2/5 AK v AK

[Andreas22]

Villain has a little over 300 in chips at the start of the hand, and I have him covered. Two players limp, and I raise to 21 pf w/ AK in late. SB calls, and Villain in the BB makes it 51. The two limpers fold, I call, and SB folds.

133 in the pot, and the flop comes Qxxr. He's really looking at the cards as they come out like he's drawing, and he's staring at the flop like he's looking for something but it's not there. He bets 60 after some hesitation, which to me seemed like he was thinking, "I have to follow through with my pf aggression to represent a big hand, but I don't want to put too much more out there because I don't have much of a hand. If I bet 50, he'll think I'm weak because it's the same bet I made pf, but if I bet 60, I might convince him I have a real hand." I put him on AK, but I didn't want to gamble 260 more in case I was wrong. I thought about just calling and "stealing" on the turn if he checks to me, but I wasn't sure if he was the type of player who would fire two bullets if he missed. Anyway, I folded, and he flashed an A. Is there any other way to play this hand?

[prayformojo]

Please post stack sizes. A read of BB's play would be helpful if you have one, much more so than the fairly unreliable reads of his physical tells. FWIW, 90% of live players I've played against "really look" at the flop like they're drawing, whether it's for an ace to make a set, or for 722 to make a full house.

Your pre-flop raise is way too small behind two limpers, especially in a live game. Raise more. How much more depends on table conditions, especially standard raise sizes and general looseness. Online, I'm popping this to $30 most of the time, but live I make it $40-$50 and expect a caller. If BB raises that bet and isn't a total nit, I'm pushing vs. his short stack.

As played, I guess calling the weakish pre-flop 3bet is fine, but I prefer a push there too. If he started with about $300 he has about $200 behind after his flop bet (so I don't know how you're gambling $260 more). Calling down with A high is gross, and drawing hoping you have six clean outs and implied odds if you hit is pretty gross. Your options here are fold or push, and without a better read of this guy, I fold.