HU out of position againt a good player...

[ElSapo]

First hand at the table, and I'm in the BB. A regular in this game, and a decent, tight-ish player, raises the button. I call with AKs. He's aggressive and pretty good. As well as deception value, I'm thinking that I'm probably going to a showdown no matter what and so ... so I keep the pot small?

I think I should have re-raised: I have the best hand pre-flop a tremendous amount of time. But if I three-bet and he misses the flop, he'll likely fold to a flop bet. I'm thinking to allow him to keep betting.

Flop is 77J, I check call.
Turn is a 9, I check call.
River is a K, I bet and he raises...

[EvanJC]

you're splitting here a big % of the time i'd guess. my inclination is to 3-bet, but it would suck if it got capped because you'd probably have to call. maybe just calling would be better.

[BugsBunny]

I'd just call here. He could have a weaker K. He could also have A7, QT, KJ. If he thinks your trying to steal the pot (possible the way you played this hand) he could be raising with a wider range here (any J, or a decent A are some possibilities) but he may well fold those if you 3 bet (especially an unpaired A), so the raise doesn't gain you anything in those cases.

[spydog]

If you don't 3-bet this preflop then you need to checkraise him on the flop or turn. 77J is a decent flop. Checkraise it. You are leaving to much value on the table by playing this hand weakly against a strong player. If you show this down as weakly as you played it, I think you are encouraging him to take constant shots at you when you are in the blinds.

I actually think if you are calling this preflop then you should checkraise the turn and plan on showing this one down. Your turn checkraise will be for value most of the time, but it's real value is showing the button, who is a thinking player, that you can mix it up. He will see the following:

1) You just called with a strong hand preflop versus 3-betting. If you 3-bet other hands preflop, including strong ones and weak ones then he will be unable to put you on a range. This might help you get more value on your big hands in the future, but also might gain you free cards or prevent him from stealing because he can't play from the button as profitably when you don't play predicatably.

2) You checkraised the turn on a benign board with Ace hi. Again, this is not a predictable play on your part. The last hand he is putting you on is AK when you checkraise this turn. How will this make him feel the next time you play back??? He will know that you are a tight-aggressive player, but one that knows how to mix it up against him. This will make him want to steal less against you, which makes you money.

It's important to mix it up against a player you will be seeing on a regular basis.

[Surfbullet]

spydog hits the nail on the head here.

You're ahead of most of his hands on the flop - either c/r the flop, or c/r a favorable turn. You have to keep him guessing, and you really want him to think you are unpredictable - he'll be less keen to get into confrontations with you especially when he is going to have a hard time giving you an accurate hand range.

Surf

[kidcolin]

great post, man.

[KDawgCometh]

I don't like not three betting PF. I'm three betting a fair amount of hands, and AKs is definetly in that range. I'm CRing that flop, that's a real good flop for you.

as far as the river, I just call. If he is a decent of a player as you think, then you are either wa or wb, and getting capped will pretty much mean that we aren't winning, but we can't fold either. So, I don't see that there's much value in making a three bet on that river

[ElSapo]

Thanks for all the replies -- if I am going to continue playing short handed against opponents I see on a regular basis I am going to have to learn to get more aggressive on the bigger streets, often with less of a hand.

I just called the raise, he showed KTo and mhwg.