AQs on the button

[DrSavage]

Live 3/5 NL game.
3 people limp, i limp on the button with A/images/graemlins/club.gifQ/images/graemlins/club.gif, blinds complete/check.
Flop is A/images/graemlins/heart.gif T/images/graemlins/club.gif 5/images/graemlins/heart.gif
Checks around to cutoff with 125$ who bets $15 into $30 pot. I have around $250. A couple of limpers have me covered but they would usually bet out with the good hands.
What's the best play here?

[BigBiceps]

If I think that the limpers are not slowplaying a set or AT then I would raise to $50, making it incorrect for the CO to draw to a flush.

If you just smooth call you can fold if the flush card comes on the turn, but you are essentially giving a free card.

[bank]

I would definitely raise this a pot sized amount (maybe to $45) for information in this position....and to make it incorrect for flush draws to call you.

[turnipmonster]

[ QUOTE ]
A couple of limpers have me covered but they would usually bet out with the good hands.
What's the best play here?

[/ QUOTE ]

I played a hand like this in the borgata 5-10 game, only I was in the SB with AQc. a MP bet 60, I minraised to 120, bet the pot on the blank turn, and checked the river. he showed me AJ, and MHWG.

first step is deciding if you hand is good.

assuming you think it is, in your situation I think you should raise, you have position and likely the best hand. plus if you just call, you are making the pot 60 and laying any draws the limpers may have 4 to 1, and you don't want to price them in.

if you make it 50 straight, there will be 130 in the pot and he will have $75 left, so if the turn is not scary you can just put him in. in my experience in games this size he will generally have AJ or AT or something like that.

another option is minraising him, and if he reraises you can probably lay it down. I don't like this play as much because you're still laying the limpers better than 2 to 1.

when someone has a very short stack like 125 in a game like this (3/5), I try not to overthink the situation, since he could be thinking, well he's going to put me all in by the river anyways, so I'll just push now and maybe he folds.

--turnipmonster

[turnipmonster]

btw, was this game at galaxy? was there a max buyin, or no?

I'd love to play 3/5 with no max buyin.

--turnipmonster

[DrSavage]

Yeah, it's Galaxy. The game has the official buyin of $200 but amazingly you can just sit down with as much as you want making it quite possibly the best game ever. People who I consider good always make sure that they have more at the table than all fishes and just wait to take their whole stack. Usually it's around $500 and if a fish wins a large pot they put more money on the table.

[turnipmonster]

when does this game go? every night? thanks for the info.

--turnipmonster

[DrSavage]

It usually depends on what people want to play on every given day, usually if several people want to play NL that's what happens, otherwise the game is limit 5-10,10-20 or 5-10 kill. The game is on mondays as soon as enough people drop out of 7 pm tournament, wed & thurs is ring games only (starting around 5 i think) and saturday also fter a tournament which usually starts at 3.

[DrSavage]

So anyway, i raised the pot to 60. It got folded back to CO who thought for a while and tapped. Being the fish that I am I called additional 62, he showed A5s for 2 pair, i spiked a Queen on turn , he got up and left.
This situation seemed tough to me since I was torn between betting the pot to give flush chasers bad odds and raising smaller so I would not become pot commited and could fold to a tap.

[b33nz]

This is a pretty dangerous flop. You have to fear alot of cards. Someone can have big slick and can already have you beat. Also, people can have straight and flush draws. So lets see how many cards you have to avoid:

Any of the 11 hearts.
Any jack 3 cards (not counting J/images/graemlins/heart.gif)
Any queen 2 cards (not counting Q/images/graemlins/heart.gif and Q/images/graemlins/club.gif)
Any king 3 cards (not counting K/images/graemlins/heart.gif)
This equals to 19/47 outs for your opponents.

The good thing about your hand is you have a back-door flush draw (the nuts, also) and a back-door straight draw.

In my opinion, I would have folded this because you are very likely to have a 2nd best hand. Even if a Q/images/graemlins/heart.gif comes up, you can lose...badly. Because that would help the flush drawers and the straight drawers alike. Also take into consideration that the pot isn't even big, it's not worth taking the chance.

[turnipmonster]

[ QUOTE ]
This is a pretty dangerous flop. You have to fear alot of cards. Someone can have big slick and can already have you beat.


[/ QUOTE ]

most players raise with AKs before the flop in low limit NL.

[ QUOTE ]

Also, people can have straight and flush draws.

[/ QUOTE ]

that's why it's important to raise the flop, to drive those hands out. you can't just freeze up and fold in NL every time a straight/flush card hits.

--turnipmonster

[turnipmonster]

[ QUOTE ]
Being the fish that I am I called additional 62, he showed A5s for 2 pair,

[/ QUOTE ]

so you called 62 to win 175, you're getting about 3 to 1 on a call there, and his hand holds up 2/3 (67%) of the time. looks like about an even money call to me. If you think your opponent will rebuy tilt if you bust him, easy call!

--turnipmonster

[DrSavage]

[ QUOTE ]


so you called 62 to win 175, you're getting about 3 to 1 on a call there, and his hand holds up 2/3 (67%) of the time. looks like about an even money call to me. If you think your opponent will rebuy tilt if you bust him, easy call!

--turnipmonster

[/ QUOTE ]

I felt obliged to call but I had a lot of respect for CO, when he moves in I know he has me beat. The real question was whether he has 2 pair (which i'm drawing quite live against) or a set (which i'm drawing to backdoor flush if the board doesn't pair) with a small possibility of AJ. Flush draws and worse aces were out of the question.
I figured I was most likely against AT or A5 being equally likely and figured I've had more than enough odds to call if that was the case. My real concern in this hand was the original raise.

[turnipmonster]

[ QUOTE ]
My real concern in this hand was the original raise.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, if you raised less you maybe could've gotten away from it on a reraise, taking slightly the worst of it if you give him two pair.

incidentally, I don't like your opponent's play at all if he gives you a big ace. heads up, if he calls your raise and the turn blanks or is a scare card, he can then push and you'll be making a big mistake by calling, as you are 6 to 1. granted you probably wouldn't have made that mistake, but I would rather give my opponents a chance to make a large mistake than a small one.


--turnipmonster