Passively played AK (reasoning within)

[BorisTheSpider]

MP ($36.84)
Hero (Button) ($25)
SB ($9.57)
BB ($20.35)
UTG ($33.52)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, K
1 fold, MP bets $0.75, Hero calls $0.75, 1 fold, BB raises to $3, 1 fold, Hero calls $2.25

Flop: ($6.85) 4, 2, Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $3.50, BB calls $3.50

Turn: ($13.85) A (2 players)
BB checks ????

OK, this hand is oddly played. I played it very passively preflop, which I'm not sure about, but at the time it seemed reasonable so I explain my reasoning below.

I flatted pf because the UTG+1 raiser folds a lot to 3bets. I didn't want to push out a dominated hand, and 3betting his EP open looks pretty strong. Is this a mistake to flat here?

Once it gets 3bet by the BB who is 13/8 with a 5% 3bet, I just flat again because I'd prefer to see a flop with AK than jam it like a lot of people would. Is this a mistake?

Further to that, my thoughts on jamming over him here are mixed. On the one hand, his 3bet range is very tight, and a lot of it is made hands, so I'd prefer to see a flop and go from there. On the other hand, he is a nit and 5% still includes quite a few made hands (TT/JJ maybe he'll fold QQ) that he will fold if I jam, that I would be flipping with if he calls, so it's OK either way - if he folds it's money in the bank, if he calls I'm nearly always no worse than flipping.

I'm not sure how I feel about jamming here after flatting the first raise too - on the one hand it looks kind of wierd, and may induce him to call, which negates the point of jamming - to end the hand there against a number of hands which actually are marginal favourites to win, on the other hand flatting then jamming could look really strong (if he's also thinking "what would I do with AA/KK if UTG+1 opened and he folds to 3bets a lot?"), and induce him to fold something as strong as QQ. What do you think?

On balance, my own feelings, aside from results, are that I should have jammed over the 3bet. It may look wierd, but so what. I'd have saved myself a tricky spot postflop, and anyway I'm often going to flop fuck-all as I did here, and it'd be preferable to take it down preflop the 2/3 of the time that I flop nothing.

I'm also very interested in critique of the postflop action. I'm happy to hear comments to the tune of "you fucked this up preflop", since I maybe should never have ended up there in the first place, but once I did, I had to deal with the situation as it presented itself, so I think there's something to be learned from that, even if I should never have got myself there anyway.

Postflop, do you donk this once it's checked to you, and once I get called on the flop, what are you doing when the Ace turns?

[BorisTheSpider]

Further to this, what 3bets then check-calls the flop here?

I don't c/c the flop with QQ or KK, since there's plenty of AKs that I don't want to get passive with when I own them and give them a chance to freeroll me for a suckout. I guess if I held Kc that makes AcXc unlikely.

There are 6 combos of AK that we are splitting with, but does AK call here? If I wasn't check-folding or bet-folding AK here OOP I'd be check-raising. Check-calling is just too odd.

Maybe JJ and TT are check-calling too?

That only really leaves 3 combos of KK that might slowplay and try and rep KQ/JJ to suck AQ out, and 3 combos of QQ that crush us. But if we're going to give KK credit for slowplaying on a 2-flush board then surely we've also got to include AA, and I would be loathe to slowplay QQ here with the flush looming. Perhaps AcAx and KcKx do slowplay here, since KcXc and AcXc other than AK are unlikely.

This hand confuses me.

[bikes]

bet turn. you'd bluff the A so you have to bet it for value.

if CO folds a lot to 3bs. start 3bing the shit out of him until he adjusts.

if BB's 3bing 5% where is the 4b? that number surely goes up as its a squeeze.

[BorisTheSpider]

bet turn. you'd bluff the A so you have to bet it for value.

if CO folds a lot to 3bs. start 3bing the shit out of him until he adjusts.

Sure, but when we have a hand that may be able to extract value postflop, don't you think we're better off flatting here than folding out AQ/AJ/KQ???

EDIT: Maybe you meant UTG+1 who is the guy who folds a lot to 3bets. CO is the preflop 3bet who I got to the flop with, UTG+1 folds preflop.

if BB's 3bing 5% where is the 4b? that number surely goes up as its a squeeze.

Sorry, don't follow. Are you saying you'd expect him to squeeze more than his 3bet stat?

[BorisTheSpider]

Turn: ($13.85) A (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $4.50, BB raises to $11

What now? (nb. he has next to nothing behind now)

EDIT: Self-critique: The sizing here was weak. It's not like I'm folding now, so I might as well have jammed here rather than bet like 1/3 pot. I was thinking I wanted to keep KK along, but it's such a small part of his range and anyway what is he folding to a jam that he'd call a smaller bet with? Maybe it's not so bad to bet smaller here if he has KK since a jam could look distinctly like AQ, and a smaller bet _might_ look like KQ that's spooked by the Ace but doesn't want to lose the initiative by checking behind.

[Stacks]

Sure, but when we have a hand that may be able to extract value postflop, don't you think we're better off flatting here than folding out AQ/AJ/KQ???

EDIT: Maybe you meant UTG+1 who is the guy who folds a lot to 3bets. CO is the preflop 3bet who I got to the flop with, UTG+1 folds preflop.



Sorry, don't follow. Are you saying you'd expect him to squeeze more than his 3bet stat?

If you haven't been 3betting him frequently yet, then flatting AK is okay imo. However, if you have noticed he folds to 3bet frequently, you should be 3betting him frequently enough by now that you probably want AK in your 3bet/5bet range, unless you suspect he just doesn't care to ever adjust.

UTG+1 = CO as it's 5 handed and you are BU. The squeezer is the BB.

I assume that is the BB's overall 3bet % you posted? If it indeed is, then certainly his 3bet range is likely to widen in a squeeze spot with a villain who folds frequently as the opener. So 4bet/calling seems fine.

[Fnord]

Once it gets 3bet by the BB who is 13/8 with a 5% 3bet, I just flat again because I'd prefer to see a flop with AK than jam it like a lot of people would. Is this a mistake?

You have position and a goodish hand, but 5% 3-bet seems super-tight so a flat is perfectly reasonable if not ideal.

That said, if he's TAgg, how often do you think he's check/folding the flop there?

[BorisTheSpider]

You have position and a goodish hand, but 5% 3-bet seems super-tight so a flat is perfectly reasonable if not ideal.

That said, if he's TAgg, how often do you think he's check/folding the flop there?

JJ/TT/AK could be check/folding, for 15 combos.

AA/KK/QQ/AQs/KQs are continuing, for 20 combos.

Flop should probably have been a check behind in that case. For one thing, if he's planning a checkraise with AQ/QQ/KK/AA it's a good spot to pot control.

[bikes]

pot control.

[BorisTheSpider]

LOL. Nice.

What I mean by it is that I think I've got some showdown value here, and some outs. Do I want a big pot here if I turn the Ac instead though? Probably not, I also don't want a big pot when As turns, since he does have AQs in his range, although it's not that big a part.

What I mean is, I have some equity but not enough to want to play a big pot, and trying to take it down on the flop by donking it may be overly aggressive against someone 3bing such a tight range, not to mention when I turn the ace we're going to end up in a 3+ streets of value pot for one of us, and I don't know if it's going to be me.