Iceman wrote somewhere that when he was new to poker he posted a lot of questions on UPF to learn. I think I will do the same here. Hope you don’t mind.

$1/2 NL. I’m dealt [7d] in the cutoff. It’s folded to MP who raises to $5 (a standard raise from him). His PFR% is 15 % and his VPIP is 36 %. He raises with big pairs, connectors and facecards (KQ, AJ etc).
I call his raise, button calls (I have no notes on him) and BB calls. I had $193 - MP and button have me covered.

Flop $21
[6d][8c]

MP bets $19. I have very good notes on MP. When he flopped the nut flush in another game he bet $8 into a $60 pot and when he flopped a straight he bet $5 into a $20 pot. But perhaps he bets pot this time because of the draws. I didn’t know what to do here. I had a decent hand, but I thought it needed to improve to win. I just called and so did button. I put him on a draw but some players will slowplay a set no matter how many draws there are.

Turn $78
[6d][8c][2h]

MP bets $19 again. I didn’t think about what he held but when I sense weakness I try to exploit it (not always a good idea): I raise to 50$. Button calls and MP folds. I put button on a flush draw (but perhaps he has a set and is afraid that I have the straight).

River $197
[6d][8c][2h][9h]

Some weeks ago I would bet here but now I learned that I will only get called when I’m beat. And I just read Iceman’s thread “inducing a bluff”: I check. Button puts me all in for $119. Odds 2.7-1 to call. I didn’t like it (though I think he would bet less with a full house). But I called. He held [Ts].
MP wrote he folded A9.

Thoughts on my play? If I hadn’t raised on turn I would have lost the hand but do you think my $31 raise is a good play?

suhleafs
You get suited Aces and just call preflop raises? I'd probably reraise...I mean..you have two aces of the same suit. you have the best overpair and a possible double nut flush draw!! And everyone knows a double nut flush gives you 3x the normal pot!!!
LOL
All kidding aside..I agree with suhleaf. I've saved a lot of money since i've started folding connectors and suited Axs to decent sized raises.

I love the check on the river BTW.

A number of posts like this recently indicate that you guys are making a killing inducing bluffs on the river by checking. What are some of the circumstances that you look for when you go to make this play? Maybe a deep enough topic for an article? Some pointers would be appreciated.

Well this is a fairly "new" concept, maybe I've done it in the past, but not consciously.

I think a lot of it refers to the notion that "the only hand that will call you is a better hand", otherwise they will fold to a river value bet.

consider this situation, say you have AA, the flop is 65J, 2 clubs, u raised the pot PF, now u bet the pot and get called on the flop. 2 of spades on the turn, you bet 3/4 pot, he calls again. then the 5 pairs on the river, no club. you check to him, to make it look like you were betting on the draw, wanting him to go away, now all of a sudden he thinks his AJ is good, so he decides to bet or overbet the pot.

Is that a situation you would check and call the river?

I not really "making a killing" with it. However, occasionley it will induce a bluff. The other great thing that I think is so important; if trips are sitting behind you, you probably saved yourself a lot of money...because he is more likely to value bet then to move-all in. I saved tons of money doing that.

So Ken, if somebody made a value bet if you checked the river, you would fold, but call an all in?

No; he would presumably call in the situation he was describing in which he saves money. The point is that the opponent IF he has a big hand will often make a small(ish) bet as a value play and thus it'll cost less to go to showdown.

Monk is correct. However, alot of times they WILL go all in there and more times than not its because they have nothing.

So in most cases when you check, you are expecting to call any bet that your opponent makes? Sometimes a player might be inclined to use that against you, by making a huge overbet on a made flush, or made str8, etc.

So with every good plan, there's always a counter

I wouldnt call ANY bet, but when I check the river after showing strenth, I fully expect them to bet. Im going to call a reasonable bet in most cases. They think "ha! I knew he was bluffing. If he had anything he would bet the river". People love to bluff with their missed draws when I check to them. They would never call a bet with a missed draw of course.