Top two pair with 3 lows on board ( limit o8)

[yukoncpa]

8 handed low stakes game.
UTG ( loose player ) limps, next player ( maniac ) raises, everyone folds to me in the big blind, I call with A379 no suits. Three players, raised pot.

Flop is: A72 rainbow, giving me top two pair, I check ( with the intention of check raising the maniac who is almost out of chips ). However, UTG bets, maniac folds, I call. Heads up, 8 small bets in pot.

Turn is a 6. What’s my move? Check and call down? lead out?, check and fold? My villain is a calling station as well as loose.

[PorkPieHat]

Easy fold on flop. If you didn't do that then it's an easier fold on turn.

[bbartlog]

Folding this flop when you're closing the action against just one other player (in a raised pot) seems crazy weak-tight to me. What range are you giving UTG here to make calling down a mistake?
That said, angling for a check-raise with top two pair when the low is already out is overambitious. Check/call flop, check/call turn, and check/call river too for the most part.

[1MoreFish4U]

I would not fold this against one player. He either has 4-2 (likely), hit a set (possibly), or was betting air to get hu with the maniac (50/50).

I don't believe in online low limit poker you should blindly follow the golden rule of never playing for half the pot. Good things often happen.

Play the hand to the end and take your 1/2 or better unless he does hold a 4-2 and a 5 hits the river to beat you.

[Buzz]

Yukon CPA - I would have bet the flop. It would be somewhat deceptive (which would be good) to check raise with this hand/flop, but otherwise betting directly is better here, in my humble opinion.

However, having not directly bet the flop, since you were planning a check-raise, I think you should have followed through, even though the maniac has already folded.

You shouldn't want to put yourself in the position of chasing, which is exactly what you have done. Now that you're in that position, it's hard to tell you what to do.

Your object should be to scoop. You want to play in such a way that when you have a one way hand, your opponents will get out of your way. You give them a chance to do that by betting. But if you delay, the opportunity is lost.

What to do now that you have missed the window of opportunity? Is there anything you can do that seems credible? is there anything you can do that would induce your opponent to concede the pot to you?
(I don't see what it would be).

You probably have the best high hand at this point, and you may also have the best low hand (live three). I wouldn't be in this position, but if somehow I were, I'd directly bet and see how that affected my opponent. But you want to make these kinds of bet and see moves on the second betting round, not the third.

Buzz