$10 NL HE 6-max: Blocker Bet With AA

[blueskies]

Game

Hold'em

Game Format

No Limit

Stakes

$.05/$.10

Table Format

6-max (6 seats)

Currency

$

Lately when I get premium starting hands it's been on the blinds and I have gotten into some tricky spots.

This one was just my second hand at the table. I am dealt AcAs on SB.

CO limps, BTN folds, I raise to 40c. BB (never played with him before) calls. CO folds.

KcJh3d flop. I lead out with 56c bet into 90c pot (pot adjusted). BB calls.

Turn's a Js. I check. He bets 94c into $2.02 pot. I call.

River is Ks making the board JJKK3 with no flush possibility.

I decided to throw out a blocker bet instead of checking and possibly having him throw out a polarized big bet and having to fold. I bet half pot $1.82. He raises to $6.

I folded.

The last two times I had AA and saw a flop, I lost to 74 two pairs and 33 (flopped FH) so I was feeling snake bitten. The blocker bet was to test the waters but was it too weak looking enough to induce a bluff? Feels more like he did have a K to me.

After this, the BB turned out to be a 75/35 type of player, though his AF was around 2 so he wasn't super aggro. I lean more toward he did have it.

How would you change my line on the three streets?

 

[Station_Master]

All fine before the river (though I would go slightly larger preflop from oop).

Half pot is waaaayyy to big for a block bet, I would be think 10% or 20% here, but it's really not a great spot to block bet or the right hand as really you would want A high hand to call, e.g. AQ and AT that might play this way, but you block them heavily and they are not calling 50% pot anyway.

It's much more likely he has K or J and has you crushed. The play is to check and hope he checks back, you could bluff catch if he is a player with a lot of bluffs, but many 'natural bluffs' AQ, AT have showdown value anyway, so I would fold unless it's a very small sizing. QT would be the most logical bluff, but would he really go for it once you call turn?

 

[blueskies]

So check fold is the best move?

 

[fundiver199]

Preflop
Being out of position you could even raise larger than 4BB against a limp. But at least 4BB is better than say 3BB, and somewhat surpricingly the limper folded. As a sidenote I have no idea, what limping CO and then folding to a small raise, when you are going to have position postflop, is all about. But I guess, it goes to show, poker is not dead

Flop
Pretty good flop, although most flops are good for AA. You should only be behind to KJ and 33, since K3 and J3 should fold to a 4BB raise, and KK and JJ should 3-bet. Totally fine putting out a C-bet for value.

Turn
Now you lose to any JX, so its fine to slow down and use your hand as a bit more of a bluff catcher.

River
Terrible runout, and as Station_Master say, it makes no sense to put out a block bet. The purpose of a block bet is to get thin value from hands, that would otherwise have checked behind, and on this board those hands would mainly be A high, which you heavily block. He is most likely not betting 44-TT on the turn, and even if he did, those hands are now counterfeited. His range should be polarized between hands, that beat you (K or J) and hands, that are so weak, they cant call any bet but might bluff if checked to. And for that reason this is definitely a check-call or maybe check-fold depending on reads, timing tells and sizing.

 

[blueskies]

Yes you guys are right. Thanks.

I normally just check. But lately I have faced some many similar runouts and they bet big on the river and I end up folding most of the time. Decided to try something different but I will check next time.

 

[Aballinamion]

Lately when I get premium starting hands it's been on the blinds and I have gotten into some tricky spots.

This one was just my second hand at the table. I am dealt AcAs on SB.

CO limps, BTN folds, I raise to 40c. BB (never played with him before) calls. CO folds.

KcJh3d flop. I lead out with 56c bet into 90c pot (pot adjusted). BB calls.

Turn's a Js. I check. He bets 94c into $2.02 pot. I call.

River is Ks making the board JJKK3 with no flush possibility.

I decided to throw out a blocker bet instead of checking and possibly having him throw out a polarized big bet and having to fold. I bet half pot $1.82. He raises to $6.

I folded.

The last two times I had AA and saw a flop, I lost to 74 two pairs and 33 (flopped FH) so I was feeling snake bitten. The blocker bet was to test the waters but was it too weak looking enough to induce a bluff? Feels more like he did have a K to me.

After this, the BB turned out to be a 75/35 type of player, though his AF was around 2 so he wasn't super aggro. I lean more toward he did have it.

How would you change my line on the three streets?

Well played. In dry boards like this there's a huge change of villain to be holding any jack or any king so we tried. This shows that you have discipline to fold AA in obvious spots like this where there aren't too much bluffs on villain's range.

 

[blueskies]

Had another one with AA. Keep getting AA OOP and keep losing. I have won once with AA when it's gone to the flop in the last week. I don't play that many hands (I usually single table) so it's not as incredible as it might sound.

AsAd UTG opened to 30c. CO calls everyone else folds.

Kc8hTs flop. I bet 2/3 pot he calls.

Turn is Qc. Not liking this familiar BS so I checked. He bets $1.28 into $1.69 I called. River is a blank 4h.

I check he bets $3.26 into $4.25 pot. Really smells like value and I folded. If he had AK he probably would have 3bet preflop so I put him on two pairs KQ or KT.

I know I got beat again cuz he flashed AhJh. Even worse than I thought.

 

[fundiver199]

Had another one with AA. Keep getting AA OOP and keep losing. I have won once with AA when it's gone to the flop in the last week. I don't play that many hands (I usually single table) so it's not as incredible as it might sound.

AsAd UTG opened to 30c. CO calls everyone else folds.

Kc8hTs flop. I bet 2/3 pot he calls.

Turn is Qc. Not liking this familiar BS so I checked. He bets $1.28 into $1.69 I called. River is a blank 4h.

I check he bets $3.26 into $4.25 pot. Really smells like value and I folded. If he had AK he probably would have 3bet preflop so I put him on two pairs KQ or KT.

I know I got beat again cuz he flashed AhJh. Even worse than I thought.

The thing about poker is, that its possible to win a hand by playing it poorly, and its also possible to lose a hand by playing it well. This was an example of the latter. You played the hand perfectly fine, got drawn out on and lost the minimum.

 

[fundiver199]

I normally just check. But lately I have faced some many similar runouts and they bet big on the river and I end up folding most of the time.

Which is fine, if they are not bluffing enough to make bluff catching profitable. As I already said, the purpose of leading the river for a small size AKA "block bet" is NOT to avoid having to deal with a bigger bet. The purpose is to get thin value from hands, that would have otherwise checked behind and taken a free showdown.

Decided to try something different but I will check next time.

What you can try to do different is to sometimes call that big river bet, even though its uncomfortable. In that way you find out, if you are regularly getting bluffed, or if they almost always have it. And in the latter case you obviously go back to folding.