PAHWM $2-5 NL

Hero folds. Next hand.

Okay, I'll play along. Hero raises to $30.

I overlimp here.

Raising is obv fine and main reason would be to fold out CO/BU. But based on OP we will prob just go multi-way in a bloated pot.

What's your position?

I know A5s is a hand we usually raise with these days, but after three limps, against players who sound like they won't fold muxh to raises, and who probably have all sorts of ATo and A7s in their limp-call range, then I would rather think of A5s in the same category as A6s and similar. So I might well just overlimp this, and if your position is just MP/HJ etc then it might just be a fold.

Hero is mid position.

Based on action stated, Hero is either LJ (10 handed) or HJ (9 handed)

While at the table I think I find myself vpiping this combo. Away from the table I lean fold because we're really just relying on flopping a draw and trying to realize equity. If stacks were at least 200bb I'd be a bit more inclined to throwing in a $5.

Since this described game has sticky villains pre, isolating is not really an option I want to utilize. Fold or call.

Sent from my Pixel 7a using Tapatalk

Thanks for the replies so far. So I ended up calling the $5, LJ calls, HJ calls, small blind completes and big blind checks (game is ten handed). We go eight ways to a flop which is 955 rainbow. Five players check to hero and he...

Play A Hand With Me. It’s a post that stops at all decision points for feedback and discussion.

Both options are on the table.

Checking and letting someone catch up with an over card works. Betting and targeting a 9x works. 5x is getting stacked.

Leaning check.

Sent from my Pixel 7a using Tapatalk

Okay. Thanks. Faith in humanity not completely destroyed.

Note to self - stop remembering the latest slang being used by all the kids.

I probably just bet small, like 25% pot, hoping to get called by 66-88, 9x, worse 5x, maybe even a stubborn 22-44, or a super-fishy 87 / 86 / 76, possibly even some Ax holdings.

I don't like checking, hoping someone will catch up with an over-card on the turn. I'd think most JTs+ would be raised pre, at least with some frequency, enough for me to doubt that we'll be lucky enough for someone to make an over-pair on the turn, AND want to play a big pot on this paired board, after the flop checked through. I'd rather start building a pot now.

V's could also catch up with some PP that boat up, or draw to an inside straight. I think the only cards we're going to love are over-cards to the board, but that's less than half the deck.

Spots like this are another reason A5s could be raised pre, even in a game like this. We're not just hoping to flop a flush draw. We could also flop 2P or trips.

If we raised pre, a lot of V's are going to automatically assume we've got a lot of AX and KX in our range, and we just missed this flop entirely, so they're going to call us down with 9x and weaker PP's. It's going to be hard to get max value now, because any aggression we show is going to make our hand pretty face-up.

I bet $30 into 40.

Don’t need to bet small here. We’re not winning a huge pot here in an 8-way limped pot unless it’s from a weaker 5. Make that our value target and build the pot. 9x will probably also be relatively inelastic to one bet.

PF: Overlimp or raise is fine.

Flop: Bet small like 10-15. I still want to give hands like QJ or some random bdfd high card hands to float flop almost drawing dead also a bunch of small Pockets.

So it seems the consensus is to bet out, which is what I did. Pot is $36 after rake and Hero bets $20. HJ calls, LJ calls, and small blind player now check raises to $75. Action folds back to Hero and he...

Seems like a clear call. Don't let him hero fold any worse 5x which is going to be mostly what he has.

Some information of note: villain is a white male, probably in his early 60's. He is a regular in this room at these stakes, but usually comes in later in the day and is in the second or third game so Hero rarely plays with him. From my small sample size I would say he plays pretty tight, straightforward fit or fold poker.

If they aren't folding after they put in a dollar, limp behind. If you have fold equity, limping behind or going $35 seem reasonable.

As played on the flop I would go quarter pot on the flop with plans to bomb a lot of turns.

Call the check raise.

Agree with call X/R.

I don't like betting more than half pot on flop, because it's a limped pot. We could be stabbing here with any PP or 9x. We want to get called by any PP and 9x, and over-cards looking to make a bigger pair.

The odds of another player having the case 5 are pretty slim, so the best way to build a pot is to bet small enough to keep opponents' calling ranges as wide as possible, at least until the turn.

Facing the x/r, and without any reads, I'd probably just call, but against an aggro player, I might put in a 3B, if only to squeeze out the other players behind us, and hope he wants to play for stacks.

Against this V, as described, he sounds a bit like an OMC, who either has a worse 5x, or has 99. He's never going broke either way, so it's just a pure call.

I wanted to let this simmer a bit to get as many responses as possible, as I thought this was the most interesting decision point in the hand. OTTH:
In game, as crazy as it sounds, my first instinct was to just fold and move on. The check raise was on the small side and seemed more like strength and value from this player. I felt like if he had a 9 or some random 5 he would probably just lead out as opposed to check raising. I dismissed flatting as most other posters ITT had recommended only because by doing so I felt would almost certainly get at least one caller behind and by then the SPR would be low and I would probably be getting it in against two players with wide ranges and not a lot of good turn cards. In the end I finally decided there were some hands the villain would do this with that I was ahead of and I was too high up in my range to get away from it. I re-raised to $225 knowing I was going with the hand, the players behind folded and villain rips it in. I call and final board is 95546 rainbow. Villain turns over 95 offsuit for flopped full house and I double him up. Not to be results oriented but the LJ player told me a little while after the hand that if I flatted the $75 check raise he would have also called with pocket 4s and turned a full house so I guess I was destined to lose the hand. Based on the responses here I feel a bit better that I didn't completely get this hand wrong as I had been beating myself up about, and maybe it is just a "cooler", but another part of me feels this was also a momentary lapse in judgement as my gut was telling me (and I almost always trust it) to fold. Either way thanks to all in this community for your input, much appreciated!

Ouch. SB was getting 12/1 to complete preflop I suppose (and you won't ever see him fold in future in a similar spot!) He could have had literally any 5x, he just had the wrong one. I prefer just a call to the check-raise, you don't want to scare away the gutshots and the 9x (or the really weak 5x if he's tight) but reraising isn't bad. Overall played fine. Don't fold A5 to a check-raise on 955.

Personally I prefer limping Ax suited type of hands here, 99+ would most likely raise preflop.

Flop is as good as it gets for you as this hand is to 99% of the time to make the nut flush, I would lean towards donk betting a small amount here or if there's aggressive players in the pot to smooth call any/all raises.

The only thing that gave me pause on the turn was the fact that the blinds were the only ones that could hold 95. Wouldn’t deter me though bc they have all the other 5x.

The way I would approach this hand is to accept that you will go broke against 95 and aim to maximize value / try to get stacks in vs all other 5x. ie never fold.