Neat flop play with AK, flopping a pair.

[EStreet20]

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My main reasoning is this: The flop didn't look too scary

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No offense, but that reasoning is completely wrong. In a small stakes game, any board with two of a suit may definitely have people on a flush draw. I'm glad you won the pot but there's no reason to try and rationalize the play you made and convince others here that it was right in any instance. You gained a bet, that's wonderful, but if someone hit their diamond you'd have been stuck in the middle with top pair, tough to lay down and could've gotten caught up between guys in a raise war.

I.E. the times this play fails you'll lose more than you gain the times that it works.

Good luck,

[PennDisc]

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The flop came A-4-5, with two diamonds. I had every intention of raising, but the guy in front of me raised. So, I smooth called. The turn brought a queen, and he bet out again, and this time I raised him.
(I gained two with the check-raise on the turn, and lost one on the flop by not raising).

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Your description doesn't even make sense. First you say you had intention of raising, but someone else raised in front of you, so you cold called(?) instead of 3-betting. Fine. Then how do you checkraise the turn?? You said the flop raiser acted in front of you.

I'm thinking you meant to bet but someone in front of you bet. There was never a raise. You raised the turn, but there was never a checkraise. Using the wrong terms really f's up the flow of a hand.

[pipster]

There are not many scarier boards that this. You have a straight AND Flush draws out there. If you raise the flop you are giving proper odds to any OESD and Flush draw, so just calling with the intention of 2 betting the turn to give the Flush/OESD worse odds to call is not a bad idea. Also, making it 2 cold to go on the turn will likely turn them off even if they have proper odds (people tend to scare more on the turn than flop).

So I don't dislike your cold-call on the flop and 2 bet on the turn. But I think your reasons for it are lacking. Most likely 2 betting the flop makes them check to you on the turn. So you are charging them 2 Big bets total to see from flop to river. 2 betting the turn makes it 2.5 bets total to see the River. (And you can get out cheaper if that diamond or straight hits on the turn and you see them wake up).