50NL AK hits top pair - funky reraise from villain on river

[mephisto]

Well dlorc, the benefit/problem with betting half pot poker is that you really give odds for hands that you have beat to stay in the hand for a lot longer than I would have. But this is a double edge sword because you also give villain odds to draw out on you on turn and river.

As you played it, I would have definitely have shut down on the river and checked/called a reasonable bet.

As for cueball, I don't play huge pots on 1 pair hands either, but by betting a little higher on flop and turn, it helps me define my hand a lot more easily and if they play back hard, I can throw my hand away. Playing half pot poker doesn't really define ranges all that much imo and therefore puts you in more awkward spots more often.

Regarding the flop bet size, $3 is my standard cbet, I don't varry it, just my style. I agree with cueball that with this flop texture, betting $2.5 vs $3.00 doesn't make a huge difference.