€10 NL HE STT: AJo

miklcct · Jun 11, 2026

4 players left in the tournament, prizes €31.67 and €15.83 for 2 people.

Situation:
SB: 16.84 BB
Me (BB): 23.59 BB (Ah Jd)
UTG: 27 BB
BTN: 57.59 BB

Pre-flop:
SB posted 0.5 BB
I posted 1 BB
UTG opened 2 BB
BTN folded
SB folded
I called

Flop (4.5 BB): 7s 6h 3h
I checked
UTG checked

Turn (4.5 BB): Js
I bet 1 BB
UTG raised to 5.5 BB
I called

River (15.5 BB): Ks
I checked
UTG bet 6 BB
??

Pre-flop, was it just a call against an UTG open, not enough to 3-bet?

As the flop went check-check, I suspected that UTG didn't hit a piece of the flop so I bet 1 BB to test the water, but he raised my bet with both a spade draw and a heart draw on the board. What was he holding here, would it be something like slow-played set, or just a weaker top pair like KJ or JT which hit the turn?

At the river, a complete scare card hit which complete a spade flush, and any Kx would now beat me. Was it a fold here?

Matt_Burns88 · Jun 11, 2026

Preflop - Absolutely fine to call. Too strong to fold and a disaster if we raise and get jammed on.

Flop - Completely standard. No issues.

Turn - I totally understand your thought process here, but 1BB doesn't achieve anything here. It doesn't get them to fold any of their hands with decent equity and also invites aggression, because it looks like exactly what it is; a "feeler bet", or blocker bet and then you're left guessing whether they're raising for value or targeting your perceived weakness with a semi-bluff. If they call or raise, what information have you gathered? The price was so cheap, you don't narrow UTG range down at all.

Betting larger (around 2.5bb) or check-calling are both preferable to betting 1bb. I prefer raising to check calling as it charges his draws a proper price to continue and builds a bigger pot against a weaker Jack or smaller pairs. If they raise, you know you're facing a genuine hand. Check-calling is OK, but with the board as dynamic as it is, you still really have no idea where you're at.

As played, the

is a nightmare card. It reduces your top pair to second pair, brings in the backdoor flush draw, but it also misses the heart flush draw and the straight draw. Personally, I find it hard to believe that missed hearts pull the trigger here, when the river is excellent for your calling range. So, my verdict is this is likely for pure value and therefore you need to let it go.

I think the turn bet really needs looking at here. Betting 1bb ended up costing you 5.5bb. Betting larger or check-calling likely saves you 2.5-3bb, which at this stage in the tournament is like gold dust.

fundiver199 · Jun 11, 2026

Preflop
You are a bit deep to rejam here, but I still think, its a good play, since it puts CO completely in the ICM bin. If he call and loss, he have 3,4BB left, so he is going to fold a ton. But ok you call, and thats also an ok play.

Flop
As played no reason to lead with AJ on this board, and we are happy to get a free card.

Turn
Here is, where the hand begin to go off the rails, and the issue is your sizing and rationale for betting. You have TPTK, and the opponent checked back the flop, which he would rarely do with a strong hand. So you want to bet for value and protection here, not to "test the waters". And you want to bet something chunky like maybe 2/3 pot, not just a minimum bet.

You have an uncapped range here, since you just naturally checked to him on the flop, so its not like, a large sizing will tell him, that you have exactly top pair. You can have sets, two pair, a flopped straight and several draws as well. And a large bet just accomplish so much more, especially after the flop went check-check.

Now you get raised, and because you bet so small, you dont know, if you induced this, or if he was sandbagging something on the flop. He could also have the same hand or maybe even KJ/QJ, which he think is the best hand. If you call, there is only around a pot sized bet left, and you are out of position. And for that reason I just jam here and put the decision on the opponent.

River
This spots sucks, and you put yourself into it by not either jamming preflop or making a proper bet on the turn. I dont even know, what to say here. Its obviously a bad card, since the flushdraw came in, and KJ also got there, which was the best hand, you were beating. You are getting 3½/1, so you only need to be good 22% of the time disregarding ICM.

But if he is bluffing, why is he using this sizing, when he could jam and really put you to the test? It looks like a "please call me" bet. Or a hand, thats not really sure, but even that kind of hand probably beat you, like for instance AK. So while I hate folding getting these kind of odds, and in a situation, where your sizing might have induced bluffs, I think, I vomit and let it go.

eetenor · Jun 16, 2026

fundiver199 said:
Preflop
You are a bit deep to rejam here, but I still think, its a good play, since it puts CO completely in the ICM bin. If he call and loss, he have 3,4BB left, so he is going to fold a ton. But ok you call, and thats also an ok play.

Flop
As played no reason to lead with AJ on this board, and we are happy to get a free card.

Turn
Here is, where the hand begin to go off the rails, and the issue is your sizing and rationale for betting. You have TPTK, and the opponent checked back the flop, which he would rarely do with a strong hand. So you want to bet for value and protection here, not to "test the waters". And you want to bet something chunky like maybe 2/3 pot, not just a minimum bet.

You have an uncapped range here, since you just naturally checked to him on the flop, so its not like, a large sizing will tell him, that you have exactly top pair. You can have sets, two pair, a flopped straight and several draws as well. And a large bet just accomplish so much more, especially after the flop went check-check.

Now you get raised, and because you bet so small, you dont know, if you induced this, or if he was sandbagging something on the flop. He could also have the same hand or maybe even KJ/QJ, which he think is the best hand. If you call, there is only around a pot sized bet left, and you are out of position. And for that reason I just jam here and put the decision on the opponent.

River
This spots sucks, and you put yourself into it by not either jamming preflop or making a proper bet on the turn. I dont even know, what to say here. Its obviously a bad card, since the flushdraw came in, and KJ also got there, which was the best hand, you were beating. You are getting 3½/1, so you only need to be good 22% of the time disregarding ICM.

But if he is bluffing, why is he using this sizing, when he could jam and really put you to the test? It looks like a "please call me" bet. Or a hand, thats not really sure, but even that kind of hand probably beat you, like for instance AK. So while I hate folding getting these kind of odds, and in a situation, where your sizing might have induced bluffs, I think, I vomit and let it go.

Some great points here make sure you find the nuances---when you lead bet small turn Villain raise range becomes wider making our reaction unclear etc etc.

Preflop chip leader opens --4 handed as well--- that range most often wide enough that the AJ shove would be the #1 play #2 3 bet large then fold to shove option-- #3 Call

Calling with the AJ puts us in ICM hell trying to navigate post flop if the UTG has any skill.

fundiver199 · Wednesday at 1:00 AM

eetenor said:
Preflop chip leader opens --4 handed as well--- that range most often wide enough that the AJ shove would be the #1 play #2 3 bet large then fold to shove option-- #3 Call

I prefer calling over 3-betting small. In situations with a lot of ICM-pressure we generally want to avoid situations, where we give the chip leader a chance to jam on us with good risk-reward. I dont think, AJo is strong enough to call it off, and I dont want to put in 25-30% of my chips and then fold.

eetenor said:
Calling with the AJ puts us in ICM hell trying to navigate post flop if the UTG has any skill.

I dont think, postflop was particularly difficult to play in this hand. Flop is a check-fold to a large bet and check-call to a small bet. Turn is either a large bet or a check-jam. As played when we get the raise, why are we just calling with TPTK? There is no benefit in letting another card roll off, when we are out of position, at least half the deck is bad for us, and a river jam puts us in ICM hell.

So for me this would be an easy jam, and if the Villain fold, thats a fine outcome. Now we are the chip leader, which puts us in a great situation, and we dont have to make any tough decision on the river. I sense, that OP bet small "testing the waters" and just called, because he was concerned, he might be behind.

But thats an overly cautious approach. We have top pair top kicker against someone with a very wide range, and thats certainly good enough to stack off for 24BB especially with fold equity. If we got coolered, or if he call and suck out on us somehow, it just is, what it is. Its important to be ICM-aware on a SnG bubble, but we dont want to overadjust to ICM.

eetenor · Wednesday at 1:00 PM

You maqy

fundiver199 said:
I prefer calling over 3-betting small. In situations with a lot of ICM-pressure we generally want to avoid situations, where we give the chip leader a chance to jam on us with good risk-reward. I dont think, AJo is strong enough to call it off, and I dont want to put in 25-30% of my chips and then fold.

I dont think, postflop was particularly difficult to play in this hand. Flop is a check-fold to a large bet and check-call to a small bet. Turn is either a large bet or a check-jam. As played when we get the raise, why are we just calling with TPTK? There is no benefit in letting another card roll off, when we are out of position, at least half the deck is bad for us, and a river jam puts us in ICM hell.

So for me this would be an easy jam, and if the Villain fold, thats a fine outcome. Now we are the chip leader, which puts us in a great situation, and we dont have to make any tough decision on the river. I sense, that OP bet small "testing the waters" and just called, because he was concerned, he might be behind.

But thats an overly cautious approach. We have top pair top kicker against someone with a very wide range, and thats certainly good enough to stack off for 24BB especially with fold equity. If we got coolered, or if he call and suck out on us somehow, it just is, what it is. Its important to be ICM-aware on a SnG bubble, but we dont want t

I actually stated 3 bet large not small--it is an exploit play vs less skilled players who will not put max pressure with a light all-in in an ICM spot or who will not just flat to see a flop. If they jam we can over fold which is a fine play vs that player type. The risk to reward in an ICM spot changes drastically from EV and most players fall on the not taking risks side of the equation. You will of course be playing vs players who do not understand ICM and that is why I suggested jam preflop first.

All of your other points are excellent as usual.

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€10 NL HE STT: AJo

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