NL50: defending vs 3b IP with AQo

[podbelski]

A couple of hands before the villain squeezed my open, checked low flop with coldcaller (I folded) then bet the turn IP & folded to check-shove. He plays quite loose and aggro overall, with 36VP/36PFR/25%3B over small sample (32 hands).

I thought maybe to 4bet-fold, is it an ok play in this spot? I was not sure can I trust his shove then (maybe he was steaming) so decided to call.

On that flop, I'm basically afraid of AK only, or less likely 2paired aces. Do you think calling his cbet to shove (any?) turn is better than to stick in right away?


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (5 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop

Button ($82.45)
SB ($154.25)
BB ($105.90)
UTG ($35.85)
Hero (MP) ($50)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Q, A
1 fold, Hero bets $1.50, 1 fold, SB raises to $6, 1 fold, Hero calls $4.50

Flop: ($12.50) 9, 5, A (2 players)
SB bets $7.50, Hero raises to $16.50

[urbansprawler]

Firstly, I like calling 3-bets pre with AQ much more than 4-betting in almost all situations unless villain has:

A) very polarized range
B) a tendency to 5-bet bluff very often.

Without a decent combination of A+B, or an extreme of either, calling is so much better since you keep all the dominated combos of KT, KJ, KQ, A9, AT, etc etc in the pot and set yourself up for a really nice payday when you do hit.

Now onto the flop. If you flat-call here I don't think he's very likely to barrel unless he's a total spewtard since you represent a pair, and there are more aces in your perceived 3-bet calling range than a 9 or something like TT/JJ. I like raising here, it represents a draw (like suited connectors) and villain is going to be hard-pressed to muck TT-KK and he'll often spazz-ship (or just make an incorrect read) and jam total air or overcards, figuring he's probably ahead of draws.

The exceptions to that are

1) if villain is a frequent bareller
2) if villain doesn't try to make thin bluffs (but it looks like he is the type of player who will)
3) if you have a history of playing draws passively or playing TP aggressively.

Raising is even better if you have a history of playing draws fast and/or playing TP as a bluffcatcher.

[podbelski]

Ok, thank you I really like these thoughts
Any reasoning to support bigger flop raise?

[urbansprawler]

I think he's about as likely to call a large raise as a small one, and his calling frequency only starts going down once your sizing approaches an AI raise. $18-$21 would be my standard sizing here as I think the extra money made from that will override some of the combos he might fold.

You want to leave him some room to 3-bet jam as a bluff and you want to be able to shove turn once he calls. So it's like striking a balance between a committing raise, a non-committing raise, and a raise that gets called by a lot of combinations.

[Nostalgica]

I think UrbanSprawler said all that I wanted to. I would play this hand similarly, too.