Strange donk-bet-bet line from competent SB at 2/5 - anyone find a river call here?
Played this hand in my last session. Apologies in advance that I didn't have the starting stack depths, exact bet sizes, or the exact run-out memorized. Please bear with me, as I think the details I do have committed to memory are the most relevant ones for deciding what to do on the river.
2/5, $1k max, 9-handed.
Hero / CO - MAWG. Fairly deep-stacked, solid TAG image, not getting out of line.
Main V1 / SB - 20's-30's guy, not sure if he's white with a tan or possibly mixed latino or asian. Fairly deep-stacked. But seemed to be VERY good, in my observation.
V2 / MP - Loose-passive OMC on a semi-short stack.
OTTH...
OMC limps MP. Hero opens to $25 in CO with KsJh. BTN folds. SB flats. BB folds. OMC in MP calls. Three ways to the flop with $75 in the pot.
($75) Flop - AJT with two clubs and a diamond. SB surprises the $hlt out of me by donking out for $35, without seeming to give it too much thought. MP folds. Hero calls.
($145) Turn - AJT offsuit low brick. V bets around half-pot, like $75. Hero calls.
($295) River AJT another offsuit low brick. V fairly quickly pushes out $200.
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I thought this was a very strange line from a very good 2/5 player. He's basically repping KQ and only KQ, which is mostly if not always a 3B from the SB pre, either for value with KQs or as a bluff with KQo, and I wouldn't think a good grinder would ever play it as a donk-bet-bet-bet line.
I think this V is definitely 3B'ing all his KQs, so even if he just flats with KQo, there are only 9 combos possible. But there again, with the OMC in MP, I'd think he'd want to 3B more pre, and rarely donk-bet this flop that I'm going to c-bet with almost 100% frequency.
Like, when he donk-bets like this, the OMC is folding everything, and I'm folding a lot, whereas if he checks, I'm c-betting everything, and the OMC is likely to over-call behind.
My hand blocks KQ, and unblocks all his missed flush draws. I wouldn't expect him to take this line with his flush draws, unless it was some pair + flush draw, like QJcc or QTcc.
Speaking of - QJs / QTs are supposed to be 3B bluffs pre, and QJo / QTo are supposed to be folds. But, if we're giving him KQo that doesn't 3B pre, maybe we also give him all the combos of QJs and QTs, and maybe even all the unsuited combos, too. Maybe he has some KTs in his flatting range.
If this is KQ for value, I'd think he'd go check, bet / check-call, bet. If this is AJ, AT, JT, or TT, I'd think a lot of those are either 3B's pre, or mostly check-calls, or donk-bet-checks, but never donk-bet-bet. I don't think he'd take this line with 2P or sets, if he even has any sets that weren't 3B's pre.
I realize I could have all the thick value here - straights, sets, and 2P - but thinking about this hand, I realized I probably wouldn't be raising flop with anything at all, when he donks like this, so it's actually a weirdly good line to take with all his bluffs.
So, with 2nd pair top kicker, I beat all his bluffs, and I don't think he has any value that isn't KQ exactly, which I block, and which I don't think he'd play this way. Meanwhile, I unblock all his missed flush draws, and a lot of his 1 pair + missed draw bluffs.
Anyone find a call here, or is this just always a pure fold?