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I like overbetting for value against a particular type of player, one who doesn't have a good understanding of pot odds. Even players who understand that they need certain odds to draw to flush on the turn or something don't always understand the way pot odds function on the river. They don't get that if the pot is 150, they have to be right at least two out of every three times to call a bet of 300.

Instead, they base their decision solely or primarily on whether or not they think you have the goods. This means that this guy will either convince himself you have a big spade and fold to even a bet of 100, or he will decide you are stealing and call whether you bet 100 or 300 (though maybe not if you do something crazy like move all-in).

I've started taking notes on river calling standards: have I seen this guy fold to a blatant value bet? Have I seen him call an overbet with top pair when the flush hits on the river?

It can also be helpful to see how he value bets the river. Does he like to push the nuts or peddle them? He'll probably expect you to do the same, so if he always makes a very callable bet with a big hand on the river, he may get suspicious and decide you are stealing when you overbet, since he doesn't think that is the way to play the nuts. Conversely, he may may check-fold to a small bet when a scare card comes on the river, since that is how he expects you to play the nuts.

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Good post.

I'd also like to note that this is not normally how I'd play the hand, on the flop I'd definitely make a bet with that gutshot+flush+possible overcard with multiple callers, or against a calling station, or against someone who is a loose caller.

Against someone like this though, who I figured for superaggressive, I fully expected him to bluff at the pot on the turn, but it was so small of a bet, that I figured that seeing another river card could induce another bluff out of him (I've seen alot of people make small bet on one street, then go for a huge bet on the next cuz they think their opponent was weak, was trying to go for that from him). Since he checked to me, I decided that I'd either get nothing more out of him (fully expected him to fold) or he would make an assumption that this huge bet I made was one saying "I got nothing, please don't call and let me take this pot" and in this case, it worked. He might have still called a smaller bet, in fact, given his hand, I'd expect him to call a 100 buck bet based on odds alone.

Normally I never overbet unless I got a made hand and there are some dangerous cards that could hurt me (see top flush on a board with straight and flush possibilities), but in this case I figured the worst thing that would happen is he would fold. I knew there was no way he had a set anywhere on here, because given my reads, he would have been pumping up that pot and would have lead into me on the river too, so I was not scared of the board pairing.

With my normal play, I'd pick up a miniscule 140 pot most likely, and while that wouldn't be bad because I had a great draw with plenty of outs, I was probably a favorite there to about anything but a set or 2 pair (or tptk, which I'd be close to a coinflip against), so I figured even though I don't have a made hand, against 1 opponent I could slow play this and try to induce action by acting weak. Limping preflop induced action, I fully expected checking behind to induce some too.

Now should I have limped pf with that? Some people say no, I like to mix it up early on limping with hands that have possibilities to stack someone if I hit (see suited connectors, suited aces, suited one gappers, and low pairs, occasionally connectors if there are a few limpers in already) because I figure if the pot gets raised alot preflop, then I can fold without committing much at all of my stack.

I doubt this move has any value whatsoever against anyone with basic understanding of odds, but against weaker players I think this move would work sometimes. Against the players who make this move when they have the goods, they would probably fold to this but call a smaller bet, it would only work when the player thinks that this is how someone would bluff at the pot.

I might never use this move again, but somehow my poker instincts told me that this is the move I needed to do here, call me crazy if you will.