How can I stop these uncomfortable river situations...

[barongreenback]

The uncomfortable river you speak of is holding a weak one pair hand OOP, having given away a lot of info while gaining little about your opponent. It's an inevitable consequence of the way you've played. If your plays aren't balanced and your opponent knows this then you're at a disadvantage and have to play less ambitiously with moderate hands to compensate.

You said he raises draws against you, so does he bet his non king pair on the end specifically to get you to fold an under PP? He knows he isn't value betting. If he is prepared to bluff his whole stack on a blank river I feel he would have bet more on the turn and then left it at that. Alternatively, depending on how you play, he may be probing for a check raise on the turn and be more confident by the river.

Anyway, avoid this by betting the turn. Checking doesn't save money and you don't know that it induces errors by your opponent. Why seek to play for maximum money when you're unclear where you stand?

Will he fold any kings if you checkraise the turn? How do you play AK here?

James

[NickPoker]

I think you have to call the river given the way you described the action, and the player your against. His range of hands is too great. If he is calling every flop bet, I think you should have bet the turn for $200-$250, and fold to a raise. As another poster says if you are confident you are ahead you played it fine, but it does not sound like you were confident.

[Leroy Soesman]

I like the turn check, I think a bet makes you WAY too vulnerable to a raise. I would probably check/raise the turn rather than check/call. But considering you checkcalled I don't think you can just fold on the river. Too likely you induced a bluff and you're gonna probably have to pay off.

As I said, i would think about checkraising the turn to make my river decision a bit easier. i've thought about betting the river, but that seems silly really.

[NickPoker]

Wouldn't a reasonable size check raise, pretty much commit him to the pot? He going to have to raise $300-$400, which would leave the villian with between $270-$370. The pot at that point will be around $1500, I'm not folding at this point for $300-$400. If he leads to the turn for $250, he can still get away from the pot,if raised.

[JeffM]

I respect your play greatly AZK, I want to make that clear so that I can put my critisisms in context. Am I the only one who hates this line? The reason you play a Lag style is to get paid off on your big hands, not too check call your whole stack with A pair, let alone not even top pair. I can't help to think that your image will afford you a much better spot than this one. It is true that you might be ahead, but there are many hands that you are not beating. This line is fine if this player is a laggy player, but it seems from your description that this player has been resigned to calling you down with smaller pairs, not pushing you around with smaller pairs. This was a 3 way pot in the beginning and you're out of position. It sucks that the king hit, but if you really think you're ahead, I think the best way to find out is a flop check raise rather than leading, then check calling another $800.

[Matt Flynn]

you've got second pair. nothing wrong with firing on the flop but let the other guy win one occasionally, don't just spew money in. maybe you won this pot, maybe not, but without a solid read you are just throwing money away in the long run.

matt

[Leptyne]

Ever since I became a 2+2'er I've learned to makes notes on all players that use CB along with those that min-raise (ty Gomberg). In studying CB's I noticed that not all players use that tool. So, if you use CB I'm looking for a pattern, along with a bet size pattern. Of critical importance is what happens on the turn. What does it mean when they check? I'm a sgl table player so I have time to take a lot of notes, and I have time to scroll thru your entire note file. So, avoid identifiable pattterns.

You don't really expect your QQ to improve. QQ has got to be able to win without improvement. This is a really bad flop that you could have easily check/folded. Change your pattern! If you want to play OOP mix in a few CR's.

The really good news is your opponent can't put you on a hand until the turn. OOP if you CR the turn and fire the second barrell you have put your opponent to a difficult decision. You can also check the flop in position to induce a bluff at the turn. Sow more confusion amongst thine enemies.

[Marnixvdb]

would you mind sharing result?

Marnix

[AZK]

Villain had AJc

[barongreenback]

[ QUOTE ]
Villain had AJc

[/ QUOTE ]
Am I missing something or does his river play make no sense unless he puts you on exactly QQ. Your line doesn't suggest you're looking to fold a K with a river blank or would you play a king differently in the first place?

Sorry if this is a dumb question.

James