Was This OK?

[snickers99]

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (9 handed) TightPoker converter

SB ($10.45)
BB ($5.78)
UTG ($2.80)
UTG+1 ($10)
Hero ($9.95)
MP2 ($3.98)
MP3 ($2.23)
CO ($1.54)
Button ($8.21)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with , . UTG+1 posts a blind of $0.05.
1 fold, UTG+1 (poster) checks, Hero raises to $0.2, MP2 calls $0.20, 2 folds, Button calls $0.20, 2 folds, UTG+1 folds.

Flop: ($0.72) , , (3 players)
Hero bets $0.35, MP2 calls $0.35, Button calls $0.35.

Turn: ($1.77) (3 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $1.1, Button folds, Hero folds.

Final Pot: $2.87

[easy_as_pie]

yes very.

even if the turn is a brick i would shut down.

[ugignadl]

Yeah, you're way behind here Snicks.

Nice fold.

[mervhage]

yes very.

even if the turn is a brick i would shut down.

[neverthink]

Check flop. As played shutdown.

[bigdil511]

Check flop. As played shutdown.

No. I like snickers.

[mewsiclovr]

No one thinks flop bet is too weak?

As played turn is an autofold.

[neverthink]

Check flop. As played shutdown.

No. I like snickers.

I used to bet this flop nearly all the time, thinking it was weak to check it. That cost a lot of money in the long run and I probably folded the best hand many times. You have a marginal hand that you can't defend as you may be beaten already, but one that is quite showdownable, if you can get there for 1 or 2 small bets. If you bet it and get a caller or 2, you don't know if you've been called by an Ace or a flush draw, and so you have to shutdown on the turn, show weakness and probably give it up to a bet. You also won't often be called by anything you beat so there is little point to c-betting it, better to let them think you've hit the flop very hard and are trapping, or that you've missed and they can buy it. Worse, an aggro player with 78diamonds may raise you off your hand here. I can't see any value to betting out at all, you'd be amazed how often you are actually in the lead and somebody has tried a bluff on the end that you can pick off. With second pair, you don't want to be the one forcing cash into the pot.

[ugignadl]

Checking is absolutely unacceptable. As your opponent I will simply bet any A-high flop when you check to me, no matter what my holdings. This bodes ill for you in the long run.

[kedoran]

I could call turn bet if hes aggresive but folding looks good aswell

[neverthink]

Checking is absolutely unacceptable. As your opponent I will simply bet any A-high flop when you check to me, no matter what my holdings.

Furthering my point over its profitability.

[ugignadl]

You fold and that's profitable? For me perhaps.

Odds are you don't hit a set in that spot.

[neverthink]

No, you don't fold, you check/call. Keep the pot small, try for a cheap showdown. If he has a flush draw and you get outdrawn, well that's going to happen sometimes, but you are in no position to defend your hand anyway. This is how I'd play it OOP. In position, I'd check behind on the flop if checked to me, and if checked to me again I'd make a reasonable bet to partly defend against a draw and to try and get it checked down on the river. A lot of the time they will fold to your turn bet.

Also, while check/folding may be a mistake here about 30 or 40 percent of the time of the time, the pot is only small with you having invested just 4 dollars in it. While it would be a weak/tight leak, it's not a major one, and if a player has a hard time playing marginal situations postflop, then cutting his losses (along with a little profit) may be better than taking an overly aggressive path. You can never win a good pot with this hand, just look at trying to recoup your investment. That's how I would play this anyway. This is not to say that you can't have an Ace high board that would make betting out always a bad line.

On this board out of position, you are looking at having to at least double or triple barrel with a marginal hand. If you check/call, you have not necessarily shown weakness though, but if you bet, check turn, then you have. Opponents have to be a little concerned about why you raised it preflop and check called the flop and may prefer to check a made hand down rather than get raised off it.

Odds are always against hitting a set, but that doesn't mean you stack off overpairs and top pair everytime somebody flops one. Poker would be a much easier game if all you had to do was consider the odds, rather than why a player would take a particular course of action. This isn't a spot where I would hit a set any less often than any other board. I also very much doubt that there is an "absolutely" correct way to play the flop here as well.

You're very hardline Ug (that's definitely not a bad thing), and though it doesn't much affect you now, in higher aggro games you will frequently fold the best hand here or be value betting the best one,, neither of which is profitable for you, since you won't be called on the value bet. If you are only comfortable either betting out and shutting down to a call, or check/folding to a bet, then betting out is the better option. Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. If you understood me as suggesting folding then what you say is correct, it will be -EV for me in the long run.

[neverthink]

I'll just note that I don't speak from personal playing experience from higher stakes games, though I've railbirded enough and seen enough hand discussions to formulate a reasonable idea of how to make rather than lose money with this hand, and I doubt the thinking is exclusive to high stakes players as well.

[nlman]

Checking is absolutely unacceptable. As your opponent I will simply bet any A-high flop when you check to me, no matter what my holdings. This bodes ill for you in the long run.

Just out of curiosity: what will you do if he calls?

I've tried it a couple of times. JJ, QQ and KK rarely fold here - they usually check the 2/3 pot bet both on the flop and on the turn. Well, at least they check it on $50 full ring NL tables. Well, AA will always call, obviously Same as with tricky players who check AJ, AQ and AK.

Is this strategy actually profitable for you in the long run?

I am starting to find that even relatively tight players will often call you with more than questionable hands, no matter what your table reputation is. Last time I had a pretty tight guy put $60 behind his pair of tens on a J-high flop and that was after I've showed a few monsters. I might just stick to stacking the donks with monsters when they call me with their crap.