AA hand..can it be played differently?

[kennyg]

right before my 4 hour session is coming to ta close I get [Ac]. oh boy..here we go. I have no read on the enemy.
1/2 blinds NL Hold'em max buy-in $200
My stack - $300
Opponent - $91

Opponent limps from EP.. I raise to $10 from the BB. Opponent calls.

FLOP pot $24
[7s][6h]

I bet $20 into the $24 pot. He calls behind me.

TURN pot $64
[7s][6h][3h]

Well the flush draw hit. My opponent has $61 left, which doesn't give me lots of options.. He could have a set, he could have the flush, straight draw or a hand like QJ. I'm not sure. I do have the nut flush draw myself on the river. I decide I can't bet small here and let him try and take the pot, besides I'd be hard pressed to fold.

I put him all-in for his $61 and he calls with [Th] and the flush. I miss the river and see my winning session go to crap. KK and AA were my losing hands from the session

Anyway.... did I play this perfect? I can't think of another way to play this hand. Any other approaches here? Any constructive comments welcome!

[iceman5]

I hate that hand. Not the way you played it, just the hand itself. Ive been in that spot way too many times myself. I think since he only has enough for a pot bet, you just put him all in and see what happens. Its much tougher if he has another $200. In that case I think I check and see what he does.

[k3nt]

Why not go out and way OVERbet the pot on the flop? Say $35 or $40 into the $24 pot. If he's on a flush draw make him pay pay pay for it. (He has a 35% chance of making it by the river, and your slight underbet of the pot gives him the odds to call you if he has the draw.) If he has the set, OK, you're beat, but flopped sets are a hell of a lot rarer than flopped flush draws.

I guess that your move on the flop get him pot committed. Is that a bad thing? If he calls you there, then you check on the turn and see if he goes all-in. Fold it if he does (with the heart) -- he obviously hit what he wanted to hit.

Just a suggestion; not sure if it's a good one.

[piersmajestyk]

You can't put everyone that calls you heads up on a flopped flush draw and start overbetting pots just for that reason. In this particular hand you are VERY likely to be way ahead on the flop and should look to extract some extra dollars from perhaps overpairs or AJ. I think you played the hand just fine under the circumstances and just got unlucky. I put him all in as well on the turn.

[Bob314]

[Mad Genius]

Kenny why not take the check? I think you are in perfect position to take a free card with 11 cards improving your hand and most other ones not really hurting you. If your opponent has a flush, then there is no need to bet, and if he has QJ, his chances of improving are slim and you might get more out of a medium-sized value bet on the river. I just feel like this is a spot where if you get called you are beat and if not he is just folding.

[Johnny Hughes]

[kennyg]

mad genius

i was out of position in this hand...so a check is inviting a bet. Since I was pretty sure I wasn't going to fold the hand...I thought making a big bet myself would be the way to go.

If i were in position behind him...a check is reasonable to see what develops on the river... but acting in front of him......well it just sucks as usual.

[k3nt]

Thanks for the corrections. Maybe I do tend to not make as much as I could on big hands because I get nervous when a flush draw hits and so I bet too much. I figure I want to win this hand rather than lose it, and don't take into account enough the difference between winning a lot and winning a little.

[kennyg]

Bob314

He had 2-1 odds for the call perhaps but if he hit..he had to believe he had a very good chance of busting me. His implied odds were very good in this instance...especially with him acting behind me. So his call..while I didn't enjoy it...wasn't so bad.