.25/.50 PL Deep Stack Home Game Hand-flopped trips facing river heat

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The game is a .25/.50 pot limit dealers choice home game with no maximum buy-in. The games played are usually holde'em,Omaha (both hi/low and high only), and Pineapple.

There are a couple of players in this game who have read a few poker books, and while they are by no means stone cold killers, they aren't donks, they are break-even to slight winners in home games. The villain is one of these players. My table image is that of a tight-aggressive, tricky player who almost always holds good cards. They know I'm not aftraid to put big bets in with a bluff. They know I semi-bluff, so if I bet the pot with two to a flush on board, it's just as likely that I flopped a set as I am betting the draw. Sometimes they give me too much credit. For instance there was one hand where a passive LAG (I call him that because he makes donkish attempts to pick up pots where there has been no action by makng small bets, but if he comes over the top of you, he's got the nuts) makes it $1 to go from UTG. It's called all the way around and I call from the CO with 68o. The flop is 25Tr and it's checked to me, I pot it and it folds around. After the hand one of the players says "show us your bluff". My reply was the truth:"Yeah you caught me, I had 68 offsuit." His reply was: "You wouldn't call a raise with THAT, I put you on two big cards, KQ maybe AQ." Hmmm, so they don't give me credit for playing "crap" cards. With that in mind.......

The table is six handed and I find 4 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]5 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] UTG and I limp for .50. UTG+1 (villain calls .50),MP calls .50,CO calls .50,SB folds,BB checks

I figure I have huge implied odds, if I flop big to this hand, no one will be able to put me on it.

flop $2.50-5 handed 5 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]5 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]K [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

I couldn't ask for a much better flop. Trips on a drawless board. I figure there is no harm in checking it once to see if I can extract some money from someone with a K.

BB checks,hero checks, villain bets $2,MP folds,CO calls $2,button calls $2,BB folds, hero calls $2

turn $10.50 4 handed 6 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] hero checks,villain bets $4,CO calls $4,button calls $4, hero raises to $30,CO folds out of turn while villain ponders his actions carefully. Villain calls $26,button folds.

river $78.50 2 handed Ah hero bets $40,villain raises to $80,hero calls $40

On the flop the villain came out STRONG. I got a feeling from his body language that he's holding something good here. In this game the players don't have a grasp on big-bet poker. If the bet is more than half the pot it means "I'm pretty sure I have the best hand". Otherwise players will underbet the pot and let the draws come along cheap. I put villain on TP/good to great kicker, KQ, maybe even AK. I don't put him on a hand that beats me. I have a history with this guy, and trust me, I learned the expensive way that this guy likes, no, make that absolutely loves to sandbag big flopped hands until the turn. I have seen him do it with at least flopped trips and a flopped straight (with 2 to a flush on flop). I can't see him limping with K5, and I think he would raise KK. The only way I see him currently ahead of me is with A5, and my instinct tells me (especially from EP on a drawless board)that he would check this once, if not twice. Because he's betting out, I put him on top pair. My plan is to C/R him on the turn (and trap the overcallers) since I beleive he will most likelt fire again.

I'm not concerned about the overcallers. CO is the passive LAG. Like I said, he will bet weakly as a bluff if checked to, but facing a bet, he turns into a calling station with as little as ace high. He simply can't stand to possibly fold the best hand. "Let's see what you got" is something you often hear him mutter. The button will chase too, so I'm still pretty sure my hand is good.

On the turn I did what I planned, and the villain still calls. I feel my hand is still good.

The river-this is where things fall apart. There are no possible straights and flushes, and given the action, my opinion is that the villain made his hand on the flop, but if he had A5 or KK, he would have checked it. So how did the A help him? Does AK play this way? Keep in mind he MAY think I am bluffing if he can't read me for a 5. Do you go with my read and call? What does villain have? Comments on any street?