TPTK is killing me. This hand made no sense to me.

[Staycool]

I generally like your line here, except for the river.

Flop: you're way ahead, betting a bit less than pot is fine

Turn: check is ok, but out of position against a bad opp. (who calls flop bets with bottom pair), I think you need to try and get some money in the pot

River: half pot bet looks quite weak to me--you're asking villain to make a move. i would make it 3/4 pot, if villain puts in a big reraise after that, you can safely fold.

[TheWorstPlayer]

Against guys who will call of large portions of their stack with second pair, don't worry about 'bloating' the pot with TPTK. Just bet. They will call with much worse. If they raise, you can safely fold. These guys don't bluff/semi-bluff. As long as they are just calling, I'm happy to get my whole stack in.

[swolfe]

something that everyone saying "check the turn to keep the pot small" is missing is that no matter what you do, being out of position, you don't have final say on what the pot is going to be. your hands played from OOP will have bigger pots than the ones you play when you're in position. that's just how it is, and it's a good reason to not play marginal hands OOP. the only exception to this is if your opponent has an interest in keeping the pot small as well, but in that case you want to be betting to knock his weak ass out.

i bet the turn, probably around half-pot, because if i check i may be faced with a full pot bet from a bluff who senses weakness. if you're going to call on the turn, you'll have better control of the pot by making a bet yourself. easy fold if he raises you.

[MarzH05]

If I half pot the turn, do you really think someone who called 2.5 pf with Q6o and about a pot size bet on the flop with bottom pair is going to fold? I thought it was one of those way ahead way behind situations. I still do not see the merits of betting the turn. If I dont bet the turn, I get more value out of weak aces, and lose the least out of a set. If he is an idiot and is staying in on some miracle draw, half potting it will most likely not get him out. Any more, and I risk bloating the pot OOP, and like I said I had no reads on this guy so this was out of the question. I guess calling the raise without betting the turn was a big mistake, but I still dont see why I should bet that turn.

[gulebjorn]

[ QUOTE ]
If I half pot the turn, do you really think someone who called 2.5 pf with Q6o and about a pot size bet on the flop with bottom pair is going to fold

[/ QUOTE ]

I cannot think of a better reason to bet that turn. If he wants to draw to his five outs and pay for it, be happy and take his money. Instead, you're giving him a free chance to beat you. You're even paying him off when he hits his miracle card.

[davekngs]

you can argue about how much you should have bet on the turn but I think the main point is you need to bet something and it has to be a genuine size bet of more than your pf bet. Firstly so he doesnt get the idea your flop bet was a continuation bet with a missed hand and secondly to make him pay to suck out on you with a weaker hand such as 2nd pair or a weaker ace. I prefer betting the turn and checking the river with the intention of calling a sensible bet. Then you have showed him u have a genuine hand which will reduce the chances of him making a huge play on the river. Im sure many people might say well if thats the case wen he bets the river you should fold but I really think we give people too much credit sometimes, he would most likely bet AQ at the end and I wouldnt be overly surprised to see someone bet AJ at the river here. I have him on a weaker ace or A10. the bottom line is the guy was a moron and you were most likely going to lose this pot whatever you do but you will win far more than you lose against this crazy sort of play. saying this I have played much more 25nl than 50nl so feel free to ignore me

[ajmargarine]

I think the main reason to bet out flop-turn-river is to get the AQ, AJ, Ax's to pay you off. A reasonable player may very easily call you down with AQ or AJ. At these stakes, alot of mediocre players will call you down with Ax. They will be greatly encouraged when the board pairs sixes, hoping you have less than a 10 kicker, so you both have to play the board and split the pot. And then of course you have the maniacs who call with 3rd pair and are hoping for a suckout, and although it didn't work for you in this one instance, long run it's a huge profit for you.

[stueydakid]

You need to bet the turn...its called a continuation bet. Make it a little more than the flop bet. If you are beat you are sure to get raised and can feel good about getting away from this hand. If you don't bet..you don't know where you stand at all. If villain calls I would probably fold to a large river bet.

[pokerman5000]

ak is a tricky hand to play, and you inherently have a greater chance of getting busted with it out of position.
your raise amount was appropriate pre flop. your bet on flop was great. checking the turn was very questionable. i think you must bet this turn because most of the time. a weaker player will have an ace also AND you can get critical information on what your opponent has (ie set). betting about 2/3 of the pot here will do the job. if he comes back at you raising big, i would get very concerned of being up against a set. If he calls, i would be happier b/c i'd think he has an ace weaker kicker. If i had some doubts, i would check the river to him just in case he had a big hand and call if it was reasonable.

the difference in this post is that I charged him to see the river. I don't like giving free cards.

[swolfe]

you missed my point. you're OOP...you don't have as much control over how big the pot is going to be, which means that the pots are inherently going to be bigger...unless you're playing like a weak-tight nit and want to get walked over.

what was your plan after checking the turn? call a bet? fold? did you even consider river action when you decided to check the turn?