Two Plus Two Older Archives - AK suited, too passive?

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AK suited, too passive?

Have played 13 hands with villain, who has played about half of her hands, only raised preflop 1 time before

Party Poker 2.00/4.00 Hold'em (9 handed) link

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
UTG raises, 2 folds, Hero 3-bets, 5 folds, UTG caps, Hero calls.

Flop: (9.50 SB) T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 2[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks.

I checked here because it seemed unnatural that she wouldn't come out betting after capping preflop

Turn: (4.75 BB) 5[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks.

Should I bet here?

River: (4.75 BB) 8[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets, UTG calls.

Final Pot: 6.75 BB.

Re: AK suited, too passive?

Hi there. I bet the turn, fold to a c/r, plan to check through the river UI.

I like the flop check, but once she checks through two streets I want to encourage her to fold her AK or call incorrectly with a lesser A. She's unlikely to raise without a monster if she's checked two streets unless she's tricky. She's also more likely to call with AK on the river than if she has to face the prospect of putting in bets on two streets, and since she'll have AK more often than a lesser A given the pf cap, we'd prefer to put pressure on her to fold rather than encourage her to bluff or call on the river.

Re: AK suited, too passive?

My preferred line is:

Bet the flop.

Check behind the turn.

Maybe call a bet on the river depending on my read on my opponent's aggressiveness.

I think a river bet is quite bad here because all the pairs are going to call, AK is not all that likely to fold given the prior action, and the pot is not all that big.

A flop bet is nice here because it can be helpful in getting you to the river kind of cheaply. A tricky opponent might check-call here with a big hand trying to get in a big street raise, which you can foil by checking behind the river. If you check, an opponent, including one holding AK, will often bet the turn regardless of what comes and put you in a tough position. Basically, your opponent's checking the flop is almost certainly a mistake, and betting puts you in the best position to capitalize on it (by pressuring another AK or by getting to the river cheaply against a pair).

Re: AK suited, too passive?

I tend to agree here. If you don't bet the flop, what kind of position are you in if he leads out on the turn? If you bet the flop, then he donks the turn, it seems like a safe laydown to me.

What do you do if you bet/check, then he leads out on the river?

I'm guessing call down, especially given that board, but just want to make sure, as I haven't played in over a month.

Re: AK suited, too passive?

[ QUOTE ]
I tend to agree here. If you don't bet the flop, what kind of position are you in if he leads out on the turn? If you bet the flop, then he donks the turn, it seems like a safe laydown to me.

What do you do if you bet/check, then he leads out on the river?

I'm guessing call down, especially given that board, but just want to make sure, as I haven't played in over a month.

[/ QUOTE ]

The short answer is "play poker." This is a situation where you need to put on a good read, and act accordingly. In general, when you check behind with AK on the turn you need to prepared to call the river quite liberally, though the pre-flop action makes that a bit less applicable here. I think one should basically go in with the approach of "calling until proven otherwise." There are already almost 10 BB in the pot; half of that is an amount you don't want to forgo.