I hate smallpots II (AJo)

[crunchy1]

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The thing that could throw this line off is if villian does a c/c/b. We're now put into a tough river decision.

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From a virtually unknown Villian I think the river lead from that line is very rarely going to be a bluff. He's using it to get the max value from his hand - not to throw off, what's likely, an unknown Hero.

[ElAnimal]

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I bet the turn.

It's difficult to say what he's playing here...possible a small pp, maybe Axs....

At any rate, I'm not having him push me off the best hand on the river like happened to you. If he does have me beat with something like a small pp, I want to make him squirm a bit.

If he c/res, fine, muck it. Otherwise, check behind on the river UI.

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Then why not check the turn and call the river, and avoid the possibility of getting c/r'd by an aggressive postflop opponent? I'm having trouble seeing a small PP folding to my turn bet (but I definitely can see one check-raising), plus I get the free river card. AXs I might get to fold, but I don't see that calling the flop bet unless he's got the flush draw, and in that case he's seeing the river anyway. Villain didn't do it here, but there's also the slight chance he'll check the river and give me the free showdown. I guess I'm having trouble seeing why betting the turn is better than calling the river (if villain bets).

Edit: This is crap. I don't know what came over me. Check turn/call river here is a big mistake.

[QTip]

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Then why not check the turn and call the river, and avoid the possibility of getting c/r'd by an aggressive postflop opponent?

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I think this is really, really bad.

First, free cards are horrible here.

Second, YOU ARE THE MAN! This hand is yours. You paid for the lead, keep the pressure on.

Third, if he c/res (unless you know that he will c/r semi-bluff in a small pot), you probably don't even have the outs to call anyway.

Fourth, he bets the river and you call with A high? What are you beating?

[ElAnimal]

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Then why not check the turn and call the river, and avoid the possibility of getting c/r'd by an aggressive postflop opponent?

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I think this is really, really bad.

First, free cards are horrible here.

Second, YOU ARE THE MAN! This hand is yours. You paid for the lead, keep the pressure on.

Third, if he c/res (unless you know that he will c/r semi-bluff in a small pot), you probably don't even have the outs to call anyway.

Fourth, he bets the river and you call with A high? What are you beating?

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You're right. I forgot I was letting the flush draw have a free go at the river with that many outs. My bad.

[Derek in NYC]

Play your hand like AK and fire on 4th st if you are in position. Check behind UI to showdown. This advice works best in smaller fields. When AK doesnt improve by 4th street in a larger field, it is much harder to justify firing again.

[Bill C]

I agree with those above that favor the bet on the turn.
A helpful thought you might have is this: What does villain put YOU on?

You bet Preflop, and you bet the flop. Every opportunity you have had to bet, you have bet. You have played exactly as you would if you had AA or any of the other premium hands. A turn check corrects his thinking on this and tells him you're weak and worried, and enables him to make a bet that folds you out on the river.

OTOH, if you bet the turn when he checks, you're still representing Aces/Kings. And this will be the last bet you put in. He may fold on your turn bet. If he CR's you can fold. If he doesn't he'll probably check the river, allowing a checkdown, unless the king paired him up. And if he bets the after the King falls, depending on your read of him and the situation, you may fold.

It's one more bet, but it gives you a chance to win.

Just my $.02 worth...

bill c

[crunchy1]

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Figure a range of hands that a TAG will limp UTG and I think you'll see
why you fold the river.

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My range of TAG UTG limping hands: 99-22, A9s-A2s, KJs-KTs, QJs-QTs.

With most of these hands the river card doesn't look good to our Villian given the way Hero played the flop/turn. I don't think the river is a bluff too often here. I think it's much more likely to be a value bet from a small pair. It's even possible that the K-hands in my range fail to value bet some of the time here fearing domination.

Curious what you guys think of this. I really don't think that Hero's line on this hand is too bad.