Playing the Nuts [$11 SNG]

I butchered this hand. I truly have no diea on how to extract value from accidental nutses like this one when OOP. How would you have played it?
Assume villain is a crazy bluffy donk who would bet all kinds of marginal hands into you when oop and bluffed off most of his stack into you early in the match, but seems to have tightened up now.
This is the most recurring piece of bad play that seems to haunt me lately.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 11.5 Tournament, 15/30 Blinds (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



Button (t745)
Jizzy Sawya (SB) (t2255)

Jizzy Sawya's M: 50.11

Preflop: Jizzy Sawya is SB with ,
Button calls t15, Jizzy Sawya checks

Flop: (t60) , , (2 players)
Jizzy Sawya checks, Button checks

Turn: (t60) (2 players)
Jizzy Sawya checks, Button checks

River: (t60) (2 players)
Jizzy Sawya bets t60, Button calls t60

OK, firstly, I've only just started playing heads up, but I would have thought that I'd be raising any Ace pre, but ignoring that, as played I'd certainly be betting a nut flush draw on the flop. That way, if you hit the nuts, at least you have built a pot to bet into. Also, in this situation, I would be betting the flop thinking that any Spade J or higher may well call a few chips to see if they hit their flush. But any way you look at it, you gotta bet, especially considering villain has tightened up now.

You should have a really good reason not to bet the flop here, since it seems like you don't just start with betting the flop 100% of the time when you have the nut draw in a limped pot and go from there.

I would also bet the turn as played. You should be betting a lot of turns after your opp limps then checks the flop (esp when the obv draw gets there). Turning the nuts here is a great spot to balance those plays.

Ignoring all that stuff, he's calling two bets with almost any spade and your read plus the flop check doesn't make a bluff seem very likely so a turn bet makes sense from like all angles. He can't really make a better hand either, maybe something random like bottom two.

As played I might over bet the river, say 120, but doesn't matter much.

Agree with above, I'd probably raise the limp since we have A-high and we're going to flop the best hand a lot. If he's tightened up all the better, makes it an easy c-bet to take it down on a lot of flops that will miss his range/smack ours. As played PF, bet the flop, as played on flop, bet turn, as played all around overbet the river.

Check preflop, bet flop. If you miss turn, just don't do anything stupid. I'd probably c/c with odds.

If you hit turn, keep betting.

Raising his limp preflop is pretty bad. You have a hand that plays like shit oop against a guy who loves to bluff. If he were straightforward/weak and passive, then raising A2 still isn't that great because you could still exploit the fact that he's weak and passive with any two other cards.

"Zomg A-high" is not a reason to get into shit spots oop.

I would have been betting consistently pre-draw, post-flop right up to the end. This way you build up the pot incase you pull the flush, which you did. Ace is a good enough pocket to bet with anyways. Plus too you don't give it away you have anything because you were betting consistently its nothing out of the ordinary.

Just lead out on the flop and if not certainly bet the turn. The issue with a 4card flush on board is that you wont get a ton of action from it generally speaking.

FWIW I think your check pf is fine.

Overbet river and see if he reraises.

Originally Posted by siltstrider

Raising his limp preflop is pretty bad. You have a hand that plays like shit oop against a guy who loves to bluff. If he were straightforward/weak and passive, then raising A2 still isn't that great because you could still exploit the fact that he's weak and passive with any two other cards.

"Zomg A-high" is not a reason to get into shit spots oop.

+100

what's all this "auto-raise any A ALWAYS in HU pokerz" bonkiness?

OOP against a player who never lets us get to showdown cheap and is unlikely to fold to single-street bluffs--raising one of the most draw-dead nuts-dead hands doesn't sound like the best way to exploit this player

You played this perfectly...