[Buzz]

Hi hitmenotone - Welcome to the forum. (I see this is your first 2+2 post).

I'm not sure what to say about your hand. I have no suggestions for improving your play here. Seems to me your play was fine.

The ace of spades is the worst river in the damned deck!

Ouch! [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

Button obviously was very lucky and Hero correspondingly unlucky on this river. If that were all, Donger would be right and this thread belongs in the Beats, Brags, and Variance forum. I wouldn't move your post there anyway, because it's your first post. But that's not all.

Of more interest is Button's play of the hand. Button has a huge stack, probably indicating some level of success playing the game. If so, we should give Button credit for knowing how to play the game well. Perhaps there's something useful to be learned.

Button is playing very aggressively. Although you can't draw too many conclusions from the play of one hand, I'm guessing Button probably usually plays very aggressively.

In this instance, Button should expect you to have a better than average pre-flop hand to raise from UTG (and you do). Yet Button raises before the flop with what seems to me to be a slightly below average hand for a five handed game. Compared, heads-up, you're about a three to two favorite before the flop (as simulated).

Seems like Button should be aware you very well might be about a three to two favorite if heads-up. Yet, despite this, Button makes it three bets, knocking out the blinds and succeeding in getting heads-up with probably a better starting hand.

My guess is Button hopes and expects to be able to out-play you by having position on you. If so, Button's plan doesn't work - but then Button gets lucky on the river. Wow!

I'm guessing Button plays all or most hands very aggressively before the flop, evidently even below average hands (at least sometimes). Either that or Button is randomly mixing up aggressiveness.

Buzz