$5 Trip aces check-raised on flush river

[baudib]

ITM, villain was really tight pre but seemed to get fancy sometimes postflop, kind of unusual for this BI level.

I checked behind the flop cuz I'm good here like 100% of the time, he ships bigger aces pre and probably 66-77 too. My guess is his preflop flatting range is like...KQ/KJ, QJ, some suited connectors, and the occasional slowplayed QQ+.

I vbet the river so he can easily call with a Q. This is an elementary call, obviously cuz my line looks ridiculously weak, and I took this line so he could bluff. he's representing what....a flush? Trip aces? air? (I start with the general assumption that no one checks the river with better hands here, but sometimes I'm wrong on that.)

I'm trying to overcome my inherent nittiness in river spots, so, I'm exploring insane options. Can we shove this river and hope he levels himself into calling with KQ or whatever he's turned into a bluff?

No Limit Holdem Tournament
3 Players
Hand Conversion Powered by weaktight.com
$5 + $0.50 Sit & Go

Stacks:
Hero (BTN) (4,570)
SB (6,755)
BB (2,175)

Blinds: 60/120

Pre-Flop: (180, 3 players) Hero is BTN
Hero raises to 320, SB calls 260, BB folds

Flop: (760, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (760, 2 players)
SB bets 480, Hero calls 480

River: (1,720, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets 550, SB raises to 1,440

[taipan168]

I guess the check behind is OK on such a dry board but my default would be to bet it. Not sure whether that would be the best move since I'm not sure what hands we beat (other than A2-A4) will call.

However, I would definitely put in a solid raise on the turn to 1000 or so. I don't see the logic for just flat calling on the turn.

As played, whilst I don't usually give a lot of credit to runner runner flushes, because we gave a free card on the flop a flush draw has to be within his range. I think I just flat his raise and show down the hand. FWIW I would probably have bet the river a little more solidly as well, say 1000 or so.

[ManicLombax]

I've definitely seen people get excited about having 4 to a flush at low buy-ins (not that I play higher but I'm assuming they understand the odds better there) - so I wouldn't be too shocked if he turned over a back door flush on the river. I'd call to find out though. As you said your line looked pretty weak so he could think you're trying to buy the pot and his Q is good.

[givememyleg]

i like it until the turn, i would raise here. but calling isn't bad either. i think river is call - fold - shove. shoving is turning your hand into a bluff.

[fulksy]

I'd probably call but its close cause your really only beating a bluff, i doubt he turns a Q into a bluff ( i guess he could vbet maybe A2,3,4). this is really strong play for a $5 without him having the goods, meh i guess your line looks pretty weak so there has to be some chance he's bluffing or vbetting worse. definitely agree with Leg shoving is worse as it does turn your hand into a bluff where no better hand is ever folding.

[baudib]

Is it terrible to just shove for value even though they're never calling? Other than KsJs Ad8d or something I'm not sure what we're ever behind.

blah blah, I didn't have the balls to shove and he showed KcJc.

[jsampson]

I never slow play a single pair. At this level of sng, where people call fairly often I always 1/2 to 1/1 pot bet this hand on the flop. If nothing else I can gage where I am at in the hand. To me single pair is just too vulnerable to try and trap with. If someone is gonna draw out against me it is gonna cost them. If I did give 4th street for free and the second spade comes then I probably bet full pot at minimum, again if you are gonna beat my trips I want you to have to risk a good portion of your stack. If the he calls as he did and then checks on the river I check behind.

jsampson

[baudib]

checking behind river is way too nitty imo. The appearance of the As eliminates almost any kind of value range he has (not that he ever has much Ax in this spot anyway, it's a TAG CL flatting a BTN raise in the SB) so he has Qx, the occasional flush (not many, imo, I don't expect to see 98s here) and air.

[jsampson]

But I have been blindsided by so many off the wall plays at these super low levels that I find that protecting against tournament killing losses are as important as maximizing value for our winning hands. If the flop and turn were bet out as i stated in my previous reply then the pot is nice enough that I am ok with just taking it down rather than risking losing the entire tourney to a wierd play or scary bluff. Does this mean I am a puss? probably does.

[baudib]

i had reads imo

i think i'm even good against his check-raising/shove-over range

[Ramirez21]

Hi,
I'm a total newb here and not very good at poker. I just have a few questions about this hand:

1) "This is an elementary call, obviously cuz my line looks ridiculously weak, and I took this line so he could bluff." Wasn't this what you wanted him to do?

2) Have you thought about what your intentional weak line of play looked like to him?

3) Isn't calling 900 into a 3700 pot correct if he is bluffing more than 20% of the time? Your remark about fancy post-flop play and that you played the ace weak to induce a bluff makes this seem likelier a higher percentage play.

-Ram

[baudib]

Very few people at this level bluff check-raise the river, imo, but I did think this guy was capable of it. I had played a few hands against this guy and I was basically playing them very straightforward so I did not think he would ever expect me to show up with an Ace here.

I actually tanked on the river; I thought for a few seconds that I had outplayed myself and let him get there with a backdoor flush but realized I had to at least call anyway because my hand is underrepped.

My line looks so so weak that he can't possibly check the river with any strong hand imo. I then started thinking about whether or not I could reasonably reshove and get called by worse, which is why I posted this hand.

[TLR]

I really dont like the flop check, you have to be pretty sure hands like 89, 78,79 etc are not in his range, and even then I prefer to bet it.

I would raise turn as well after his bet, one the river it is a call IMO

[drmcboy]

Someone post a list of hands that will call a turn raise.

[TLR]

In a 5.5 - Qx, 89,7X

[drmcboy]

meh, we'll have to agree to disagree since I cannot combat the "in a 5.5" but all of that except 89 and maybe KQ seems really optimistic, 7x i don't buy at any level. Also most of those hands are drawing thin and they can still call a river bet and or bluff.