Two pair on a board with 4 cards to the straight

Replay Poker Poker Strategy
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https://www.replaypoker.com/hand/replay/431235710

I wasn’t paying too much to the game, so I don’t know much about the villain. I do have a note on him that I’ve seen him call 3 streets with top pair weak kicker on a dry king high board. His rank is in the 500’s, so I assume he is a fish.

Preflop: QTs standard open from utg 6 max.

Flop: I’ve hit a very strong drawing hand: straight draw + flush draw + pair. I choose to check-raise this hand since I can get a better hand to fold on the flop (like ax). If I lead, I will only fold out worse hands and get called by better hands and have to run a multistreet bluff. I don’t think I can even get some aces to fold with a double barrel. By check-raising, I represent a much stronger hand and can apply more leverage. If villain doesn’t bet, I’m probably usually and might be able to check it down to river for showdown since villain will bet strong aces or better, and I’m only beat by kx and weak aces. However, flop hits my range very hard. My opponent is likely to check back, so check-raising does not make much sense. I could just bet all my sets and made hands, and check-raise my draws (since my opponent wouldn’t know that). Do you think I should even be check-raising here?

Looking back, I think I should have made a bigger raise since the board is so coordinated, and I need to charge for draws and weak pairs.

Turn: I’ve hit two pair. If I bet, I won’t get a worse hand to call, though I could get better 2 pairs to fold. I think I should have bluffed here with a 2/3 pot bet. I doubt he’ll call with anything other a king or a flush draw, and maybe some sets. I hold clubs and this is my weakest hand in this spot (other than one combo of 78s). I have set aces, queens, jacks, tens, stronger 2 pairs, and 98s to check back with. I also have a decent amount of kings in this spot (KK, KQ, KcTc, Kc9c). Do you think that I should have bluffed here?

River: I check again, no point in bluffing at this point. I have a showdown hand and I want to get to showdown. This is one of my weaker hands so I fold it. He has hands like AK or KQ and a few missed club draws.

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That was your first mistake. I wouldn’t assume anything from the rank and a new player to Replay may have just come here after years playing on Pokrstars or some other poker websites and be very experienced players and from what I see alot of top ranked Replay players do not deserve that rank from the way they play hands IMO.

Now as to the hand it looks to me like you got yourself bluffed by an experienced player.

Since it doesn’t show either of your down cards I can’t say for sure but from his bets I think he had the ace with a small kicker and not built for a straight or flush.

When he seen that straight come on the turn and you didn’t bet he figured you were fishing and when the possible flush came on the river he played the bluff hoping you would think he had the.
straight or the flush.

Now that is just guessing since I can’t see his cards.

If I was playing that hand I would have bet that again on the turn to at least make him think I hit that straight or see if he did and at that point you could decide to stay or fold.

I have done the same thing myself to save a weak hand and it has the feel of a bluff with ace and a small kicker.

Thanks for sharing the hand!

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i agree on the majority of your points, but imo the biggest mistake is the river:

as played, i agree on folding here. but i would defenitely make a small bet here for different reasons. as thin value and blocker bet.
i would make a bet of aboout 500k here. first of all, you said it yourself. he is capable of calling top pair rag kicker three times. i know the board is much more wet here, but you don’t have to make him call thrice either. so if he plays an ace, he will either fold, which is fine, or he might even call just to see if his ace is good, and he probably thinks it’s a small bet anyway so why not try it. second: by checking both the turn and the river, you are showing him extreme weakness. so if i was in his spot, i would bluff you here as well. by making a blocker bet you have much more information and he will think twice about bluffing you. and like you saw, a bluff here means you have to fold the (best) hand. he still might have thew king or 2 spades, but you’ll know soon enough if he raises you, then you have an much easier fold.
long story short: you have much things to gain if you make a small bet on the river.

as for your 2 questions:

  • i think the checkraise is fine, but i wouldn’t mind calling either. you are already getting the right odds for a call, and probably decent implied odds as well. but as u said, balancing your plays seems fine and it’s a good c/r spot as well since you can still call a 3bet condidering your odds.
  • i defenitely think checking here is good. like u mentioned, he likes to call. meaning he might do so with an ace and you have to check the river, if u do, you might get bluffed. if he has the king you are in an even worse spot. he might also fold a hand like Ax. but checking will makes it easier to get a cheaper showdown, in which you would still win.
    in other words, most times you bluff away a worse hand and make the king call or raise. even if an ace calls you are in a tough spot on the river.