NL100: AKo at button flop trip A. How much to bet??

[Beck]

NL100, blind 0.5/1

SB $99
BB $80.15
UTG $118.9
UTG1 $84.95
UTG2 $141.45
MP $102.75
MP1 $84.30
MP2 $205.89
CO $23
Button (Hero) $96.75

Dealt to hero A /images/graemlins/club.gifK /images/graemlins/spade.gif

2 folds, UTG2 calls, 1 fold, MP1 call, 2 folds, hero raises to 5, blinds and UTG2 folds, MP1 calls.

Flop ($12.5)
A /images/graemlins/diamond.gif8 /images/graemlins/diamond.gifA /images/graemlins/spade.gif
MP1 checks, hero bets 3, MP1 raises to 6, hero calls.

My weak flop bet was of course to indicate I didn't hit the A, so hopefully I could get some pocket pairs to come along.
I only called here, since I figured if he had a lower A or perhaps a pocket pair, he wouldn't be to eager to pay me of if I reraised. Please flame me.

Turn ($24.5)
T /images/graemlins/heart.gif
MP1 bets 10, hero calls.
Again same reasoning. In the hindsight I should have raised here.

River ($44.5)
5 /images/graemlins/spade.gif
MP1 bets 25, hero calls.

So basically I go into call down mode instead of punishing him with my big hand.

I feel I misplayed this hand in every possible way. So please, fell free to comment.

[Gary Stevenson]

bet more on flop...or check behind (no).

[Gary Stevenson]

by betting more on flop, say he tries his gay little c/min raise again, if you had bet 10 then he makes it 20 and you flat call, you both have put $25 in the pot. When he bets the turn...which he most likely will, it's an easy push and he either calls with a weaker ace, maybe flush draw, maybe lays down his air or maybe has you crushed with a boat...if so unlucky

[masterdon]

I pot the flop. I want to end this pot as quickly as possible and not let some crappy flush draw or Ace-rag suck out on me. They'll probably still pay anyway, but at least you can know you pushed your edge when you had it.

[Beck]

[ QUOTE ]
I pot the flop. I want to end this pot as quickly as possible and not let some crappy flush draw or Ace-rag suck out on me. They'll probably still pay anyway, but at least you can know you pushed your edge when you had it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Pot the flop?? Isn't that totally overkill, with trips, top kicker?? Or am I just being to greedy, afraid to not make any money on a hand like this?

[lazy1290]

I actually like the way you played it. You bet the flop to be deceptive, smooth called his raise, which disguised your hand fairly well. On the turn you just call in case he has a very weak ace, a pocket pair, is on a complete bluff, or already has a full. You let him keep the lead here because any of the above hands will probably not stand a raise(except the full of course), but they may bet. The river was played correctly as well, i would just smooth call here to minimize your losses if he filled up, as most likely that is the only way he would call a raise. He may have filled up but that's just bad luck, he was drawing very thin if he had a worse ace to start. Also, you haven't really revealed the strength of your hand so such a large raise seems strange. He had to put you on a weak hand unless he has seen you play trips in a similar way previously. Many times that would be a bluff.

[stu-unger]

bet 2/3-3/4 pot on the flop, call a raise. 1/2-2/3 pot the turn, or push if he raised your flop bet and lead the turn...

[Garon]

Hi Beck,

I would pot the flop also for the first bet, as PSB's are my standard line when I bet the flop for any reason. Most people think you should slowplay trip aces so by betting you are disguising your hand plus you are charging the diamond draw and the weaker ace. If your normal flop bets are less than make your normal flop bet. I hope your normal flop bet isn't 1/4 pot, if it is start making it more. 1/4 pot on the flop is giving good odds to draws, the exact opposite of what you want to do. And as they say, you have to bet big to win a big pot. If villain minraises your PSB on the flop, I like stu's line of calling then pushing the turn.

Yes, as played you should have raised on the turn.

Garon

[Beck]

[ QUOTE ]

I would pot the flop also for the first bet, as PSB's are.....

[/ QUOTE ]

PSB???

[Dennisa]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I pot the flop. I want to end this pot as quickly as possible and not let some crappy flush draw or Ace-rag suck out on me. They'll probably still pay anyway, but at least you can know you pushed your edge when you had it.

[/ QUOTE ]
Whether I am betting air/ tptk or trips and boat I try to always bet the same amount. For me its about 2/3 - 3/4 of the pot on the flop. I dont want to give away the value of my hand based on my bets.

Pot the flop?? Isn't that totally overkill, with trips, top kicker?? Or am I just being to greedy, afraid to not make any money on a hand like this?

[/ QUOTE ]

[Garon]

PSB = Pot Sized Bet

[bruin]

pot the flop for sure. Betting 3 is way too fishy and you want to build a pot. If he has any A he's coming along for the ride anyway. You see, if you pot the flop you can get it all in on the turn when I'm sure you're still a substantial favorite over his ace-rag. (A5???)

Don't worry about being so deceptive at the lower levels. People are retards. No joke, they will call you with junk so you want to charge them as much as possible. Just get as much money in as you can when you have a big hand.

Fastplay is the new slowplay.

[CaptainNurple]

I also pot the flop here. Worst case I bet 2/3 of the pot. But that's very situational.

In fact, these things are always situational. It depends on your read of this guy? Was he a total donk? Was he a smart, thinking player? You want to get as much value for your hand without leaving yourself foolishly vulnerable to a suck-out, and the only way you're going to be able to play it properly is if you have a feel for how he plays various ranges of hands you put him on.

e.g. if he's totally weak-tight and coming along for the ride, you can put him on a much narrower range of hands than if he's a donk LAG...

Broadly speaking though, I don't slowplay sets for the most part, especially sets like this that don't even involve a PP. You're asking for trouble in the long run I think. The only reason to ever slowplay a hand IMO is if you've got the deck crippled with a monster and the only way you're going to get action is by giving other players a chance to improve. You definitely don't have a monster in this case. You've got a set of aces sure, but two of them are on the board and there's a flush draw out there too. The odds are in your favor but I think getting fancy here can get you into trouble. If you've got pocket rockets and the flop comes like that, then you can get fancy cause then you've got quads. Here I think you just play it straightforward and either pick up a small pot on the flop or make them pay to draw.

As you played it though, his $3 flop raise looks like a weak-tight bluff or a weak ace. I re-raise him to $15 or so. If it's a bluff he folds, if a weak ace he's gonna pay you off anyway so you may as well start getting value for the hand.

It's not that you played this hand egregiously, it's that you didn't get as much value as I think you could have by being more aggressive, and you left yourself vulnerable to suck-outs with a strong but far from invincible hand.

[Jouster777]

There is a lot of risk in slow playing your set as pointed out already. However, EVERYTHING worked out ideally for you. No draws hit and you allowed him to take the lead and got most of his stack in. As played, how can you check on the river??? You are ahead the vast majority of the time here...push the river.

[davekngs]

OK, an alternative that i like here but you lot are probably going to hate.

Bet the flop for 2/3 pot, then when he raises push.

my reasoning being that it looks like you are possibly flushing and it is very hard to lay down an ace on the flop here for most players. It also means that only an ace is giving you action rather than draws.

Im not saying i would do this very often but I think its something to be considered particuarly against weaker players

[BalugaWhale]

There to slowplay. Not many of them, but there are times. This is not one of them. At the end of this hand, all the money is going in under 3 circumstances:
1) He's got an A. You win.
2) He's got a flush, you lose.
C) He's got a set, you lose.

If he's got a set, you lose, simple as that. Probably not, though.

You can't let him see his flush card cheaply. This means, pot flop, 2/3 turn, check a blank river to encourage a bluff. If he draws out he draws out, fine.

If he's got an A (very likely here), just be aggressive with it and see who can put all their money in the pot first.

"Fastplay is the new slowplay"-- Good man.