Does the game being spread-limit change my strategy with the nuts?

Probably, but I would call on such a dry board, blocking top pair. Bet or raise the turn.

You have more incentive to raise nut/super strong hands since the spread-limit structure hurts our ability to induce against Villain's bluffs/goofy merge hands that fold to a flop raise. In NL, he could bluff off the extra $550 we have left. In this game, if we play to induce, he can only bluff off another $200 at most.

We also have incentive to raise and get him more pot committed, typically. The problem with our specific hand is just that we crush the deck so hard with QQ on Q82r that playing to induce/let hands catch up is probably still the play. Raising to $90-100 total seems fine as well.

What do we think his 1/2 pot donk bet is repping on such a dry board? I'm guessing he'd x/r 2P+, or just bet bigger. This feels like Qx trying to see where he's at, or maybe some ISSD, with JT, J9, or T9.

We're going to have to do something to manipulate the pot size if we hope to get stacks in at some point. If we think he has Qx, I think we could raise small here, to $80, just 2.5x. We're hoping he reads that as weak and makes it $180.

If he does that, and we just flat call, he'll likely barrel the turn for $100 into $435. We can make it $200 then, and it'll be very hard for him to lay down Qx or better.

Alternatively, we could max out and raise to $132, playing off whatever image we may have from the previous hand. But if he makes it $232, and we call, it's doubtful he'll put any more money into the pot, unless he was turning some ISSD into a bluff and gets there on the turn.

With so much removal to Qx, it's hard to get much value here if we raise, no matter which way we go.

I think I prefer to raise small, to keep both Qx and his ISSD's in, and hopefully win more on the turn.

Look at V; then at the board; then at V again. Roll your eyes and raise to 65.
Rolling your eyes isn't required, but helps if you can convey "you are full of **** and we both know it"

Might even do this in NL, because on this kind of board the bad players just have nothing (maybe as good as 77 or even JJ) or something they aren't folding so there's not much point calling unless they are capable of doing a multi street bluff (v. low percentage of population) ... saying that I think you have to raise something on the flop in your structure because you need to bet $100 x2 vs. someone not folding and it's the best (maybe only) way to seriously hurt 88/22 (nobody believes set over set, but will slow down with 88 and esp. 22 sometimes when the board gets worse), also you can't win enough even against a multi street bluff.

Also the limit like structure should help you on the turn/river ... because V knows you can't shove the river, so if they call the tiny raise on the flop they are much more likely to pay off for half pot; quarter pot (I'd assume ... maybe you'd know better).

I don’t think spread limit changes the strategy. I raise small on flop to maximize the chance that more money goes in later.

RESULT: I played it like a NLHE hand. Just called the $32. Turn Tc. He bets $100 I just call again. River 2c. He bets $100 I raise to $200 he calls and mucks.

Curious what you think V had here. I was putting him on some Qx combo, 8x, or some ISSD. The turn brings in J9, and makes 2P for QT or T8. Hard to think he's barreling here without at least 1P + a draw, if not 2P+.

I think it's worth considering the possibility that if we raised flop, and he calls (or even better, he 3B's), it sets up more favorable odds going to the turn.

Like, if he's on a draw and we just flat call flop, and he makes his hand on the turn, he can bet $100 into $139, and we'll have to fold most hands that aren't at least TPTK. If we flat call an almost pot-sized bet on the turn, he'll know we have a pretty strong hand, possibly allowing him to slow down and check river, maybe even get away from his hand.

But say we made it $80 on the flop, and he called. The pot will be $235 going to the turn, big enough that we can barrel $100 if he checks to us, laying him over 3 to 1. If he turns a straight or 2P, maybe he donks again for $100, and we put another $200 in. There will be $435 in the pot going to the river. If he barrels the river for $100, and we raise to $200, how does he fold, getting over 7 to 1?

If we raised flop, and he check-raised turn with 2P+, we'd be putting $400 in on the turn. Either way, whether he donk bets turn, or he check-raises, or he just check-calls, I think we get all the money on the river.

I think flatting the flop cost us value here, Davo. You won $257 when you might have doubled up.

He snap-called my raise on the River, so it wasn’t nothing. During the few hours we played together, he donk bet into raisers a lot, with a wide variety of hands (some draws, some top pairs, some lower pairs, some airballs), so it’s really hard to say. He also thought I was full of **** (after the 65o hand), and was being laid such a nice price, that I think he easily could have had just an 8 there. But maybe it was the case queen.

I would write to my local congressperson.

Flop raises get called more often than turn raises, because the raisers have more bluffs, and opponents have an additional card to improve. Because so many players would slow play the nuts on the flop, I actually like raising here, even though it looks so strong, on such a dry board. It seems unlikely he donked 1/2 pot just to fold to a small raise.

If we did raise, and he did fold, that's useful info for the future. It allows us to relentlessly raise his flop donks with our bluffs, and smooth call with our thick value.

I show 100% of my bluffs. Makes the table more fun and therefore looser.