Was my thought process correct?

[The Kount]

Playing 1-5 at Borgata. the usual assortment of calling stations and loose passive players on the table. I have rolled Aces. A player who tends to raise on third street raises the bring in to $3 with a King doorcard. There are four callers including myself. I get a blank on fourth street so I'm sitting with three Aces. I am thinking that I want to get a lot of money in the pot and since these folks were calling $5 bets all day, I bet $5. To my surprise everyone folds. I figured I'd get one or two drawing hands out and be in position with the best hand by betting the max. Was I thinking correctly or should I have slowed played the trips?

[patrick dicaprio]

i think you made the right play if they were calling $5 bets all day as you say. but if you dont play fast from the outset you normally should wait until fifth even at spread limit so that the pot is a little bigger when you make your move. it is an unfortunate hand but you have to focus on the process and not the result.

what did you think of the borgata poker room? as far as i can see by the posts you and i are the only ones who have played there? i thought the room itself was as nice and comfortable as any room i have played in. but the dealers and floor people left something to be desired.

Pat

[crockpot]

here is the question...they may have been calling $5 bets all day, but how often have they seen you make those $5 bets? if they've seen you play tight all day, they may realize you're not going to be raising without something nice, and get out of the way.

the last time i played in a cardroom, it was $2/$4 stud and thanks to a horrible run of cards, i never got action on anything (except twice when i started with a pair of aces, and both times both aces were dead and i was well behind the field by fifth street). naturally, the rest of the table took notice when there were an average of 6 players seeing fourth street, and one of the two folders was always me.

[7stud]

It also depends on what the 4th street cards were. If you saw this:

xx/KhJh
xx/7s4s
xx//8d9d
xx//2cAc

Then there might have been some strong hands, and a bet might have gotten some callers. If instead you saw:

xx//Kh2d
xx/7sQd
xx//8d2s
xx//2c10d

Then it was more likely no one had much of a hand yet.

I think your bet on 4th street telegraphed your strong hand: on 3rd street the King raised and you called, and then you bet into the raiser on 4th street, and you bet the maximum. That made a strong statement--especially if you had been playing tight. Either you were bluffing or you had a hand that could beat Kings, and it's not likely you were bluffing with three other players in the pot.

Did you consider checking and letting the King lead the betting? If he bluffed on 3rd street, then he might have continued the bluff. Also, a bet from him probably wouldn't have had the same impact as a bet from you.