Slowplayed flopped nut flush, board pairs on river, what do you do?

[Unarmed]

Stars 5+0.50, 4 handed, I have t2500, Villain has t6000, and just called an all-in of t2000 with AT on an ace high flop. Other than that he hasn't really gotten out of line.
Blinds 75-150

On BB with K /images/graemlins/spade.gif9 /images/graemlins/spade.gif
1 limper to me + SB I check.

Flop (375) A /images/graemlins/spade.gif8 /images/graemlins/spade.gif4 /images/graemlins/spade.gif
SB checks, I check, Villain bets 150, SB folds, I call

Turn (675) 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif
I check, Villian bets 150 I call

River (975) 4 /images/graemlins/heart.gif
I bet t600, Villain pushes!?!

I have around t1600.
Fold or call?

Also, was slowplaying this a decent idea? I was worried about the board pairing but decided I need to maximize my take on this pot and his bets looked like he was tryng to buy it cheaply (i.e.: he would fold to a raise)

Thx for all the help. Comments on all streets appreciated

[mikey checks]

I think he has an Ace...maybe set of 2's with 2 spades...but that doesn't seem likely at all.

[mikey checks]

could have A4 or 48

[jedi]

I think you have to call by slowplaying the way you did. You have shown no strength whatsoever in this hand, and at 4 handed, top pair is very strong.

Personally, I would have raised the turn. You're out of position, no guarantee you can get paid off on the river.

[ReDeYES88]

I agree with Jedi and that I probably would have check/reraised the turn.

As for the river, put yourself in his shoes. He very well could put you on a spade draw based on your actions (check/call flop & turn), and since the river didn't complete the four-flush, he thought he could blow you off the pot.

Also, his bets suggest that the flop didn't hit him extremely hard (i.e. two pair or a set) because if it did he probably would have tried to price you out of the flush draw by now to protect his hand (not knowing that you already have it). My gut tells me that he has second or third pair, or two broadway cards (one of which may be a spade, missing a flush draw).

I really don't put him on a boat, because I believe that he would have bet either a set or two pair stronger before the river with three spades and an A showing.

I think your way ahead of most of his potential holdings, and based on the play of the hand up to now, I think you gotta call. If he sucessfully trapped you, then he took one hell of a risk to do it.

[ReDeYES88]

Furthermore, when you take into consideration the game (5+.05) and the stage (down to 4, three cash), then I DEFINATELY think a call is in order. You want to have a fat stack in front of you when you get into the money, because you want to finish first, not to just barely squeak in with a few hundred and settle for third.

[LinusKS]

I agree with the rest.

And I agree with slow-playing a flopped nut-flush 4-handed.

If he somehow managed to find his way into a a boat on the river, he was very very lucky.

Still, I'd slow-play this every time. (I might have tapped him back on the turn, to try to make it look like a re-steal, but I'm not sure it makes much difference.)

[Unarmed]

The only reasonable hand I could put him on that beat me was A4, and there were tons of hands he could have had that I beat, plus my half bet looked like a steal, and he was the big stack. I basically autocalled.

Villain shows AA...nice.
Not meant to be a bad beat post, I really just wanted to know I played it correctly.

One question for jedi - If I had position and had just called his bets the whole way, still make sense to raise the turn? Or wait until the river. I slowplay very rarely so I'm not really sure what the correct line is. Obviously it varies but any general advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thx.

[jedi]

[ QUOTE ]

One question for jedi - If I had position and had just called his bets the whole way, still make sense to raise the turn? Or wait until the river. I slowplay very rarely so I'm not really sure what the correct line is. Obviously it varies but any general advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thx.

[/ QUOTE ]

Obviously you know your players at the table better than I, but I defintely would have popped the turn. Probably made a good almost pot sized raise for value. In this case, he's going to push all-in after your raise and you're going to call, so you lose either way, but that doesn't mean you played it wrong.

Still, given that villian didn't show tremendous strength I can't really fault the slowplay. It's just that you're going to extract fewer chips when he doesn't have AA. Any decent size raise that you make on the turn leaves him with incorrect pot odds on the river. As for losing to the boat, that's poker. There's absolutely no way I would have put him on AA in that hand.

Again, I'm still learning with the rest of you, so don't take anything I say as the "correct" play.

[Unarmed]

Thx jedi.
I guess the rationale is that any spade hitting kills my action against most hands so get the money in on the turn right?

[jedi]

[ QUOTE ]
Thx jedi.
I guess the rationale is that any spade hitting kills my action against most hands so get the money in on the turn right?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well possibly. I think the thing is that people love to draw, so you might as well make them pay to draw (even if it's just to 2 pair). On the river, there's no more drawing. You've either got it or not. The board is scary to everyone else, so they're going to play it cautiously (which is what the set of Aces was doing). If they're drawing to a Q high flush, get value out of it. I don't necessarily think you're "charging" any draws as much as getting value out of them. The Aces are sticking around no matter what. I dunno. I think I'm just rambling at this point, but you would have lost this hand either way, so don't sweat it TOO much.

[SixgunSam]

What about the idea of leading with really big hands when you are first to act? I know that most people tend to check-raise a set and slowplay a flopped flush or a boat, but I've started to lead more often with big hands and it does have its benefits. The only hand I almost always slowplay is quads.

Is this guy really gonna give you credit for a flush if you come out betting? You're at least going to tell how strong he is with a bet. He's not going to pay you off in a big way unless he has turned something big too. It's sort of the same idea as flopping a set on a board like 995. If you bet, most people wouldn't give you credit for a 9. I don't always play big hands by leading with them, especially when it's checked to me and I am last to act, but if I have first shot, I like to see how much I can make.