AA Facing Min-Raise Postflop: Tarzan or Jane?
 

This is a hand from the end of the first hour of last night's $109NL on Party. Villain has shown himself to be fairly loose pre-flop but has not gotten out of line post-flop.

Villain is playing this like a set, should I give him credit for it?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t50 (10 handed) converter

Button (t3510)
SB (t1205)
BB (t890)
UTG (t630)
UTG+1 (t835)
Hero (t1555)
MP1 (t1330)
MP2 (t5225)
MP3 (t2130)
CO (t1185)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+2 with A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to t150</font>, <font color="#666666">3 folds</font>, CO calls t150, Button calls t150, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>.

Flop: (t525) T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 4[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets t300</font>, CO folds, <font color="#CC3333">Button raises to t600</font>, Hero????

Re: AA Facing Min-Raise Postflop: Tarzan or Jane?
 

Tarzan

Re: AA Facing Min-Raise Postflop: Tarzan or Jane?
 

This could be a lot of things other than a set. If he had KhQh I actually like the little raise. It allows him to check behind if he doesn't get a heart a K or a Q on the turn. I also will make this raise with a ten.

There is a tendency with AA to feel like your opponents must know you have a big pair, so any raise means you are in deep trouble. The truth is the majority of raises do not indicate AA, KK or QQ. If I held AT on this flop I would tend to believe I was ahead of the pre-flop raiser after the standard continuation bet on the flop. His min-raise gets more information while sacrificing a minimal amount of chips.

I would call the raise and evaluate on the turn. If the turn is a blank and the bettor checks, or leads weakly I go into insta-push mode. If he pushes or comes close to it I would call anyway, but at least I would know I was beat. Laying it down on the flop is out of the question.

Re: AA Facing Min-Raise Postflop: Tarzan or Jane?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Villain is playing this like a set, should I give him credit for it?

[/ QUOTE ]

It could also be JJ, QQ, KK, AT, or a bluff. I'm all-in here hoping for a call.

Re: AA Facing Min-Raise Postflop: Tarzan or Jane?
 

Given my stack size I don't see how I can call his raise and then fold the turn....

Re: AA Facing Min-Raise Postflop: Tarzan or Jane?
 

I come over the top of the minraise without much hesitation. If you're beat you're beat.

Re: AA Facing Min-Raise Postflop: Tarzan or Jane?
 

easy Tarzan. I think that you will see a flush draw, a ten, JJ, slowplayed QQ/KK, a bluff about two times as likely as you will see a set.
Plus you have the Ah, so you have backdoor potential and protection from hitting a set and making a flush possible.

Re: AA Facing Min-Raise Postflop: Tarzan or Jane?
 

No, you can't do that, but you can re-raise here enough to potcommit him. He's got enough chips to try to bully you off your hand, and that's what it looks like he's doing.

Re: AA Facing Min-Raise Postflop: Tarzan or Jane?
 

Miniraise back, and push the turn.

If villain has a set here I don't see how you can avoid losing all your chips, Unless you are checking and folding to a push on the turn (I doubt it). Don't worry about the set anymore.

I think the most likely case for villain is a ten, or a midpair 77-JJ, and he's just checking to see if your continuation bet was a whiffed flop (which it what it looks like). I wouldn't expect a miniraise with a flush draw, either a call or a push.

The miniraise is going to offer him too good a deal to lay down any hand. The pots laying him ~6.5:1 to call the miniraise and 5.6 to 1 to call the push on the turn.

Re: AA Facing Min-Raise Postflop: Tarzan or Jane?
 

http://garaje.ya.com/spido/tarzan.jpg