2/5 New Table Unknown Players
Sit down at 2/5 with $500. Game is $1,000 cap most buy in for max there's usually lots of action.
First hand of table opening: V in UTG+1 makes it 15 gets several callers, takes it down with cbet.
Second hand of table opening: V now in UTG Makes it 15, gets 4 callers. Hero in BB with AsJs. Makes it 105. V calls and whale who plays games as big as 10/25 also calls.
Flop is AK5 with 2 clubs. Hero bets 90. Both call. Turn offsuit 7. Hero bets all in. ~$300 V calls. Whale folds.
This is a really thoughtful response. My strategy in 1/2 with this type of hand has generally been to bet flop and turn and check river with plans to call if the reasonable draws missed and fold if they came in. However, you are right that 2/5 players are generally trickier than 1/2 players.
Any of the pros on here want to weigh in? TL;DR: OOP holding top pair, what streets do we want to bet multiway vs presumed flush draws?
We're all here to learn. Well, at least I am. Probably shouldn't speak for everyone.
Bet-bet-check-call can be a good line when we have reasonably strong value and an opponent who will stab whenever we check. But at any stakes, if an opponent is predisposed to float our c-bets wide, or stab when we check, we need to have some strong hands in our checking range, both IP and OOP. Top pair with a decent kicker is a good hand to have in our flop checking range, even on a two-tone board.
Part of the reason I like defaulting to a check when I'm OOP is that it helps me avoid c-betting too much, which is a big leak at lower stakes. If we're c-betting 80% when we're OOP, our checking range is really weak, and we lose the opportunity to check-raise.
I think it's a mistake to presume V is on a flush draw. V could have 1P, worse AX, 2P, a set, a straight draw, some suited connectors, etc. It's only the second hand at a new table. All we know about V is that he's raised the first two hands from UTG+1 and UTG, and took the first one down with a c-bet. We know nothing else.
All the more reason to start with a check, and see what he does. We 3B pre. It's an AK-high, two-tone flop. Let's see if he's the type to stab if we check, or check-back, or if he bets, what size he uses. Let's see if he'll barrel the turn if we check-call flop. We can check-call flop, and if the turn checks through, we can bet the river for value, and get called by some worse AX, or even KX looking to snap off our busted flush draws.
If we c-bet and get called, we're not going to know what to do, no matter what the turn card is, which is just opening the door to check-folding on a later street, because our hand wasn't strong enough to bet three streets for value.
V has slow played AK. Thought since he opened 2 hands in a row his first hands at the table he might be loose but looks like just good luck.
V has slow played AK. Thought since he opened 2 hands in a row his first hands at the table he might be loose but looks like just good luck.
AJs is one of those hands that looks good pre, but often gets us into trouble, especially when we're OOP in a 3B pot. If a lot of money goes in, we'll usually be behind stronger AX or better.
