
Flopping a big hand is always nice, but there are different ways to go about extracting the maximum value for your opponents. Sometimes, taking a riskier approach can be quite beneficial, allowing you to get extra money into the pot.
The hand we’ll be looking at today is a great example of this scenario, where Dylan’s patience helped him get a couple of extra bets.
The setup is $50/$100 with the $100 big blind ante and the $200 straddle active. As is common for Hustler Casino Live games, all players are quite deep, and Dylan is the effective stack, starting the hand with $54,600.
Preflop Action
The action starts with Dylan in the cutoff position, who opens to $600 holding A♠3♠. He gets called in four spots.
Ethan, in the cutoff, is the first to make the call with J♦9♥. Jasper makes the call on the button with 8♦4♦, which encourages the big blind and the straddle to join the action as well, holding K♠Q♥ and 10♥4♥.
The pot is $3,150 and they proceed to the flop five-handed.
Preflop Play Analysis
It’s difficult to analyze the preflop action in these live games as most players play too wide. At the same time, it’s difficult to criticize them for it, as the action is the name of the game, and you don’t get much action if you don’t see flops.
Dylan’s open with a small suited ace is perfectly reasonable. Ethan’s call is too wide, although if he had J-9 suited, it would certainly be very reasonable.
Jasper’s button call is certainly the strangest one, as his hand is really weak, and there are very few flops he’ll be happy about. On top of this, he still has two players to act behind him, and if there is a 3-bet behind, he’ll probably have to give up.

The only slight justification is that he has the button, which is quite powerful in live games, so he doesn’t want to pass on the opportunity to play in position, even with a hand as weak as 8-4 suited.
The big blind has a hand that’s a decent candidate for a squeeze play. With no one showing too much strength, squeezing with K-Q off is probably the better option than calling and seeing the flop four or five ways.
The straddle is getting insane pot odds and closing the action, so calling with almost any two cards is reasonable.
Flop Action
The flop comes A♣3♣5♦, giving Dylan two pair (top and bottom). When the action checks to him, he bets $1,000.
Ethan folds and Jasper goes for a 3-bet to $3,000. This gets rid of everyone else, and when the action gets back to Dylan, he makes the call, bringing the pot to $9,150.
Flop Play Analysis
Dylan is the only one to really connect with the flop and he has the preflop lead, so the action naturally checks to him.
He fires a continuation bet, but with four other opponents in the pot, he should probably go for a bigger sizing. There are quite a few possible straight and flush draws on the board, so betting bigger would help price out some of those.
Jasper made a wide call before the flop, but he now has an interesting situation on his hands. He has a gutshot and a backdoor flush draw, which is a nice combo to use as a bluff. This hand will never win unimproved, so this gives him a chance to take down the pot right here and now.
As everyone else folds, it’s back to Dylan, who can either call or go for another raise. Both plays have their merits, but given the board texture, Jasper is likelier to have a draw of some sort than a strong made hand.
By just calling, he gives his opponent a chance to continue bluffing, and he can decide how he wants to proceed depending on what comes on the turn.
Turn Action
The turn card is the 7♥, making the board A♣3♣5♦7♥. Dylan proceeds with his plan and checks to Jasper. Jasper loads up a big bet and fires for $9,600.
It’s back to Dylan and he decides it is the time to spring his trap, raising to $24,000. His opponent makes the call, and the pot balloons to $57,150.
Turn Play Analysis
The 7♥ on the turn isn’t the scariest of cards, but it’s not a complete brick, either, as it completes the most obvious straight draw from the flop
After just calling the flop, Dylan’s only play on this turn is to check to Jasper and see what he wants to do.
For Jasper, this is a solid card to continue his bluff. It improves his actual hand to a double-gutter, and since it completes a straight draw, his opponent shouldn’t be too thrilled about it. So, he continues to barrel, choosing a big bet size.

By betting over the size of the pot, Jasper is polarizing his hand to very strong holdings and air, which aims to put Dylan in the blender.
Dylan’s decision to still go ahead and raise this massive bet is probably the most interesting point in the hand. By doing so, he is opening himself to a shove when his opponent does have the goods, but also goes for the maximum value when he is on a draw.
It is a risky decision, but given the fact that Jasper’s range should contain more draws, especially since Dylan holds no flush blockers, it looks like a line that gets the most value.
Facing this raise, Jasper could fold, but if he believes that there are other cards (like clubs) that he can use as bluffs on the river, calling is a viable option as well, and it is the one he chooses.
River Action
The 10♠ peels on the river, completing the board of A♣3♣5♦7♥10♠. Dylan moves all in for his remaining $27,000. Since his opponent has only eight high, he has no other option but to much his hand.
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River Play Analysis
Given the runout and the action, the river card is a complete blank. If Dylan believes his opponent was on a draw, this might be a good opportunity to check and try to induce the bluff.
The problem with this play is that Jasper knows that Dylan only has about a half-pot bet behind, and the river card isn’t scary whatsoever. So, he is extremely unlikely to try anything here.
On the other hand, by betting, he may get a crying call from a single-pair type of hand that’s now getting good pot odds, as it is possible that Dylan took this line with some sort of a draw himself.
With the full knowledge of hole cards, checking is, of course, by far the superior option, but without that information and if you believe your opponent to be a competent player, betting and hoping for a crying call should yield more value in the long run.