Routine hand?

6-12 Mirage evening game, getting easier as the night goes on. I limp 2UTG with A-Jo and all fold to the blinds who call. SB is unknown, BB is pretty loose.


Flop:


Ad As 5d


Checked to me, I bet. SB calls, BB folds


Turn:


10d


Check, check.


River:


Jc


Checked to me, I bet. SB thinks a looooooooooooong time, looks at me, and finally calls one chip at a time. I quickly flip over the nuts and take it down. SB doesn't show.

Two things


I might consider raising first in instead of limping, but this is a borderline situation that has been debated in great detail. Some might even fold, and that would be ok, especially if the lineup was tough.


Also, I would have probably kept betting on the turn. I think he might have been calling you with a five, in which case he probably would have called again.


Dave in Cali

"I might consider raising first in instead of limping"


I'd had big aces an amazing amount of times that evening, I wanted to mix it up a bit. AJo in this game simply isn't a mucking hand as AK's and AQ's get raised (and I can muck even hitting an A) and crappy aces get played quite a bit by others.


"Also, I would have probably kept betting on the turn. I think he might have been calling you with a five, in which case he probably would have called again."


My thinking was this: It is unlikely he has an ace, If he called on the flop with a diamond draw, I am behind. If he called with any pair, I am WAY ahead and don't want him to fold, and in fact might induce a bluff or poor call on the river.


Against some players I think I cost myself a big bet by betting the turn, against others I think I lose one.

I can see your points here. I think your mixing it up the way you did by not raising AJo first in was fine. I guess this hand is a "it depends" situation. You were thinking about the possibilities though, so you were on the right track all along. You couldn't have really made any major mistakes in this hand, given your train of thought.