NL 50 TPTK OOP

[toxzen]

Back from vacation can't tell if i'm playing bad or just running bad. No reads really on villians except that CO is loose PF.


Full Tilt Poker, $0.25/$0.50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 9 Players
LeggoPoker Hand History Converter

CO: $55.15
BTN: $49.25
SB: $57.20
BB: $33.20
Hero (UTG): $50.50
UTG+1: $53.30
UTG+2: $10
MP1: $69.75
MP2: $40.45

Pre-Flop: A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] dealt to Hero (UTG)
<font color="red">Hero raises to $2</font>, 4 folds, CO calls $2, <font color="red">BTN raises to $8</font>, 2 folds, Hero calls $6, CO calls $6

Flop: ($24.75) 3[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (3 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks, BTN checks

Turn: ($24.75) 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (3 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks, <font color="red">BTN bets $12.50</font>, Hero calls $12.50, CO folds

River: ($49.75) T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (2 Players)
Hero checks, <font color="red">BTN bets $16.50</font>, Hero calls $16.50

[AlexB182]

I think this is ok, you could have raised turn though. It's really strange he checked flop behind, did the K scare him (cause he had like QQ,JJ) or was he slowplaying a big hand (AA, maybe even KK)? Anyway, I think there is pretty much no way you can fold on turn or river with those great odds his giving you combined with the chance that your hand very well might be ahead here...

[WantToLearn]

If TPTK is not enough to make a serious investment here w/o second guessing yourself, why then call the preflop 3-bet in the first place?

[toxzen]

[ QUOTE ]
If TPTK is not enough to make a serious investment here w/o second guessing yourself, why then call the preflop 3-bet in the first place?

[/ QUOTE ]

I invested over half my stack?

Here's my own analysis after rethinking the hand.

I'm not the type to get all crazy about TPTK. Against unknown in this spot preflop I put him on JJ+, AKo, AQs+. So on flop i'm ahead of JJ, QQ, AQs. Behind AA, KK. Tied obv with AK. Puts me slightly ahead of his range. But I'm oop, which i don't like at all. Maybe if I lead out I push him off the hands I'm ahead of and I can safely get away from hand if I face any resistance? As played villains check behind was strange to me. I was almost 90% sure he would make a c-bet and i planned on just calling. I also figure with the texture of the flop there's little chance of him improving with the range I put him on, so I was happy to see the check. I kinda dismissed AA at this point, still possible I guess but a little more unlikely. Figured he either boated up and was either slow playing KK or missed with AQ or under pair. By checking I allow him to bluff with the hands he missed with. AK splits, while KK is getting my money anyway? My logic was he wasn't calling with anything I beat. So I guess the question is do I bet out and see if I'm ahead or do I check and let him bluff off with a weaker hand?

[MrBump]

[ QUOTE ]
If TPTK is not enough to make a serious investment here w/o second guessing yourself, why then call the preflop 3-bet in the first place?

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. You've called villain's 3-bet preflop and have flopped the perfect board. I would donk-bet this flop for about half the pot. As played I would just call both turn and river like you did here.

[wikemang]

I 4bet shove AKo and AKs a lot preflop. I think your line is fine otherwise.

[ship_it_trebek]

Donking flop is pretty bad IMO bc we basically allow the villain to play perfectly. We aren't folding out AA or the rare case of KK, we're splitting with AK and everything else will probably fold. We may get a flop bet call by QQ,JJ but that's about it. I think it's played fine.

[Albert Moulton]

Usually fold preflop to the reraise to $8.

[ QUOTE ]
WTF? Fold AKs?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes.

Your absolute position is bad.
Your relative position is bad.
You don't have a read on button, and you will be OOP in what will probably be a 3-way pot on the flop with a huge pot and only Ace-high 2/3s of the time, or top pair 1/3 of the time.

If you don't want to fold because you think BTN is squeezing with weak hands, then reraise or push preflop.

But some info on BTN's reraising range would be nice before deciding to come over the top of him. Without any information at all in a FR game, it's better to assume that BTN is tight with his reraising range until you have reason to believe otherwise.

As played at the flop, you are OOP with TPTK and no redraws to a flush or straight.

SPR is 1.67.

Range and Equity vs a "tight" BTN (I'm assuming "tight" because you have no reads):

You have 56% equity vs QQ-AA/AK.
You have 35% equity vs KK-AA/AK.
And 10% equity vs KK/AA.

Range and equity vs "loose" CO:

You have 92% equity vs QQ-44,AQs-AJs.

12.5% equity vs 35s or any 3x hand (which CO might show up with, but probably won't).

You have 0.1% vs quads, but that is also highly unlikely.

How you you maximize your winnings and minimize your loses vs these ranges?

Well, betting out with a $20 bet on the flop folds out everything you beat, but it will also force you to call a push from BTN since your equity vs KK-AA/AK is 35% and the pot odds will be ~2:1. You'll be hoping for a chop or a miracle, however.

So, checking the flop to make it appear as if you've missed is probably good. You can't fold, however, because the pot is so big. So, you'd be looking to CRAI.

Once the turn comes with another club, you should bet out and call a push. You might get a worse hand, like JJ-QQ, to call your bet. But you still end up paying off KK/AA because the pot is just so big relative to what you have left in your stack.

As played, check/call the turn and check/call the river probably pays off AA and KK the least possible amounts.

But you are suffering from your bad position and lack of reads. The fact that he might have 6 combinations of AK and only 4 combinations of KK/AA mean that you really can't get away give the pot size. And the fact that he acts last means that you can't exercise much in the way of pot control. That is why playing AKs OOP in this particular hand is a bad idea. As the OP played out, it looks like he flopped kings full, checked the flop, then value bet the turn and river. But you really had no way to get away due to the pot size and lack of reads once you called preflop.

To summarize, I think you should have reraised or folded preflop. Without a read, I'd usually fold and give up my $2 because my position is bad and I don't have enough info about BTNs range to reraise.

[SMACK BOOTY]

[ QUOTE ]
So I guess the question is do I bet out and see if I'm ahead or do I check and let him bluff off with a weaker hand?

[/ QUOTE ]
I love the way you played this hand. I agree with your range analysis, you are slightly ahead of his range. That, combined with the fact your STP ratio is &lt;2, means you are now committed to this hand. As played, you maximize your winnings by letting the villain bet into your hand.

[oakrdrzfan]

What was your thinking when you called the re-raise preflop. If i call the additional $6 and hit my A or K, am I afraid to stack off. If the answer is yes, then fold PF. If the answer is no, then fire away.

The way you played it, I would CRAI on the turn to ensure the other villain doesnt get proper odds to draw to a flush. The downside to this is it may cause the button to fold a lesser hand.