[Yerma]

Hi PokerBob,

If you were playing a heads-up game between yourself and the SB, I would often raise preflop, just call the flop, and give up on the turn if bet into. The reason you do this in a heads-up game is that the pot is smaller than in your actual hand. You don't mind giving a cheap card on the flop by not raising because the pot isn't big enough to be that important to fight for with A-high.

That, however, is in a heads-up game. Here, you are obligated to raise the flop because the pot has become big enough, by virtue of the 3rd player to see the flop, to try to pick off the SB if he is still drawing (and hopefully improve to a better one-pair hand than his if he already has a pair).

On the turn I agree you should bet again. You don't want to give a free card here--the pot is too big. And if you get c/r'd you can just put it down. If he has the guts to c/r you on a pure draw then I think he deserves the pot at that point. But you've put enough pressure on him so that he shouldn't put you on necessarily just A-high anymore, so if he c/r'd here, he will usually have a hand.

On the river, I don't know why you bet. I've seen some really bad players call down with worse than your AK to that river bet but that is very rare! Just show your AK and hope it's good enough. Also, your call of the river c/r here is suicidal.