TPTK Hand IP + a Reminder Why BRM is Important

Just value bet the river here? No real reads as villain has only played a few hands. I checked behind but then I thought if he hit the straight/flush he probably would have bet. Oops. Nice pot though.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($7.59)
Button ($4.70)
SB ($8.26)
BB ($9.39)
UTG ($5.06)
Hero (MP1) ($5.51)
MP2 ($9.08)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with A, K
UTG calls $0.05, Hero bets $0.25, MP2 calls $0.25, 4 folds, UTG calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.82) 9, A, 6 (3 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $0.65, 1 fold, UTG calls $0.65

Turn: ($2.12) J (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $1.15, UTG calls $1.15

River: ($4.42) 10 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $4.42 | Rake: $0.20


So I have around 90 buyins for $5NL. You don't have to be this over-rolled, but anyone out there playing at a level with say 10 buyins, take a look... What retard limp/raises at this level? Villain was kind of a maniac though, like 75/25 over 50ish hands. I called specifically to hit my set and stack him, praying he had Aces. Fuck me

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($12.29)
Button ($9.43)
SB ($4.45)
Hero (BB) ($6.35)
UTG ($5.56)
MP ($2)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7, 7
2 folds, CO checks, 1 fold, SB calls $0.03, Hero bets $0.20, CO raises to $0.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.30

Flop: ($1.05) 9, 7, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $1, Hero raises to $3, CO raises to $5, Hero raises to $5.85 (All-In), CO calls $0.85

Turn: ($12.75) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($12.75) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $12.75 | Rake: $0.60

Results:
Hero had 7, 7 (three of a kind, sevens).
CO had A, A (three of a kind, Aces).
Outcome: CO won $12.17

H1: bet more on turn, at least 1.5 but probably less than 2. checking river is fine imo. he has alot of Ax hands in his range, but the rest is mostly flushes and 87 because while you might just check behind the river, many villains would plan to c/shove because its cool.

You apprear to be pretty sound and trust me I'm not one to give advice but based on my experience I would move up to 10nl. You would still be well rolled and in good position. I just think the difference is such it would just make for a better use of your time.
As for these hands I'm kinda torn on 1. Maybe bet bigger on turn to take away odds but then that could put you in a harder decision if he still calls. #2 you played it as you should. Shrug it off and keep on grinding!

I want to learn how to check from UTG.

Important notice- you dont get anywhere near the implied odds you need to set-mine versus the maniac if he is any good.

hand 1:
more on the turn, b/f river.
This is an interesting hand to figure out ranges. - do that, and then see how it changes if the flop is the Ks instead the As.

second hand: you didn't say if he 3b pre - specifically min 3-b... but even if it's the first time he 3-bets this is a fold preflop over that sample. At best it's a VERY marginal call.

hand 1: do you have any reason for betting 1/2 PSB on turn? as played betting the river seems really close but i think it's a bet.

i don't think A6 or A9 would have slow played THIS much and he limp/calls with AJ only like 50% of the time. also, without reads, it's tough to figure out how many times he has spades here, especially because the As on the board is blocking a lot of his range. in fact there might be just as many straights here as flushes. i don't know it's close.

hand 2: i call the 3bet pre because it's 30 cents, effective stacks are 125bb deep, his range is oober strong (although it might be a bit polarized) and he's a LAggtard who's giving us his stack very often here. i know we're OOP but if villain is half as bad post as he is pre, then he shouldn't be hard to tarp.

anyone have thoughts on checking pre? or am i just a terrible nit?

Most times I will check but something in me said raise and isolate this douchebag. Him limp/raising screamed AA and I still had great set odds even being OOP. The result blows, but I got the money in good, so whatever. I'm sure he put it back into the community the next day.

i just feel like OOP against this opponent (if he is in fact a maniac), we're gonna have a really hard time keeping a small pot while still being able to protect when we hit an overpair. so it seems like playing for set value is our best option and check is obv best play if that's the case.

i could be completely undervaluing 77 in this spot, but i hate to play maniacs OOP unless i have a hand that has trapping value

I think if you bet 1.9 in hand 1 on the turn it's fine
probably checking it back is standard because even a loose player's river payoff range is not going to be more than 50% weaker than ours
the problem is that EVERY draw got there so a weak player will have those 78 or spades here a lot
a stronger player might be raising these draws on the flop, but it still sucks because now he's going to be afraid you made them

I think it's a bet/fold only against someone that seems like a fish