question on AK

say you raise with AK in late position and a limper from MP or MP+1 calls you. the flop is all below 10 and he checks and you bet and he calls, the turn is another blank and another check, a bet and a call. the river hits another blank and he checks, should I bet again even though he's called me down the whole way or do i check? Over the long run, whats the correct play here? Sorry for no hand history, just a strategy question. Oh yeah, no flush or straight possibilities

[milesdyson]

they have to be really really bad and the board has to be really really good for you to bet the river. like say you've seen the guy call down with K high, and the board is 24434.... then value bet.

it's the same as any other value betting situation, really, just your hand is the nut ace high, meaning he has to call you very often with a worse high card for the bet to show a profit.

[QTip]

The standard line is certainly bet, bet, check. However, there are many times when value bluffing needs to be seriously considered since some worse hands call and better hands fold sometimes to. As mentioned already, many things come into the mix like reads, boards, image, etc.

SSHE mentions players that will call to the river, but fold the river with anything less than top pair. These players are rather rare, but I've played with a some here and there. Against them, I fire 3 barrels every time, because it's just too profitable.

Being OOP against a good, aggressive player with a marginal hand makes for very tough decisions. Since the standard line is bet, bet, check, many tough players will also call to the river and then fold to a value bet on the end. There are other times when the pot has become quite large and you need to consider your opponent and the % of time he'll fold. Just because you bet the river and he calls with a better hand, doesn't mean it was a bad bet. However, you certainly don't want to take this and start betting all 3 streets all the time [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] It's just that there are many things to consider and it takes time, experience and knowledge of your opponent to make the correct decisions.

[livinitup0]

Depends on the limit, In a higher limits you are going to see more players folding bottom pair or something unimproved on the turn/river. Low limits you'll get called down by a A high more often...You obviously need to have a read so I would suggest studying what they are doing on other hands, and see what they typically call down with. Sometimes I even make notes that say "takes till turn/river to get off highcards" Its all about position in these situations.

[Octopus]

[ QUOTE ]
... However, there are many times when value bluffing needs to be seriously considered since some worse hands call and better hands fold sometimes to.

[/ QUOTE ]

I love value bluffing. It is so ... counter-intuitive. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]