What would you do if the following rather delicate situation developed? One loosish limper to you with AA, and you raise 2 from the button with AA. A solid player on your left 3-bets, solid player in the SB calls 2.5 bets cold, loosish limper calls, you cap. 4-way action for four bets. Flop: Q77 (computer love!) It’s checked to you, you bet and the pre-flop 3-bettor calls, and out of nowhere, the good player in the SB check-raises you. Do you immediately have to put him on a 7, or can you conceive of him check-raising you with as little as AQ? But that’s not my main question. This is: When a random turn card falls, the SB checks. Hm. I guess it’s not a terrible play to check behind, seeing as if you’re ahead, there’s no free cards you can give that will likely make your opponent a stronger hand. I remember reading a similar scenario to that in _TTOP_. But then you’re missing a value bet. It’s also not wrong to bet in case your opponent has KK. But then you risk being check-raised again. And if that’s the case, you have to immediately lie down, or call two more big bets. Well, that’s no fun. I filed this one away because what the SB effectively did, in a sense, is take away AA’s positional advantage by showing strength on the flop and then checking the turn. The way AA has played here is consistent with only three hands at best–AA, KK and *maybe* AQs. The check on the turn almost compels the average player holding AA/KK/AQ to bet the turn for fear of missing a bet, but with the option of springing the trap in case the SB has that third 7. Another thing to consider for AA though is: Why is the SB calling 3.5 bets BTF with a 7?

Answer 1:

With 12 big bets in the pot, it would be a mistake to lay down your over pair, because of the full house draw on the river. (Although if it is the case that your opponent does have that third 7, he will make quads. But that’s a small enough possibility to discount, I figure.)

Answer 2:

Check. You get way more info for the river at this point by checking. If guy to your left bets then you can watch SB act. If everybody checks, when the river falls you can watch SB again. If he bets you can consider calling – if he has the nuts (QQ, the only hand he could be holding to see the flop in the first place, and even that is marginal) then he played it badly. If he was bluffing on the flop, he played really stupid since obviously he should have bet the turn no matter what it was. Whatever he has, he played it badly, by checking on the turn you put yourself at less risk of throwing away chips on a hand that cannot be read due to SBs behavior. Check thru as much as possible and as they say, “next case.”

Answer 3:

If you think you are behind, your opponent either holds a 7, in which case the case 7 makes him quads at the same time you make your full house, or else he has QQ and already has Q’s full of 7′s while the 3rd 7 just makes you 7′s full of A’s. Either way you only have 2 outs, so folding for 12:1 is correct (again, if you think you are behind). This assumes you were already behind on the flop and someone didn’t stick around to hit a set < 7 on the turn. Other than that, I’ll fall back on the usual “depends” here, based on re-raiser’s standards and SB’s tendencies with A7s, AK/AQ s/o (is the Q suited with one of the 7′s on the flop?), KK/AA in the blinds (automatic cap or not?), QQ, etc. Do they think you would cap it 4-ways with QQ? On the flop, I would be worried about either of the opponents having QQ. If I’m reasonably sure the SB doesn’t hold a 7, I would have re-raised on the flop and see in particular how the player behind me reacts. This should also make them afraid that YOU hold QQ, inhibiting a move on the turn if they just have KK or AQ or a flush draw. On the turn, I would expect the SB to bet out most of the time with QQ or a 7 since the pot is already kind of large, unless they’re really greedy. Having been checked to, I grit my teeth and bet. If raised, I have to make a read: to what extent have I advertised aces as opposed to QQ, and how likely are they to pull a move?