So I’m working a bit of overtime and I’m on the last round of card before I leave. I’m playing $40 NL and I’m in for around $80 when I pick up As Qc in the big blind. I get three limpers to me and I raise it to $10. Two players call the $8 raise. The flop is 4d 7d 10c and I bet $12. The small blind calls. The turn is the Qh, and I bet $20. The small blind check raises me all in for $60 more. I instinctively throw in my $60 and he turns over Q4 of spades for 2-pair. The river is no help.
Since there was $60 in the pot already, I was getting 2 to 1 pot odds on my money with top pair Ace kicker. That was going to be a difficult hand to get away from, but I think there may be a lesson here about unsophisticated players. He knew I had a hand when he check raised me, so I’m trying to decide if I might want to start making more laydowns when unsophisticated players seem to be willing to go all-in. Laying down pairs, even overpairs, might be a good general policy.
Given your hand, his play, and the 4d 7d 10c board, I think you did everything right except call the shove. I mean, what hands can you beat? What would he be shoving with there? At worst, he could have had any 5-6, 8-9, or 8-J, or even a flush draw, and while I’m not sure of the math, I don’t think you’re a >2-1 favorite even there, which’d make your pot odds wrong to call. Not to mention that his shove caused you to consider him ‘unsophisticated’ — that alone would have saved me $60. Tighten-up against reckless players and wait to pounce.
–kevin