What should i be thinking

2NL FR

one limper in early position. folded to me on button. Holding AJs i raise 3xBB + 1 for the limper. Folded to him and he calls.

The flop is K95 rainbow.

He checks and i cbet 3/4 of the pot. He calls..

I'm sure the answers are different for a 20/12 villain verses 18/16 but in general....

What should i be thinking?? I don't believe i am always behind here but maybe i should?

What ranges might the villian do this with?

If A or J comes on the turn and he checks...now what

I guess my overall question (or a leak) is i'm having trouble distinguishing between calling stations and sneeky players that have me crushed...

1. Put your opponent on a (goddamn) range.

2. I think it was daven who said "assume everyone at the micros is a passive donk". That line alone helped me a ton.

3. You should be thinking about what kind of hands he is check/calling with, while taking into consideration any reads you might have, as well as board texture. On such a dry board, there isn't much that he's calling with that youre ahead of.

Edit: Try to find a hand you had difficulty with and post the Hand History into a converter.

Originally Posted by villagenut

.... i'm having trouble distinguishing between calling stations and sneeky players that have me crushed...

Base your decision on what you know and what you have observed. From your description of the hand here's what I know:

- it's 2NL. Players are generally weak. (calling too much/overvaluing hands, etc)
- He's limp/calling UTG. Considered a weak/passive play and less than optimal strategy. So he's prob not sophisticated/just playing his cards.
- We're drawing thin against his made hands and virtually dead against the top of his range.

In my mind this is a passive, station-like villain that should probably not be bluffed. Given the information available to me at this time I would almost always check the turn - short of an 'A' - and try to show it down.

Why do we bet the flop?

Originally Posted by Imthenewfish

Why do we bet the flop?

To pick up the dead money mostly I would think. Also as thin value vs his Ax hands or as a semi-bluff to our potential outs. Plus it only makes sense to cbet this board - we punished pf/have initiative/are more likely to have hit a 'K'/are continuing with our story that we have a strong hand, etc.

So.. betting protects your high card hand. Why doesn't he have a made hand on the flop that beats ours (assuming he is a passive 2nl donk) more OFTEN than his hand will draw out on you. Value betting here seems like the only real way to justify a bet to me, and I don't think you will know where you are later in the hand if you make a thin value bet on the flop. Why does it matter if there is a K on the flop, if "continuing with our story" often only gets him to fold hands we beat. This post is probably pretty donkish, but I don't see how this isn't a main example of a flop that you shouldn't cbet because it doesn't accomplish much :/.

All valid points. I suppose I like to continue my aggression because I make a distinction between a passive player and a station. They can be both but there are a lot that play fit or fold. Until I know he's the type to float this flop with 77 I'm going to try to get him to fold it, especially when I think I very little showdown value.

So generally speaking I'm inclined to take the aggressive line without history or significant reads. But that's just me.

Oh, sorry, I was assuming he was a station that would call any pair on the flop