Kind Of Routine Aces Situation, Full Tilt 400 Game

[akishore 0]

Let's say you (full stack) pot A-A-Q-2 (no hearts) utg to $14. Unknown MP cold-calls (full stack), it folds to SB or BB who calls, the other folds.Pot's roughly $45, flop comes 9-9-3 with two hearts. SB/BB checks, what's your plan for the hand?My usual line has to cbet this at full pot and fold to a raise, but the other day this happened and I decided to check.The reason I checked is because one of my main problems is over aggression at times; specifically, in this case, if I get a call, I always cbet almost any turn, and then it's dumb when they have a 9 or if the turn comes a high card and now I have no low draw, or if a heart comes, etc. And in those cases, I feel that firing another barrel sucks a lot, but I also feel that check/folding sucks a lot too when they could be on a bare low draw or have a pair in their hand and are looking me up lightly, and in the same vein, I also feel that check/calling sucks too.So I'm curious what line you all would take. It's preferred that you're familiar with the general dynamic of the Full Tilt 400 game. Overall it's pretty similar to the Stars 400 game if that helps, except that an unknown at Stars tends to be weak/tight where an unknown at Full Tilt tends to be slightly more of a station (anyone disagree? I'm not talking about regulars).In this specific instance, I said I checked, hoping for a free turn, but MP potted it and SB folded (if SB had called, do you insta-muck?). I decided to call (do you hate this? I kind of do, but I hate check/folding a little more) and decided to continue if the turn was a low preferably, and also if not a heart preferably (since villain, if he doesn't have a 9, is very likely semi-bluffing with a heart draw). The turn came a 7h, giving me a low draw. I again decided to check, hoping for a free or at least cheap (pot control) river, but MP again potted it. This is where I feel I made my critical mistake in calling again -- I think when the heart hits, I should fold, but I thought I have a live nut low draw and I may even be good for high, so I called. Pot was now a little more than $400 and we both had a little under $200 left. River came another 7, and I check/folded to a push.Gross, I cringe at the way I played this hand and can't stop thinking about it. But I post this because I want to explore this basic situation more. Every line seems sticky to me, so please tell me what you do. More importantly, please elaborate WHY you do it, don't just answer a one-line response like "bet, call a raise, check/push any turn".Thanks,Aseem

[Chamonyx 0]

This is a thinking-level table, so if in doubt I think you need to give villain some credit for being able to.From his perspective: Your pfr utg suggests AAxx or A24K or something like that. Your check on the flop screams weakness and it is very unlikely that you have a 9 in your hand. He has to bet this in position even with air, although he is probably more worried about the SB than you. If he has Ah then he is golden (and it is unlikely he will bet the turn without at least dry ace....you don't have Ah and he called your pfr, so he is about even money to have it).If the turn comes low non h and you lead then he has a trickier call without a 9, and you can probably fold to a re-pot. Alternatively you can check/call.Let's see what his perspective is if you lead the flop: You probably have AA, maybe A233, maybe Ah. If he doesn't have Ah or a 9 (or 33 I suppose) then he has a difficult decision with SB still to act. If he feels strong and re-raises then you can fold. If he calls you can put him on hearts and slow down.The point here is that checking the flop gives your opponent easy decisions and gives you no information, whereas leading increases the "Expected Difficulty" of his decisions and delivers better quality information based on his actions.It gets worse: when you flat call his flop bet, if he has Ah (50%+) then he can put you on AA with a high degree of certainty......do you really want to play a big pot OOP with a marginal hand that is effectively face up? I came across a great quote on 2+2 the other day that reminds me that in deep stack, big bet poker the priority is to protect your stack not your hand.Hope this helps.P.S. I am not a big fan of the opening max raise utg, btw. I prefer to limp and hope to get the"artificial button" when someone else raises. Depending on the circumstances, a flat call or a max re-raise may be appropriate.

[JacKingOff_suit 0]

Here are your answers. http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-foru...showtopic=26069http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-foru...showtopic=28906http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-foru...showtopic=28876Read it, think about it, stick it in your brain and put it in your heart.Asking those oop hand questions should get you (yes especially you) banned from the forum. Playing hands oop will get you broke if you move up and face some touchies like BuhLak, Ambromovich, BodogAri.... (if you want to win a big pot with AA2 utg then play it at the $100 level)