small NL home game, what should I have done?

Real small stakes ($20 buyin) home game, the game changes, stakes change, depending on who's dealing.


Anyway, game in question is NL hold'em, 6 handed, I got about my $20 buyin in front of me, on the button with As3s. Since it's a home game, everyone but one limps, so I limp too, blind (we have only one blind) checks. Flop comes Ac Ad 6h. Checked to me, what do I do? I made a small-ish $3 bet, UTG calls, MP calls. River is a 5d. UTG comes out with a $4 bet. MP drops, what do you do? Keep in mind UTG is hardly a clueless player. He is easily the best player at the table. I realize I have trips, but zero kicker, and what could he have possibly called with on that flop? Normally I'd post the results, but I'd like everyone's unbiased opinion first. Flame away!

You can fold, call or raise depending on your read of the situation. Normally you should fold.


Unlikely he's bluffing into two players who committed money on the no-draw flop. If he bluffs a lot you might call but why not wait til a better opportunity? If he's all-in with that $4, you'd call more often.


Sometime you can blow him off the pot with a big raise here. He'd lay down a lot of hands, but he may also have a full house. But without a good read just fold.


Matt

I think the pot odds necessitate a call. The pot, by the sounds of it is 10-15$ (you didn't say if the turn was bet). I would expect to lose more times than I won though.


He played it as though he flopped or turned a full house. He didn't raise the turn because he didn't want to lose the MP drawing (what he could be drawing/calling with is anybody's guess). He didn't want to lose the draw because he knew the guy was drawing dead. That's what it looks like to me anyway. Then he bets out on the river because he's afraid a check-raise attempt will get checked through.


The other likely possibility that I see is that he had A5 and was afraid of your kicker, then he bets out when he improves. Either way, it looks like you're beat. But like I said, the pot odds seem to justify a call, as you only have to be right about 30% of the time to justify calling.


Another thing to consider is HIS impression of YOU. Does he think you are capable of folding an Ax on the river? If you have a table image that tight, maybe calling is best. But if you have a reputation as someone who is hard to bluff (by that I mean stubborn), then he is not likely bluffing if he's as solid as you say. JMHO.

Mark,unless I missed something you did not tell us what the turn card was and that makes things hard to figure out.

Oops, sorry about that! I meant to say that the TURN was a 5d, not the river!

Oh! Well that changes everything! Now, if you call the turn, you better be prepared to call an all-in bet on the river.


It now seems more likely to me that you have the best hand, maybe 50/50 I'd guess. He may just be testing you to see if you actually do have an ace. He's trying to represent an ace (any of which will probably beat yours). I would either fold or raise. If he's a tight player, I'd fold. If he's an aggressive player, I would raise. If he bet $4, I would probably raise $4 to see where I was. If he folds, great. If he calls, I would check the river if he checked. If he comes back over the top, I would fold.