AJo, slowdown on the river?

[brassnuts]

3/6 B&M, I've only showndown KK, AKo, a KQs for a flush in about 45 minutes of play, so my images is tight and I've been very aggressive. BB is fairly weak and semi-passive.

Folded to Hero with AJo in MP3, Hero raises, Fold to button who calls, SB folds, BB calls.

Flop: KQ7 rainbow.
BB checks, Hero bets, button folds, BB calls.

Turn: x.
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

River 9.
BB checks, Hero...

First of all, I've been taking a free card on the turn about 1/2 of the time in these situations, should I check behind more often?

I realize that in this case, there is a very possible made straight on the river, but this player would have certainly bet out the river had he made his draw. So, generally, if I do bet on the turn and am not checkraised, should I follow through with the aggression on the river as long as it isn't too scary?

[kamelion44]

I find it hard to believe that a bet on the river isn't going to be called. I know you can't sit around in fear of every card, but can you think of a worse card for you? In a weak 3-6 game, I know guys could be in with crazy hands that you could beat, but in this case, it seems to be a classic case where you're only going to be called if you're losing. If he's in there with a busted flush draw (not enough information on the turn...maybe a 4-flush on the turn?), or a busted straight draw, is he going to call your bet on the river? Maybe, but probably not often enough to even out the times he shows up with 76o, K2, QT, or A9s, etc. If he's been calling you down the whole way, and he's a weak, semi-passive player, he could have just about anything, and that means he could DEFINITELY have a bunch of hands that will beat you. And if your read of him is correct, he doesn't have the straight, but you haven't labeled him a maniac or idiot, so he's probably calling with SOME piece of the board, and now he's getting laid 7 BBs to 1 BB to a river bet. If on the off chance he is on a busted straight/flush draw, why not just check down? Unless he's very suspicious (and if your table image is worth anything, he shouldn't be getting that foxy with you) then you won't get called by a weaker Ace high or King high combination (the strongest of the crop of hands that you can manage to beat with your own Ajax), but you will get called by any pair, and of course, any hand stronger than one pair, because of the large pot odds.

[lil']

He's probably not folding any pair, and your hand has some showdown value (best high card heads-up), so check the river.

As for the turn, you have to change gears sometimes. Some players will call flop bets with garbage, looking to hit an undercard, so betting the turn is OK sometimes.

[jt1]

[ QUOTE ]
betting the turn is OK sometimes.



[/ QUOTE ]

My rule of thumb is to only check the turn with overcards if you have to fold to a raise. But mixing it up, there aint nothing wrong that.

[lostinthought]

This situation seems to come up all the time.

First,
To bet the turn, you have to be able to fold to a check-raise. Otherwise, never bet.

Second,
You're not going to call a river bet unimproved. So it you check the turn, expect the BB to bet on the river with any piece of the board. And maybe Ace high. But a river call (unimproved) by you is a bad one.

Third:
Mixing up your play here is probably a good thing.

Summary:
If the player is a tighter player, I tend to bet the flop, bet the turn (fold to a checkraise in either spot), and maybe even bet the river (rare) usually check through.
If the player is a calling station, I tend to bet the flop, check the turn through, and check/fold the river unimproved.

[SenecaJim]

Nice post. I had almost the exact same scenario last night. Good input.

[kamelion44]

The summary is perfect here Chris, but I'm confused by your third point, suggesting that he mix up his play here...I don't think any variation from your summarized plays is necessary at this level of play (what exactly can he gain from deception? And how would he even mix it up, without committing serious errors?). The nature of limit disguises his betting already, so I don't think that say, a check where you suggest a bet will be +EV.