AKo in the SB against a very tricky maniac

[nepenthe]

By a tricky maniac, I mean precisely that. First, he plays almost any two cards. Second, he plays postflop in such a way that he very often takes down the pot uncontested, and he is apparently proud of himself for doing so. He makes particular use of turn raises/checkraises to induce better hands to fold. Some of these raises are strategically sound for isolation purposes and they work. Other raises, however, are done in such spots that it is impossible for a thinking player to imagine he is doing anything other than trying to build the pot with the best hand - thus, the thinking player folds a better hand and he checks down the river with a winning second pair.

One example is his cold-calling of an LP raise on the Button with T /images/graemlins/spade.gif4 /images/graemlins/spade.gif, seeing a flop with around 4 people, raising a raggish flop that may have hit no one, isolating the preflop raiser, and taking it down with a turn bet and proudly displaying his ten-high.

Another example is his turn raise with Q /images/graemlins/diamond.gifJ /images/graemlins/spade.gif on a JK94r board, getting a J-A to fold facing two bets, then winning on a river blank against a J8.

So much introduction for such a little hand...

Party Poker 3/6 Hold'em (7 handed)

Preflop: nepenthe is SB with A/images/graemlins/club.gif, K/images/graemlins/spade.gif.
UTG folds, MP2 folds, CO folds, <font color="CC3333">Button raises</font>, <font color="CC3333">nepenthe 3-bets</font>, BB folds, Button calls.

Flop: (7 SB) 3/images/graemlins/heart.gif, 4/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 4/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="blue">(3 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">nepenthe bets</font>, Button calls.

Turn: (4.50 BB) 6/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="blue">(3 players)</font>
nepenthe checks, <font color="CC3333">Button bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">nepenthe raises</font>

[edthayer]

Oooh, I like that checkraise on the turn! You apparently have a good enough read on this guy to raise here for value. I don't think I'd ever raise AK on the turn w/o at least a pair, but here's a situation where I might. Hope that your read was right.

EDIT: what was your plan against a re-raise?

[thirddan]

i think the converter might have messed up on this hand, it says there are 3 players in the hand, is it just you and the maniac?

if its HU, im not crazy about the turn c/r...why open yourself up to a 3bet with a very speculative A high (even against a maniac your AK is not always best), i think this would be a check/call down situation for me...

[nepenthe]

Good point about the converter; yes it was heads-up so it seems to have messed up.

For me, the turn check-raise was first and foremost an act of pre-emptive defensive mechanism from a psychological standpoint. This guy semi-bluffs/bluffs a LOT. He will semi-bluff the turn with a flush draw, a straight draw, top pair bad kicker, second pair, bottom pair (maybe), a gutshot, and even just overcards. He also knows to fold, however, when shown aggression.

While I believe there is a significant chance of my AK still being the best hand at the turn, I could smell a turn raise coming from this guy. I don't like that because my hand is not strong enough to do something like 3-betting, and calling down with Ace-high frankly sucks.

When he bet this turn, I felt strongly he had been gearing up for a raise here with any two inferior cards had I bet. I check-raised the turn in order to avoid getting into the pesky situation of getting raised myself, and to put all the pressure on him instead by strongly representing an overpair. This was a do-unto-him-before-he-does-unto-me defense-mechanism psychology at work.

[thirddan]

Why is calling down with A high so terrible? Is there a chance he will fold to your c/r it doesn't seem like it from your description. If i know this is going to showdown, which i would want, i think i would want to do it as cheaply as possible...

having c/r the turn what is your plan if you blank on the river? lead and call a raise? check/call?

[nepenthe]

[ QUOTE ]
Why is calling down with A high so terrible? Is there a chance he will fold to your c/r it doesn't seem like it from your description. If i know this is going to showdown, which i would want, i think i would want to do it as cheaply as possible...

having c/r the turn what is your plan if you blank on the river? lead and call a raise? check/call?

[/ QUOTE ]

He was capable of folding on the same street in which he bet if shown aggression and he has little chance of improving. Calling down with Ace high is fine in some situations but it's just not my style. Now if he 3-bets this turn, there is a good possibility that he actually has a hand. If he just calls the turn, he normally has at least something like a gutshot draw so it doesn't matter much what I do at the river - perhaps check/call.