AQ wins all

I limp in but that's my style.

Not sure how the "AQ thing going on" makes this more of a call? Obviously the dead money helps. But being OOP in a protected pot means that our IO are crap. If he's capable of 3betting a crapload of hands light, I think I'd rather consider a 4bet here to isolate the shorty. Otherwise I'm not convinced a call here is a money making one.

Postflop is a perfect example of why our IO are crap. We can't be bluffing cuz the pot is protected, and he's not going to bluff off chips either for the same reasoning, and meanwhile we're OOP so eventually we're going to have to take a super strong line of betting.

Anyhoo, I'm cool with checking in flow and just hoping I'm able to eke out a bet or two later.

Unless he's clicking buttons, his checkback kinda leans to polarized cuz he can't be bluffing (nor should he), so kinda nuttish hands attempting to eke out value later or absolute garbage which can't win in the protected pot.

Turn card might be one of the worse cards in the deck for us as AK/TT, both mediocre hands that he could easily check back this flop with, get there. I mean, I guess we're still beating the weaker end of a light 3betting range of AJ/KQ/KJ/QJ, but all of whose combos are reduced thanks to what we have. I suppose there may be some backdoor flush draws to protect against? Is this kinda a blocker bet to help us get to showdown with a very mediocre hand in this configuration? Honestly, I might check and even make an extremely nitty fold to a bet.

And now the backdoor draw gets there. So I guess we're just targeting that lower end of his range with this small bet? I dunno, kinda seems like one of those spots that when we're called we instantly go, "oh, I guess you're good"? I admittedly haven't done a combo count but my feeling is that it is too thin (especially since he should actually manage a fold on this board / largely protected pot with pretty much all of those smaller two pears).

GcluelessNLnoobG

are you bluffing?

I thought I was going for thin value until Result:

You both played this hand so bad. Lol at him folding river.

Just fold or 4bet pre. Don't bet turn Don't bet river.

I was legit going to ask if you were bluffing but assumed you were thinking it was for value.

Once that nuttish low turn card arrives, we're not really beating much of a typical 3bet range preflop, imo.

GcluelessrelativehandstrengthnoobG

Most likely yes. What do you think he has if he bets? This dude folded KK to you on the river.

I would have probably folded KK as well in his position, and then been very salty.

Why are you betting out of position into a dry side pot given preflop action? You beat virtually none of a preflop 3-bettor's range.

If you were in position and he checked to you, I could see it, but still most of the time it just leaves you heads-up with the all-in player.

"Thin value," my fat ass.

Grunch:

PRE - If our read is that V sees himself as having a skill edge, especially when he's in position, I think a case can be made for 4B'ing here, when we're 500 eff and we'll be OOP post, with what is basically a dry side pot if we just call.

FLOP - I really wish we 4B it pre now.

As played, I'm just thinking about how to get the most money into the pot. The best way would seem to be donking out for a stupid-small size, praying he tries to get creative.

Since there's $10 in the side-pot, I might bet $5, or $10, expecting him to call at least once, if only out of pride, thinking we'll slow down and he can steal the pot when we check a later street.

TURN - As played on the flop, I don't see much point in leading out on the K. V could have AK, or AT, or TT, and we're just toast. If he has almost any other piece of the board, he'll probably bet if we check. If he just whiffed, he may still bet, at least enough to ensure we fold and he wins the $10 side pot.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't expect an opponent to start stabbing at the small side pot, but if our read is that he clicks buttons, let's at least give him a chance to click one.

If I was going to bet, I think I'd bet really small, with plans to either check or bet really small again on the river. Betting $25 into a $10 side pot somewhat ensures he only continues with a VERY strong range.

RIVER - I'm completely lost why we're betting. Are we hoping he calls with AJ, or QJ, or some worse 2P combo?

If you want to bet here, even if it's just to make sure you don't get blown off the best hand, I think we could bet really small, like $25 again. When the range of hands we're targeting for value is so weak relative to the board, it doesn't make a lot of sense to come out and bet $50 into the $50 side pot.

I think we're over-playing our hand here.

Respectfully, when I or anyone else makes mention of your reads, it's reads like the one you gave, combined with reveals like this that are driving it.

The read you gave would lead us to think he's 3B'ing you with a wide range or that he's capable of doing something fancy post. Maybe he is, but neither of those things happened here. He made a standard 3B pre, a standard check-back on the flop, a standard call on the turn, and a disciplined fold on the river.

The AQ thing would only seem relevant if the action and run-out were such that someone might try to rep AQ where AQ is the nuts, or some scenario where the thought that someone could have AQ might affect the action in some way.

NittyOldMan asked if you were bluffing. It's a question you should consider, especially when our hand has been significantly downgraded twice, and it's hard to find worse hands that will call when we double-barrel for a PSB.

sounds like somebody we know