50NL, AQo with deepish stacks flops TPGK, pot control?

[_TKO_]

Villian is 28/12/1.28. No other reads.

Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.25/$0.50
6 players
Converter (http://www.neildewhurst.com/hand-converter)

Stack sizes:
UTG: $95.40
UTG+1: $116.45
CO: $94.15
Button: $21
SB: $30
Hero: $69.35

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is BB with A/images/graemlins/spade.gif Q/images/graemlins/club.gif
2 folds, <font color="#cc0000">CO raises to $1.75</font>, Button calls, SB folds, <font color="#cc0000">Hero raises to $7</font>, CO calls, Button calls.

Flop: J/images/graemlins/spade.gif A/images/graemlins/club.gif 2/images/graemlins/spade.gif ($21.25, 3 players)
<font color="#cc0000">Hero bets $13</font>, CO calls, Button folds.

Turn: 5/images/graemlins/heart.gif ($47.25, 2 players)
<font color="#cc0000">Hero bets $18</font>, <font color="#cc0000">CO raises to $36</font>, Hero folds.

[gumpzilla]

Pot control? Where?

I'm not a big fan of bet folding this turn, I don't think. Though I tend to agree that folding to the raise is probably the best play having gotten there (you're beating AT and bluffs, splitting with AQ, and with A spades in your hand combination draw opportunities are minimal). I think I check and see what he does for a turn bet. If it's big, I might fold; if moderate, something about the size you made, I probably call and guess again on river.

[_TKO_]

I really wasn't sure how to proceed on the turn. When he calls a chunky 3-bet preflop and calls again on this flop, I'm shaking in my little space booties.

[Miko]

Cause you're 200BB deep I don't like re-raising pre-flop at all.

Pot control begins pre-flop, right?

[_TKO_]

I was practically semi-bluffing preflop.

[Bonesy]

Pretty standard to me. I've been getting in trouble lately playing AQo in raised pots. Maybe it's just variance but I always seem to run into AK.

[Miko]

[ QUOTE ]
I was practically semi-bluffing preflop.

[/ QUOTE ]

But you agree calling &gt; raising?

[_TKO_]

With the button in the hand as well, I'm not even sure I like calling here.

[matrix]

we're not 200BB deep - it's not even 150BB.

how often have you 3bet CO before this hand? Unless he's raising often in the CO - or tends to fold to 3bets I hate preflop.

I'd probably lean towards folding pre tbh.

as played flop is fine - I'd c/f the turn tho.

If you are going to dbl barrel this turn then make a real bet - 40% of the pot is asking to get raised.

I'd put villain on AJ/AK/set after he calls my flop bet and would shutdown.

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]
With the button in the hand as well, I'm not even sure I like calling here.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think I like calling best.

Looking at the hand again, I think I'd probably check/call that flop very often, with the possibility of check/calling or leading the turn depending on what it is.

[Miko]

[ QUOTE ]
we're not 200BB deep - it's not even 150BB.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're right, kill me.

[_TKO_]

[ QUOTE ]
how often have you 3bet CO before this hand? Unless he's raising often in the CO - or tends to fold to 3bets I hate preflop.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've seen him do it at least once before, and his att. to steal is about 27. There's one comment in NLTAP that suggests sometimes raising out of the blinds as a semi-bluff with the best hands that you would fold.

[DawnToDusk]

I don't like the turn bet. The title of the post said pot control and you are clearly building up a big pot when you are more than likely behind.

Given how the hand played out PF I think betting the flop might offer the best opportunity to win the hand right there. The CO raised and you were called by the button. Might not denote a lot of strength in their hands but then you reraised out of the BB and they both called. Well that denotes more strength in their hands but also denotes strength in your hands. They still might have a fairly wide range of hands but a flop bet should take out most of the hands that didn't connect and some weaker hands such as lower PP and Jx hands as well as some weaker Ax hands if any actually called.

The turn bet is just spewing though. You aren't using your best judgement when it comes to pot control because you aren't looking at the whole picture. Someone raised you PF and then you reraised and got called in two spots. You bet the flop in attempts to win the hand right there and were called. Time to set those alarm bells off. You have an okay hand but by no accounts should it be playing a big pot with how the action has added up so far. Its time to check the turn and re-evaluate.

Here is another interesting idea though too. PF why don't you raise here with the best of your worst hands? Hands that allow you to get away easily. It can serve as a semi-bluff in the sense that you could win the pot right then and there and if you do get called it isn't a totally worthless hand (but must be played cautiously). In fact those hands probably have more value raising PF in this spot as a semi-bluff as opposed to calling (hopefully thats obvious cuse no one would want to call with those hands in this spot). Your AQ probably has more value just calling PF as opposed to raising a lot of times in situations like these.