AQ on the button trouble

[cmac99]

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Flop: good check; you missed completely and lots of opponents



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I would have to disagree with this. I think this is the perfect board to bet in to. Ragged board with no real draws and 3 people checked to you the preflop raiser. Betting here will probably win the pot outright but if not then you still have 6 outs to an overpair, no fear of any flush draws and your able to represent a stronger hand since you were the initial raiser.. and if you do get called your in position to get a free card on the turn or fold if someone leads out.

IMO not betting is way too passive in this situation

[Jiggymike]

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Flop: good check; you missed completely and lots of opponents



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I would have to disagree with this. I think this is the perfect board to bet in to. Ragged board with no real draws and 3 people checked to you the preflop raiser. Betting here will probably win the pot outright but if not then you still have 6 outs to an overpair, no fear of any flush draws and your able to represent a stronger hand since you were the initial raiser.. and if you do get called your in position to get a free card on the turn or fold if someone leads out.

IMO not betting is way too passive in this situation

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I agree...in live play. If this were at a casino I would bet here as you are probably betting for value...someone could have a 9 but it's not that big of a deal if they do and are playing it passively. Online I would check and go for a free turn card...anything besides a paired board or total brick I would fold. The J easily gives someone a pair, the pot isn't that big in BB yet, just fold the turn.

[sweetjazz]

Here is how I would play this hand. First, I would bet this flop. Yes, often against 3 other players if your overcards don't pair, you should check. I would check if the flop had been 965r. But a 932r flop is too likely to have missed everyone. You should bet and give people a chance to fold.

You should also plan to bet a lot of turn cards, whether they improve you or not. The J is not a great turn card for you, and I probably wouldn't bet it if all 3 players called the flop, but I would definitely bet if just one player called and usually if two called.

Notice that as you played it, you were basically at a loss on the turn as to whether you should call and were not in a good position to know what to do on the river.

As played, on the river I think going for an overcall is a viable option. Raising is also worth considering, as I think a lot of Qx and Jx hands will call. But when you are 3bet, you should either fold if the guy is passive or call if the guy is spazzy. Without a read I generally call and usually see another AQ, KQ, random air, etc. to make the call at least marginally close, but I wouldn't crticize you for folding either. Capping the river is just really bad.

In general, I think the main problem with the way you played this hand is that you seemed to avoid hand reading altogether and focused only on the absolute strength of your hand. You didn't bet the flop because you "only" had A high, but yet that stood a very good chance of being the best hand and of taking down a nice medium-sized pot right there or with a turn continuation (or with a river check behind when 65s calls twice and misses). You gave crazy action on the river when you hit top pair top kicker, with the third bet going in being marginal at best and the last bet going in just a spewy gift to your opponent.