Did I Goof Here? 1/3NL (2 Viewers)

[bradiggy]

Finally got to play a live 1/3NL game and had a pretty good start, $200 -> $450 in an hour.
Main game breaks and a guy joins us with over $2,500, seems confident but I definitely don't know anybody at this table/room.

I have the button straddle on for $6 and look down at As/7s, he is big blind and makes the call 2-ways to a flop.

Ad10s5h.

He checks, I bet $25, he calls.

Turn 6s. He checks, I bet $45 with top pair and nut flush draw.

He check-jams for about $360 effective. I hate the spot, what is calling the straddle and flop with? why does he have such big stack at 1/3? why didn't I rack up and go play Blackjack?
I call, he flips 10/6 offsuit for the most random two pair I could have imagined. I don't improve. I'm a small stakes guy, and $850+ would have been my biggest cash game pot.

 

[Legend5555]

I don't really like how you played this.

I'm raising the A7s here all day in position against the BB limper. By just checking you have done nothing to define the BB's range.

On flop, it looks like you bet $25 into $13? Why so much? All your doing is inflating the pot with a good but susceptible holding. This is a good board to just check back with top pair no kicker. You aren't going to be getting 3 streets of value. And often keeping the pot small on the flop and going for bet bet on turn river gets more value. This would be even more true had you raised preflop. Careful not to be results oriented in considering his exact hand here when I say to check flop and bet turn. Turn could have been several other things and he still would call with the T.

Given that you bet the flop, you shouldn't bet the turn. A lot of people overplay TP with NFD. Your hand is strong, but it's easy to get blown off it like what happened here. Just check back and you can call a river bet, or bet yourself if he checks.

 

[wonderpuddle]

Without knowing anything about the opponent, I fold to the overbet shove on the turn. I’m only into the pot for $76 and I don’t like getting almost $400 more in without knowing I’m ahead. He could be bluffing but I probably need to hit a spade to beat anything else I think he could play that way (a set, two pair or a better ace). There will be a better spot later to get my money in. I’ll wait for it.

 

[bradiggy]

I'm raising the A7s here all day in position against the BB limper. By just checking you have done nothing to define the BB's range.

Definitely agree on raising pre flop here, can't really give an excuse for that.
Big flop sizing was kind of just a reaction to how the table was playing in the two hours I was there. Probably not good to be changing standard bet sizing based on the people at the table.

 

[DrStrange]

Raise preflop - $15 to go or a $9 raise into a $13 pot. This is even more attractive if there is no rake if no flop.

Flop is a bet for me, but smaller than 2x pot.

Turn is a check behind. Hero's top pair ace + rag is no sure winner. Let's not be too greedy. Not getting the right price to pay off the check raise.

River? check / call if unimproved.

DrStrange

 

[redwine]

Guy has 2500, once he check yams ur toast

 

[kmccormick100]

A few things:
- Straddling essentially makes this game $3/6 which sounds considerably larger than you're comfortable with if you've never won a pot over $850
- Straddling halves your effective stack making you 75bb deep instead of a comfortable 150bb deep. It's a lot harder to get away from a pot when you've already committed ~13bb.

-Opening a suited ace on the button should be pretty standard, you're losing value otherwise and keeping a lot of unpredictable hands in your opponents' range
- I don't like the 2xpot sized bet on the flop, you have a mediocre ace paired in position, I'm betting something like $6-8 here trying to get him to call with weaker pairs or bad draws - no need to create un unnecessarily large pot
- I don't hate the $45 into $75 bet on the turn, but I'm not ready to call off $360 more to win $170. Most players at low stakes aren't raising the turn light, it's almost always a value hand, especially when you hold the nut flush draw. Fold and live to pick a better spot to get your stack in.

 

[bradiggy]

TL;DR I should write a book on how not to play hands

Thanks for the input! I certainly felt a little rusty as I've only played one short session since Covid hit, I'll definitely have my head on a little straighter next time I head out. For better or for worse, a slot machine bailed me out with a nice $650 as I left the casino!

 

[JustinInMN]

Yeah I agree with the others. Def attack the blinds from the button straddle for sure. Probably would have just picked it up.

But given that, I think a $10 bet on the flop is a better sizing. Going twice pot really magnified all the other decisions in the hand that shouldn't have escalated.

 

[stellrnebula]

Some math and analysis to support others' recommendation to fold turn:

On the turn, you have to call $315 to win $468, so you need at least 40.2% equity to make a call profitable. Best case scenario, if you assume his value range is just two pair and doesn't include oddly played one pair hands like AQ or sets (let's say A5, A6, T6, and 56 only since AT presumably raises preflop), you have 35.68% equity with A7ss. Of course, if you start adding some combos of sets, your equity goes down further.

Since you 200% overbet flop, it's difficult for him to get to the turn with a worse draw. You're hoping he check/called the flop overbet with KQss, KJss, QJss, 34ss, 24ss, 23ss, or some insane 89ss or 5xss, and then decided to check/raise huge on the turn. A lot of those combinations raise preflop and can be heavily discounted.

I think it would take a strong read on this player to assign enough of those combos to his range often enough to make this call profitable. It's extremely optimistic to parlay check/calling those hands on the flop which he didn't choose to raise pre and check/raising them on the turn.

It's a really gross spot since you hate bet folding so much equity with nut potential on the turn, but I think you have to with the price you're laid.

 

[boltonguy]

Raise pre or fold. If you limp you let the button in with any two cards which can be very difficult to play against unless you make a very strong hand IMHO.

I know its a different environment but online an overbet on flop is a made hand looking for some protection - to end the hand now.
People betting big on flop and turn are more often weaker hands than stronger hands that want the play to continue.
Your play may have telegraphed to V that you had a weak A. He hit the board and decided he could take a turn with your hand face up and he got lucky.
Would have been better to cbet 1/2 pot vs ovberbet IMHO.

When he jams you are toast. You cant call a jam with such a weak hand - top pair bad kicker. He called your flop overbet and jams over your turn raise? That is 98% incredibly strong 2% maniac with air. Play the odds here and fold with a borderline hand as it is.

EDIT: Missed that you had the NFD. In that case the math determines if you call as @stellrnebula lays out.

 

[AH77]

After his call on the flop you should’ve checked back on the turn with a chance of making a nut hand. If a spade fell on the river he probably would’ve bet big anyway given his stack size.

The worst spot to be in is getting check raised big when you’re sitting there with a hand that has potential to be the nuts. Even if a spade didn’t come you might’ve backed into a better two pair and won a nice bet there on the end.