Getting Beat.... thoughts?

[kurto]

I'm watching this guy play. he's loose and lucky. I've seen him taking quite a few pots with weak hands. He's raising and/or calling raises more then seems likely (I'd say %40 of hands) He's either on a very long streak or just very aggressive because he seems to raise and/or call raises more then he should (probably 40% of the hands he's in). I know he (villain) usually calls any flop bet even if he has just overcards. And he will bet if you show any weakness. No checking through. I have seen him overbet the pot a lot and I he will bluff aggressively.

I haven't seen him show down that many hands he raised preflop, but they're stronger then his 'calling hands'. But I know he calls raises with some pretty weak stuff.

I enjoy taking on the bully/maniacs. I should mention that, if anyone was paying attention, they would know that I'd been showing only good hands and have been pretty tight. Two hands below:

.10/.25 pokerstars NL table. His stack is around $15 while mine in around $30.
I raise from middle position to $1 with pocket queens. He is the sole caller from the big blind.

The flop comes a K x x rainbow. He checks. I bet $2. He thinks for a while, then calls.

The turn brings an Ace. He checks. I bet $5. He thinks for a long time and calls.

The river brings junk. He bets $3 or $4. Here's the thing... I sense weakness in him throughout yet I'm 80% certain he has me beat, I know he will call any reraise since his stack isn't big enough to scare him out.
I really want to see what he had so I decide to pay him off.

He had the K-10 offsuit. And the pair of kings take it.

Though I lost the hand, I took note on his weak hand. And was glad for the information.

HAND 2-
I'm 1 or 2 off the button. the (same) guy raises from early position to $1. I call with As-Qs. There's one person in the pot between us.

FLOP Ah-Qh-jc He bets $2. One caller and then I raise it to $5. He calls. Though he would call a bet with 10-K, I don't believe he would open it for a raise. I put him on a strong Ace or possibly pocket pair. Considering that I have an Ace and a Queen and the other caller, I don't think he's likely to have trip Qs or Aces.

TURN 3h

He bets 2$, 1 fold, I raise it to $5. He calls. I don't believe for a second he has the flush draw because the A-Q of the suit were on the flop. I don't think it likely he would have openbet from early position with a King high suited connectors...

RIVER- rag
He bets around $5. I call. He turns a pair of Js (for trips.

Once that flop hits, was there anyway to get out of this cheaply? I flopped top 2 pair and the ONLY hand I thought he likely to have on the flop that was likely to have me beat was trip jacks (which he DID have, but the odds of him having exactly that hand was too small for me to give it up). I thought it more likely he was playing AK (which he would have played the same way) Based on my notes on his play... am I way off here? Anyone else not seeing it til the end?

Thoughts?

[MediaPA]

My thoughts on this are as follows.

Hand One: You paid for information with two overcards on the board, pretty much knowing he had one of them. K10o isn't that weak from the BB, especially if he's as loose as you say.

Hand Two: His raising hands are stronger than his calling hands (semi-flag #1), He bets the flop, you raise, he calls (no flag, but you are thinking about what he has). Turn fills the flush. He bets $2 again. (Flag #2 - you showed strength on the flop, why would he bet into you here) River he bets into you again, I'd feel beaten here, but call. That'd save you $3 if you didn't raise the turn. I don't think that you are going to fold at any point.

[kurto]

"Hand One: You paid for information with two overcards on the board, pretty much knowing he had one of them. K10o isn't that weak from the BB, especially if he's as loose as you say." As you said, I knew I was paying for information. And I think I learned a lot from the guy. Considering that (1) I had only shown strong hands (if he was paying attention) so he didnt respect that (2) there was an Ace on the board... the most oft. raised hands are AK and AQ as well as high PP... and at the weak end...JK, KQ, etc. There were so many hands that had him beat, I was thrilled to know he would call with 2nd pair, 10 kicker.

Regarding 2nd hand... I hope I'm not overthinking this... he happened to have the only hand I thought he might have that could beat me. But If he raised a pot, I've seen him bluff away. Note the earlier hand, he bet into me with 2nd pair and a 10 kicker. I effectively (and correctly) ruled out the flush and the straight. He had the only hand I could imagine him having that beat me. Based on his earlier play, do you see him playing AK any differently?

[MediaPA]

In the first hand, he flopped top pair. You bet into him, he didn't believe that you had a K w/ a better kicker. So he called. You probably wouldn't bet without a pair or ace (referring to your own raising comments). If he's any good, he's reading you as much as you're reading him. Does he think you'll bet ace high on the flop? I'm thinking not since you said yourself that your playing solid showing good hands. He doubts the king since he has one. That's my opinion. Also he isn't calling with second pair and a 10 kicker. He's betting it based on a read of you hopefully. There's a big difference here. Also he's doing it on the river where all he has is fold equity into a pot that you've bet the whole way. I may be giving him too much credit.

One the second hand, I didn't say I'd be able to get away from the hand, but raising the turn after he bet into you again after your flop raise should have been some cause of concern. That's all I'm really saying. The fact that you eliminated flushes and straights is honestly not that important. What can he bet with 3 over cards on the board that is likely. You ruled out AA and QQ based on your hand. AK some would discount by the same thinking. If you went with your read, you should have raised the river again. Obviously you had some respect for him and knew that your hand was vulnerable despite discounting the possibilities.

[kurto]

First... thanks for your comments. I wish my wife was as interested in discussing poker hands as people on this board!

What's tough about guys like this is how to balance getting value with getting a good read. I know based on his play, that he was stubborn. He did well by overbetting the pot and with constant raises preflop... stealing a lot. I also believe he was bluffing a lot post-flop (and this was confirmed when he was losing pots with mid and bottom pairs). Knowing that a person is just as likely to bet with middle pair as they are with trips makes a read difficult.

I still think this is someone I want to play against. I still want to qualify him as "a better then average maniac) considering how many times I saw him lose substantial pots with mid pair. I think he's ripe to loose his stack.

In this case (hand 2), I think the worst thing that could happen to me did... catching 2 pair on his flopped set. That's the kind of flop that you're going to lose a lot of money on. I think any other player except him, I would have more respect for him continuing to play into me.