AA hand in home game

[jtr]

Is this fancy play syndrome at its worst or a reasonable adjustment to circumstances?

It's a home game so I'll have to reconstruct the hand history. (Suits may be wrong but not in any way that matters.) Basically the structure is the same as the current Party $100 NL: $100 starting stacks, $0.50/$1.00 blinds. (OK, we really buy in for only 10 pounds and have a pretend exchange rate adjusted accordingly, but that shouldn't make a difference here.)

It's a six-handed game. Starting stacks: me $125, villain $300+.

So, I have A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], in the big blind. Villain raises to $4 under the gun. (Standard 4 x blind raise.) All folded to me.

I consider a raise but decide to flat call. Villain is a decent player, probably too aggressive, and sees me as decent but maybe too weak-tight-predictable. Which I am compared to him, I suppose.

Flop comes Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]6[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. I check to him, knowing that he will bet here in almost every spot. Depending on the size of his bet I plan to either raise or flat call. But he checks behind me.

This makes me nervous: this player will hardly ever miss an opportunity to bet when checked to on the flop. What could he have raised with UTG that he doesn't think is worth betting on this flop? Was I being paranoid to immediately suspect a slowplay? (A set of queens or a set of nines were the under-bed monsters that came to mind.)

The board on the turn is Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]6[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. OK, no reason to particularly put him on a club flush draw, but it's not my favourite card to see there. I figure that if my slowplay read is correct I'm way behind, or if he's got something like KQ and is foolishly slowplaying that then I'm way in front. So I check again. Weak? In retrospect I think this was the time to put in a decent bet and then give it up if raised.

He also checks behind. Now I'm extremely suspicious. Believe me, I would have bet into a typical loose-passive player, but this opponent is slightly loose / aggressive preflop and extremely aggressive postflop. What's going on?

The river is 9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], making a final board of Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]6[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. Not very pretty. I check again (for the standard induce-bluff-when-ahead-save-money-when-behind reasons), he bets $5 into a pot of $8.50, and I call.

Thoughts? I realize I am probably about to get a lot of responses along the lines of "You have aces, you idiot, bet them at some point." And I completely agree that this would be the right advice under most circumstances. But this was a home game with what I hoped was a good read on an aggressive player that I know well. Please keep that in mind while abusing me!

Results to follow if people care.

[JonLines]

Checking on the turn seems strange, though surely it rules out trips? would he risk giving you a 4 card flush for free?

[parttimepro]

I probably would have reraised pf, because you want to play a big pot with those cards. Calling for deception is not too bad, especially if you've got a handle on his play.

I actually like the way you played it after the flop. Him checking behind suggests a flush draw, in particular A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. Once the third club hits on the turn, you don't want to play a big pot anymore. You're not likely to get too much action from anything that AA beats. Pretty standard, including the call on the end.