How (Not) to Play Pocket Aces on a Scary Board 🧟♀️
This hand happened at our island game, where players have quite a history with each other and the 7 2 game is on, so weird preflop activity causes a mass paranoya attack. People would rather lose 50 bb on a moron call, than pay 5 bb for a hand where the opponent’s seven deuce didn’t lose.
We’re 5-handed and sleep-deprived...
... after playing each other several nights in a row, 11pm to 6 am.
The main villain, Alan, opens for 2,5BB UTG, next player calls, SB calls, we wake up on the BB with two aces and make it 12,5 BB.
Alan calls, the other two players fold.
A little about my opponent. He gives me a lot of credit, I have never seen him bluff me or call me light and neither have I never seen him calling big preflop raise without a decent hand, so his range is detectable. Had, for example, the guy behind him called as well, that would mean any two suited cards (I’d add - 10 and lower, hello, Jul).
I am sure Alan does not have pocket kings, because he might wanna go for a bigger preflop raise sizing, as well as 4-bet me to make sure the two people behind him do not come along. So he could have 77-QQ AJ++, maybe KQs.
Flop comes J 10 3 rainbow.
We hatin.
We C-bet 15 BB into 30BB pot and our opponent calls. He so suddenly becomes so still and quiet that he might as well just announce that he flopped a set of tens or jacks.
Alan could possibly have queens or AJ or float me with AK or AQ, but the last three options are less likely, because I hold two aces. KQs might be the case too.
The turn comes a rainbow king, so AQ just got there, on the other hand, queens/KQ/AK and even AJ would call me again.
I decide that betting small (and folding to a raise), giving myself a good price to see the river and charging the hands that I have beat, is always better than check-calling a bigger bet, so I bet 15 bb again, just a quarter of he pot. Yes, a blocker bet on the turn. These bets have been serving me well in this game because my opponents were failing to recognize their size and purpose.
Simply speaking, I do not expect Alanna to ever raise me here on a bluff, because I’m his mind I have AA, AK, KK, AQ, JJ and QQ in my range, so he won’t be getting too many folds.
Alan calls.
Just when we thought it can’t get any uglier, the river comes another jack, so from all the hands the villain could have, we only beat AK, KQ and QQ. In each case he would fold to a bet or check back the river - and by the way I can see why Alan would want to check back or just call with AJ as well. The villain is theoretically capable of going coco-loco and turning the worse hand into an all-in bluff, but that’s not something I see him do every day.
My live read and common sense dictate an easy check-fold, but for some reason so decide to bet 20bb. Alan shoves and I insta-fold my aces face-up to what I am positive is tens-full. I am wrong, as my opponent shows JJ for quads.
If you show they show, remember?
CONCLUSION
I happy about everything I did in the hand, expect my losing extra 20bb on the unnecessary river bet.
In Alan’s shoes, I would raise the turn without thinking twice because any broadway card, that does not pair the board, would be bad for him and good for me. In that case I would fold my aces. So, given the rainbow texture, I think his flat calling made sense, because it kept me guessing.