very honest. Meaning that if we have the best hand, he check back, and we win at showdown. And if he bet, that means, we are beat. But from a theoretical standpoint, if we arrive on the river with a hand as strong as top pair second kicker, and our best play on a brick is to check-fold, then we probably did something wrong on the earlier streets.

 

[LuisBoaC]

Thanks everyone. I really wasn't happy with any part of this hand as I reviewed it. I did open-shove the river and Villain called with 57o to bust me with two-pair. I now think that if I'd have raised PF and led out or check-raised flop I could have minimised my loss and remained in the tourney. Based on Villain's HUD stats and playing style I'm not sure I could have got him to fold before he hit his two-pair on the turn but I perhaps could have narrowed his range better and ended up losing a smaller pot and not busting on this hand.

 

[eetenor]

UTG+1's HUD stats from 21 hands. MP: 33/16 from 149 hands. HJ: 22/0 from 9 hands.
Not sure how I feel about my play here on any street. 3Bet PF? Lead flop, raise flop? Don't lead turn or lead smaller? How would you play it?
PokerStars, $1.72 + $0.28 - Hold'em No Limit - 10/20 (3 ante) - 9 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat

UTG: 1,239 (62 bb)
UTG+1: 1,422 (71 bb)
MP: 1,436 (72 bb)
MP+1: 1,836 (92 bb)
LP: 1,401 (70 bb)
CO: 1,554 (78 bb)
BU: 1,697 (85 bb)
SB: 1,610 (81 bb)
BB (Hero): 1,305 (65 bb)

Pre-Flop: (57) Hero is BB with A♣ Q♣
1 fold, UTG+1 calls 20, MP raises to 60, 1 fold, LP calls 60, 3 players fold, Hero calls 40, UTG+1 calls 40

Flop: (277) 7♠ A♥ 8♦ (4 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 checks, MP checks, LP bets 139, Hero calls 139, UTG+1 calls 139, MP folds

Turn: (694) 5♠ (3 players)
Hero bets 416, UTG+1 calls 416, LP folds

River: (1,526) 3♦ (2 players)
Hero?

In loose nofoldem games we want to equity realize OOP with AQ suited- If we 3 bet we may knockout lower dominated flush draws and weaker Ax hands
One pair good kicker no flush redraw is not a hand we want to slow play multiway on this flop OOP- XR the flop bet to target weaker AX for value and to get folds from hands that have equity to call getting 4-1 direct odds on this flop when we flat.

Turn- we lead large to get value from what- that would not have called the XR? We are trying to get what to fold for protection with this sizing?
Defining the turn ranges makes our river decisions easier.

River- All the draws missed -we would have heard from the nuts on the turn so we are targeting worse Ax hands for value or weak pairs that did not let go on turn--- so down sizing is fine on river- we bet 40% to fold to a raise if our player pool data suggest low river bluff frequency by V.

 

[fundiver199]

Thanks everyone. I really wasn't happy with any part of this hand as I reviewed it. I did open-shove the river and Villain called with 57o to bust me with two-pair. I now think that if I'd have raised PF and led out or check-raised flop I could have minimised my loss and remained in the tourney. Based on Villain's HUD stats and playing style I'm not sure I could have got him to fold before he hit his two-pair on the turn but I perhaps could have narrowed his range better and ended up losing a smaller pot and not busting on this hand.

I think, the main mistake in this hand was to change your plan halfway through. Or maybe not have a plan in the first place. Your hand was very strong preflop and on the flop, but it got weaker on the turn and river, as more and more other hands got there, and as people will no longer pay to draw. And its very backwards to take passive action, when your hand is strong, but then change to aggressive action, when your relative hand strength get weaker.

You could have 3-bet preflop or check-raised the flop. But check-calling is also a valid line on these streets. However then you have to follow it up with another check on the turn, and then evaluate based on the action behind you. The main point is, you cant slowplay on the early streets and then also get married to top pair on the late streets.