[DawnToDusk]

The problem with making the flush on the turn is that it puts up four to a flush which causes your opponent (regardless of who they are in most cases) to slow down considerably (unless they have it too). Because of this it is sometimes hard to extract a lot of value from them.

This hand is also a little special because it was 3bet preflop and now you potentially face a villain who may have the nut flush. You made a standard raise PF and then got 3bet. On the flop you checked and he made a standard continuation bet. Without reads I am just going to assume the player plays like a standard .25/.50 NL player until I have notes that tell me otherwise. The range for this player I have to assume is something along the lines of AJ+, 99+. I picked this range because it fits his actions so far. He saw your initial raise and decided he could 3bet you because of his position and/or hand strength. This explains why he may have picked a hand like AJo to 3bet you with his position. On a side note without notes I don’t 3bet AJo like this and would rather 3bet a speculative hand if I don’t have notes. His 99+ hands also make sense in terms of him 3betting you.

On the flop you checked and he made a continuation bet. His range is still pretty much the same in my mind. He could be betting AJ for value here or his AQ/AK (while holding the ace of spades). He could also be making a standard continuation bet after raising with 99+. He may have a pair of nines and tens and seeing if he can take the pot down right now and may just shut down after you call on that wet monotone board regardless of what falls on the turn (unless it improves him). He could also be betting JJ+ for pure value. With that being said I think the next question you need to ask yourself is “How can I extract the most value from my hand while losing the least if I am in fact behind?”

I think if you were to bet here it would allow your opponent to play properly. He could (possibly if he is a thinking player) lay down his hand thinking that you have a hand that contains a high spade because you raised PF and then called a 3bet. It shows some strength on your part. It would also allow him to get his money in if he held the ace of spade. If we check here we may create a situation where our opponent may bluff at us with a weaker hand. If we check and he bets I think the next play is to move all in. He may have us beat with the ace of spades but if we just call we may not get anymore money on the river. And if he does have the ace of spades the rest of the money is going in on the river anyways just because of the odds the pot is going to be offering you. So if we shove over the top we may get our vill to feel like he is priced in with a set of jacks or something like QQ when he holds the queen of spades.

I feel like that is how I would play the hand. Does anyone take a similar line or think the same?