Some Ax hands at $100 NL

hand 1- $4 was my average raise at this table, which usually chased enough people out to either win the pot or get it heads up. 4 cold callers was not at all what I wanted. It was a tight table so I was pretty sure most of them were limping to hit sets and hoping to bust the big aggressive guy (me).

Besserwisser posted the small blind - $0.50
prestonian posted the big blind - $1.00
** Dealing card to Stoneface_2: King of Clubs, Ace of Hearts
fastaceeddie folded
Stoneface_2 raised - $4.00
peterga folded
denniz2005 called - $4.00
dieselveg called - $4.00
fab0057 called - $4.00
Metros folded
Kappa393 called - $4.00
Besserwisser folded
prestonian folded

** Dealing the flop: 7 of Diamonds, King of Spades, 8 of Diamonds
Stoneface_2 checked
denniz2005 checked
dieselveg checked
fab0057 checked
Kappa393 checked

** Dealing the turn: Jack of Hearts
Stoneface_2 bet - $15.00
denniz2005 folded
dieselveg went all-in - $102.75
fab0057 folded
Kappa393 folded
Stoneface_2 folded
dieselveg mucks:
dieselveg wins $136.70 from the main pot

I checked the flop to see what would develop, and I was willing to let the hand go to any kind of action. I figured if I bet out and got called, I would be in a bad place on the turn either bet/folding or check/folding. I'm guessing he either had 77, 88, JJ or T9 and put me on AA/AK hoping I would pay him off.

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hand2- I decided to mix my play up by just calling here to see what the flop would bring.

CD3 posted the small blind - $0.50
fab0057 posted the big blind - $1.00
** Dealing card to Stoneface_2: Ace of Hearts, Queen of Spades
Metros called - $1.00
Kappa393 called - $1.00
Besserwisser folded
prestonian called - $1.00
fastaceeddie folded
Stoneface_2 called - $1.00
peterga folded
denniz2005 folded
CD3 folded
fab0057 checked

** Dealing the flop: Ace of Clubs, 6 of Hearts, 10 of Hearts
fab0057 checked
Metros checked
Kappa393 checked
prestonian bet - $1.00
Stoneface_2 raised - $5.00
fab0057 folded
Metros folded
Kappa393 raised - $15.00
prestonian folded
Stoneface_2 folded
Kappa393 mucks:
Kappa393 wins $25.70 from the main pot

Villain was playing very tight, and I could only see him making that reraise against two bettors with AT or better.
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hand3- I go for a blind steal but end up getting more than I can chew.

denniz2005 posted the small blind - $0.50
dieselveg posted the big blind - $1.00
** Dealing card to Stoneface_2: 6 of Clubs, Ace of Clubs
pxu folded
Metros folded
Besserwisser folded
ntrlbrnloser folded
peliemwi folded
Stoneface_2 raised - $3.00
peterga called - $3.00
denniz2005 folded
dieselveg folded

** Dealing the flop: Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds
Stoneface_2 checked
peterga checked

** Dealing the turn: Ace of Hearts
Stoneface_2 bet - $3.00
peterga raised - $6.00
Stoneface_2 raised - $18.00
peterga called - $18.00

** Dealing the river: 7 of Hearts
Stoneface_2 bet - $25.00
peterga called - $25.00
peterga shows: Ace of Spades, King of Hearts
peterga wins $90.50 from the main pot

I thought I represented the trips rather well, thought he'd fold his ace (didn't put him on Jx, figured him for a middle pair or AJ/AQ), but I was wrong. Wrong spot to bluff this hard?

hand 1

I checked the flop to see what would develop, and I was willing to let the hand go to any kind of action. I figured if I bet out and got called, I would be in a bad place on the turn either bet/folding or check/folding. I'm guessing he either had 77, 88, JJ or T9 and put me on AA/AK hoping I would pay him off.

You're going to check TPTK on a very dangerous flop, but lead out with it on the turn when 4 people acting after you have had the chance to see another card? If you're going to bet this hand then bet it on the flop. You get much more information betting than you do checking, and you also give yourself a better chance to win.

hand 2 - given your reads, i think you were correct in folding

hand 3 - You represented trips on the turn and he still called you. Did you think he would then fold on the river to a bet that wasn't much larger? I check/call or check/fold here.

On that first hand, I know your thought is that a strong hand beating you raises the turn and not the flop here. You tried to save money and potential turn committment by checking here. The problem is what you gain by doing this is overshadowed by several other factors...

1. Against so many opponents you need a strong read. Checking a king with top kicker here with your aggressive image only invites a KQ to act like two pair or a set on the turn by coming over the top, which essentially ruins your read.

2. Allowing another card to drop is suicide against so many opponents. I don't care what kind of draws do or don't exist. At most, you're probably about a 40% favorite after the flop if you're ahead at all. That's being generous.