How should I have played this hand?

Originally Posted by OngBonga

Sure, but a semibluff is still a bluff (just with more equity than a regular bluff), a blocker bet is probably a value bet or a semibluff, and floating is not betting it is calling, usually with a view to bluff later.

I think it's important to understand that bets should either be value or bluff. The only way you're going to make money long term by betting is by getting worse hands to continue or by getting better hands to fold. If you're not doing either of these, you're setting money on fire.

Sometimes a bet can be both. But if it's neither, then what is it? -ev, that's what. If it's +ev then it's a value bet or a bluff. And we want to make +ev bets.

My homework assignment for you is to build a toy game in your solver of choice where you force poker to be a 1-street game. Give IP a typical raising range and OOP a typical BB defense range (or better yet, to illustrate the point even more clearly, you can mirror their ranges), then remove all bet options for OOP on all streets (keep raising options for the river) and only give IP betting options on the river.

The drier the run out, the more clearly the point will be illustrated.

You can put in whatever bet sizing options you want, but I'll spoonfeed this one part for you and recommend using 75% just to save you time.

Before you click solve, think through the hands you expect it to bet, particularly the value portion of the range.

Now click solve and tell me how much that differs from your expectations.