PokerStars 4.40s. AJ played too passively?

[Duffryn]

There are about 50 left in the tournament. The villain seems pretty fishy running at 26/5 stats over 41 hands. I hadn't really noticed him. I did not CBet as I thought he was a station, but he did not seem to be representing much, so I called his bet hoping to get to showdown cheaply. On the river, he only seems to be credibly representing A9 - should I have called?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 4.4 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t2653)
UTG (t13390)
UTG+1 (t6127)
MP1 (t2011)
Hero (MP2) (t3430)
CO (t7584)
Button (t5320)
SB (t7655)

Hero's M: 11.43

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with J, A
3 folds, Hero bets t500, CO calls t500, 3 folds

Flop: (t1300) 9, 7, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets t400, Hero calls t400

Turn: (t2100) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: (t2100) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets 1000, Hero ?

[revolvingiris]

I would fold river...I see players make these types of plays with all sorts of draws hoping to check back turn in position for free river. 41 hands is a pretty small sample size so I would use reads vs this player more then stats. In a $4 almost all pairs on the flop can play like this so there is no need to really hero call from someone you can just valuebet/call to death later.

If villain is a station just check fold flop and try to catch him when you have a hand.

[drmcboy]

bet flop

[Duffryn]

I think that I should have bet the flop, but if I had bet say 700 and he had called what should be my plan on the turn? I would have put one third of my stack in the pot, so I would not be keen on betting the turn again with just A high. But if I check the turn then it seems to me that the fishiest fish is going to realise I don't have a 9 or an overpair. Am I just check folding either the turn or the river? I think I played this badly, but don't know how to play it better.

[ManicLombax]

Seems to me like you played it ok. I don't know how to play it better anyhow. I think CO probably had a smallish pair, and wanted to throw out a tiny bet to see if you'd just fold it up on the flop. He got scared when the board paired on the turn, but end result you got to look at two more cards for only 400 chips. If he's a station, betting on the flop probably ends up with the same result (and maybe costs more if you feel silly betting 400 chips). I wouldn't call on the river though unless you had a pretty good read that he bluffs here pretty frequently. Could be he figured out you had nothing, or possibly even hit a set of 8s.

[drmcboy]

if you bet flop I would shove turn K/Q/J/spade, check A turns with intent to call/shove river, give up on other turns.

[Duffryn]

The reason for raising AJ is because its probably the best hand, especially in middle position and so giving up on a 9 high flop after a call from a villain running at 26/5 does not seem a way to make money. A flop of KcQd3c would be different.

I don't think the way I played it was terrible, but hoping to get to a cheap showdown hands the initiative to the villain and does seem too passive when my range is stronger than his.

I prefer DrMcBoy's way of playing this hand, as I think agression pays and a fair amount of random bluffing seems to go on. Earlier in the tournament I had raised A9 in the BB after an early limp and the SB completed. The loose early limper called and so I was HU on the flop which fortunately came Q99. I did bet that one and the villain called. The turn was a Q. I checked and the villain shoved the rest of his stack in. He had KJ. If my hand had been weaker, I would probably have folded.