EP KQs vs SB riverbet

Can you fold preflop vs the 3b? He is 3b vs UTG and his range should be strong.
Yes, villain can bet river with worse. His turn check makes him capped.

AQ is a very reasonable hand in his betting range. I think you have to call there even though you will not make a lot of money with it.

I don’t think it’s bad to call his small 3bet in position, but as played I would most likely call his pot size bet on the flop as well with top pair 2nd kicker. The river seems like a call as well on his small bet. I don’t see to many better hands that would check the turn and there are some missed draws in his range I think.

Cheers,
SDK1987

Originally posted by ovatsuG21
AQ is a very reasonable hand in his betting range. I think you have to call there even though you will not make a lot of money with it.

Interesting thought. From villain's perspective and my position (UTG), is there reason for villain to 3bet AQ here? In other words, would villain 3bet AQ here for value or as a bluff?

If villain is defending with merged range his SB then he can 3B with AQ here...

Yes, that is the problem here. I believed that villain was mostly polarized. However, if villain could be merged, how can we decide whether villain is polarized or merged? Or how do we target/distinguish the 2 playing styles from villain? And finally, how do we enact on our findings?

Don't try to guess what villain is holding. You have TPGK and checked behind on turn. You are offered better than 3:1 to call. You call. Simple as that. It is just silly to speculate about "merged ranges" or "polarized ranges" on part of an unknown $5, quite possibly recreational, and quite definitely not world class, player. Most people don't spend half their lives setting up preflop 3-bet ranges. Assuming they do is a waste of time on your part.

Originally posted by Hesticus

Originally posted by ovatsuG21
AQ is a very reasonable hand in his betting range. I think you have to call there even though you will not make a lot of money with it.

Interesting thought. From villain's perspective and my position (UTG), is there reason for villain to 3bet AQ here? In other words, would villain 3bet AQ here for value or as a bluff?

I don't see a reason to 3bet AQ there but I've seen a lots of spewy regs 3betting UTG with AQo.

Originally posted by YohanN7
Don't try to guess what villain is holding. You have TPGK and checked behind on turn. You are offered better than 3:1 to call. You call. Simple as that. It is just silly to speculate about "merged ranges" or "polarized ranges" on part of an unknown $5, quite possibly recreational, and quite definitely not world class, player. Most people don't spend half their lives setting up preflop 3-bet ranges. Assuming they do is a waste of time on your part.

I agree with some of your thoughts.
The main point is that the only way you will actually know that his range is polarized or merged will be on showdown.

True, he showed J9s so his range will mostly be polarized. However, I like the discussion of how to approach these situations. Against UTG I think it's not a good hand to 3bet bluff with these cards. What do you think?

Originally posted by Hesticus
True, he showed J9s so his range will mostly be polarized. However, I like the discussion of how to approach these situations. Against UTG I think it's not a good hand to 3bet bluff with these cards. What do you think?

IMO against a UTG, 3bet a polarized range with some suited connectors is better from blinds. Not only for board coverage but for better playability OOP.