AK under attack

villain is unknown, comments on all streets welcome

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (6 max, 6 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

Hero ($102.50)
MP ($94.90)
CO ($82.90)
Button ($105.60)
SB ($99.50)
BB ($108.55)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, K. SB posts a blind of $0.50.
Hero raises to $3, 1 fold, CO calls $3, 3 folds.

Flop: ($7.50) 8, A, Q (2 players)
Hero bets $6, CO raises to $12, Hero calls $6.

Turn: ($31.50) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $15, Hero calls $15.

River: ($61.50) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $25, Hero calls $25.

Final Pot: $111.50

Fair chance you beaten or a split but I think I''d play the same way, its not costing you too much vs the pot to find out.

i like your line.

weak but good. w/o a read I would propably play it the same..

i make a blocking bet on the river

thats a tough one. If opp is aggressive I like your play. If opp is passive you are probably behind and I can find a fold on the turn or river. I put opp either on AQ for twopair or AJ or AT. Depending on the opponent I think AQ is most likely, because its a hand you can coldcall a raise with from LP, while many ppl dump AJ or AT to a prf raise (set of 8s is also possible). If opp is a donk though you are probably ahead most of the time and I like checkcalling the turn and river for reasonable bets. Against an unknown - gah, I dont know, I dont play these limits, so I dont know what you normally can expect from ppl at this limit.

Would a 3-bet on the flop be a better idea to find out where I'm at?

Originally Posted by gabe

i make a blocking bet on the river

agreed. seems like a good spot for it: you raised PF and bet on the flop, and then just smooth called his flop raise and turn bet, so it's a good spot to try it. they both have about $30 in the pot when the river comes, leaving the villain w/ about $65. so maybe like the same bet as the turn $15? could have saved you $10 if you insist on showing down, maybe. he may also have gone all in over the top, but then again that is good to know as well. additionally, a blocking bet will give you good information on how he plays in future orbits, since you mention that you don't really have a read on him in the first place.

gabe, how much of a % of the pot do you typically throw out for a blocking bet? just wondering if you have a range or a specific % or what. all i know is i like to use prime numbers. when you bet something like 37 into a 120 pot, it just looks all fucked up and terrorizes your opponents. prime numbers have more +EV. just anecdotal, not going to try to actually offer any supporting statistics for that.

the way this one played out i think he probably raised you on your flop bet w/ 2 pr and then stuck to value-ish bets along the way. or he might have gotten lucky and flop raised you w/ a worse kicker only to find two pair along the way. either way i feel like he's got two pair, but if you can get a cheap showdown, which is what a blocking bet would help you do, then it's maybe worth a shot w/ TPTK.

yea about $15 (13 or 17 are also prime candidates (zing!) ) sounds right