AKo against a pretty weird play (Party 3/6)

[nepenthe]

My third night at the 3/6 limit and this hand came up.

Party Poker 3/6 Hold'em (9 handed)

Preflop: nepenthe is UTG with A/images/graemlins/heart.gif, K/images/graemlins/spade.gif.
<font color="CC3333">nepenthe raises</font>, UTG+1 calls, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, CO folds, Button calls, SB folds, BB calls.

Flop: (8.33 SB) 4/images/graemlins/club.gif, J/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, A/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="blue">(4 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">BB bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">nepenthe raises</font>, UTG+1 folds, Button folds, <font color="CC3333">BB 3-bets</font>, nepenthe calls.

Turn: (7.16 BB) T/images/graemlins/heart.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
BB checks, <font color="CC3333">nepenthe bets</font>, BB calls.

River: (9.16 BB) A/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">BB bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">nepenthe raises</font>, <font color="CC3333">BB 3-bets</font>, nepenthe calls.

Final Pot: 15.16 BB
<font color="green">Main Pot: 15.16 BB, between BB and nepenthe.</font>

Should I have capped the flop and/or river? Opponent's 3-betting the flop and checking the turn, then 3-betting the river confused me enough to just call.

[jt1]

HU tt doesn't make much difference whether you cap the flop or wait until later in the hand. I'd have capped the river as he probably has a smaller ace. If he's an idiot he could have a boat or a straight, but what are the odds of that?

[dmk]

You should be able to narrow the range of hands down on the turn when he check/calls after 3-betting the flop.

The only 2 hands you're worried about are KcQc and A4. I'm capping the river because you'll see A w/ no kicker way too often.

[nepenthe]

BB showed J-2...offsuit. Was he putting me on KK/QQ and trying to make me fold the river? The mindset of some of these players absolutely boggles me. And some people wonder why I routinely refuse to fold a decent hand at Party at even below generally profitable odds.

[sfer]

Did you call the flop 3-bet intending to raise the turn?

Looks like K /images/graemlins/club.gifQ /images/graemlins/club.gif to me. You slowed down at the right time on the river, I think.

[dmk]

The more I think about this hand, the more I think 3-betting is the only play on the river. The only reasonable hand ahead of you is A4. KcQc is raising the turn here.

[WiredPear]

I would cap the flop. Does he have JJ? Unlikely. Does he have 44? Unlikely? Does he have AJ? Unlikely, he would check/raise with either of these hands. So, I would put him on a good J or A.

After he checks the turn and raises the river, I'd put him on an A. It was strange play, so I understand your fear of re-raising the river.

[dmk]

The flop call is fine. If he has a J or A, why would you not re-raise the river?

[Trix]

I play it the same.

[dmk]

I'm very confused by most of these responses. Could someone tell me why they don't cap the river?

[MoreWineII]

The only hand I would be remotely afraid of given his play is A-4. KQ raises the turn, AJ raises the turn, 44 raises the turn, A-10 raises the turn, 10-10 raises the turn, and JJ raises the turn.

A-4 *might* not raise the turn, but I doubt it.

Go all the way on the river, you've got the best hand an overwhelming majority of the time here.

[Yeknom58]

His play is weird.

His flop/turn looks like some kind of flush draw or a weak ace that he thinks might have been good on the flop but changed his mind on the turn...his river play looks like a A4/J I can't imagine he would pass up the CR on the turn with KQ. I think you'll be shown A4/j or Ax. I'm not sure if I would cap the river but I definitely would have capped the flop. His play looks more like Ax but I'm don't know this guy's river 3-betting standards.

[PokerNoob]

He's got AJ and got scared of KQ on the turn? He's almost got to have a boat from his river 3-bet. Any ace he's behind on the turn, he's still behind. He must have overcome his fear of the str8. Either that, or its some bizzaro turn slowplay with top two. Maybe he's got 44. I can't read him at all, but I don't cap because it looks sorta boatish with a turn slowplay thrown in.

[nepenthe]

The way he played it on the turn, it seemed like a flush draw to me. On the flop, I mainly read him for AJ or a worse ace, with an outside chance at a set. I wasn't intending to try raising the turn unless another A or K came, as there are enough hands that beat me at that point for me to be reluctant to run the risk of being 3-bet.

I had to raise the river once because not doing so would be awfully weak. By force of habit I generally do not cap the last street without a straight or better. Thing is, if he had had KcQc, I would rightfully have felt thoroughly outplayed.