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In a $500 tournament, you have 193,000 at blinds of 1,500-3,000. Everyone folds to you in the lojack and you raise to 7,000 with A
K
. The hijack, who is a strong, loose-aggressive player, calls and everyone else folds. The flop comes 5 3 2
.
Question 1: Should you check, bet 6,000, bet 12,000, or bet 18,000?
Answer: You should check. Betting small and checking are fine options, but starting with a check is best. You should expect your loose-aggressive opponent to call a flop bet a lot, and occasionally raise. Instead, check and see what develops.
You check and your opponent bets 10,000.
Question 2: Should you fold, call, raise to 26,000, or raise to 38,000?
Answer: Calling is best. You have a gutshot, two overcards, and a backdoor flush draw, so folding is out of the question. While some of your pairs and flush draws should raise, your A-K (a clear marginal made hand that beats lots of bluffs) much prefers to call.
You call and the turn is the 3. You check and your opponent bets 25,000.
Question 3: Should you fold, call, raise to 65,000, or go all-in?
Answer: The GTO strategy mixes between calling and folding. Since you are against someone who may be inclined to bluff too often, you should call more often with your bluff catchers, like your A-K. Just be sure to protect your calling range by also including lots of pairs.
You call and the river is the 3
. You check and your opponent bets 60,000.
Question 4: Should you fold, call, or go all-in?
Answer: The GTO strategy again mixes between calling and folding, although it usually folds. If your opponent thinks your checking range is protected with numerous overpairs (now full houses), they should be less inclined to bluff on this river.
If you are known to be a bit of a calling station, you should be more inclined to fold. That said, if your opponent will bluff with all hands that he does not think can win at the showdown, you should make the crying call.
You fold and your opponent reveals A 3 for quads. ♠
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