Bloated Pot, Scary Flop

An interesting spot came up twice in a short session last night - after 4-betting a single-suited AAxx PF, the flop comes monotone and my opponent ships into me. So gross, given the pot odds and the potential to be drawing close to dead.

In the first spot, the pot was actually 3-way:

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button ($8.87)
SB ($21.94)
BB ($11.43)
UTG ($25.81)
MP ($7.40)
Hero (CO) ($45.11)
Preflop: Hero is CO with A, 4, A, K
UTG calls $0.25, MP calls $0.25, Hero bets $1.25, 2 folds, BB raises to $4.35, UTG calls $4.10, 1 fold, Hero raises to $17.75, BB calls $7.08 (All-In), UTG calls $13.40

Dead money from UTG makes this a must-4-bet. UTG bizarrely decides to call, leaving $8 behind.

Flop: ($47.28) 10, 9, J (3 players, 1 all-in)
UTG bets $8.06 (All-In), Hero folds

Wow, not sure how to script a worse flop. I'm getting almost 7-to-1 and I'm still not sure I can call. It's a 3 way pot and I can count 1,000 ways that I'm totally crushed here. I guess it's a fold.

Turn: ($47.28) 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)
River: ($47.28) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)
Total pot: $47.28 Rake: $2.36
Results:
BB had A, A, K, K (two pair, Aces and nines).
UTG had 6, 6, 8, Q (straight, Queen high).
Outcome: UTG won $44.92

The 668Q PF call off 70% of my stack to see a flop maneuver. Justly rewarded. I guess it was a good fold, but I still feel dirty.

This one was a much tougher call:

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha, $0.50 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
MP ($13.55)
CO ($66.20)
Button ($27.45)
SB ($47.55)
BB ($68.85)
Hero (UTG) ($69.25)
Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, J, 6, A
Hero bets $1.50, MP calls $1.50, CO calls $1.50, 2 folds, BB raises to $7.75, Hero raises to $26.50, 2 folds, BB calls $18.75

We start 140 BBs deep, so calling PF in position isn't a bad option either. But I still think 4-betting is better - I'll be shipping it or calling off on a vast majority of flops, and I'll be ahead a vast majority of the time.

Flop: ($56.25) 2, Q, 3 (2 players)
BB bets $42.35 (All-In),

An otherwise dry monotone flop, and my opponent shoves. Pretty nasty because the shove here is far bigger and the pot odds far worse than in the first hand. I'm holding the dry Ace, but it doesn't matter much b/c I expect villian to check far more often when he flops the nuts here. In fact, he should be checking almost all of the time when he flops a flush, since is almost surely calling off, and by checking, he gives me a chance to shove a ton of worse hands.

If he's somehow worried about me flopping a set or 2-pair and filling up, then he shouldn't, b/c I'm shipping those hands if checked to anyways.

There's 2 ways/reasons he is shoving here:
1) As a bluff/semi-bluff (hit the Q for one pair) on a scary board
2) He hit a flush or set on the flop and didn't give much thought to the fact that he might scare me off with a shove
3) He hit a flush or set and is trying to level me (i.e., shoving in a place where a flush shouldn't be shoving).

I think I want this one back. I give more creedence to 2) than 3), but I think it may be 1) enough of the time to call.
...
...
Hero folds
Total pot: $56.25 Rake: $2.80
Results:
BB didn't show
Outcome: BB won $53.45

Anybody hate this? Who calls off here?

I 4-bet planning to get it in on most flops, but I think I happened to run into a few worst-case scenarios here.

January

January was marked by a crushing downswing where I lost some $500+ (30 or so buy-ins across both $25 and $50 PLO) over less than 3K hands. But I fought all the way back to beign $10 away from breakeven by the close of the month. That upswing corresponded directly with the introduction of the Rush table at FTP. Not fully sure what that means...I'm sure that the bad players trying out the Rush tables helped some. But I'm scared to think that I play in some predictable manner that makes the relative anonymity of Rush a real boost to my game. I guess time will tell.

For the record, this month counts as a win in my goal to have 10 out of 12 profitable months. Sometimes rakeback feels like a bonus, but really, it's money that I won. It just so happens that I only get 27% of it back.

PLO Online: -$10.22

Rakeback: $125.29

NLHE Live: -$140

2 Rush Hands

Ah yes, the most fun part of playing Rush poker is that you get to use "no stats, no reads" as an excuse for making bad plays. Well, that's not exactly true anymore, now that HEM is writing stats into the FTP player notes. But for these hands, I had nothing, so I was left considering what should be my "standard" play in these tough spots.

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
BB ($32.12)
UTG ($16.28)
MP ($25)
Hero (CO) ($26.12)
Button ($25)
SB ($40.80)
Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, 10, 2, 8
1 fold, MP calls $0.25, Hero bets $1, 2 folds, BB calls $0.75, MP calls $0.75

Flop: ($3.10) 4, 10, 10 (3 players)
BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets $2, BB raises to $5.55, 1 fold, Hero calls $3.55

I'm never folding here with trips in position, but at the same time, I'm very weary of naked trips, especially without top kicker.

Turn: ($14.20) J (2 players)
BB bets $8, Hero calls $8

The J is bad...if my opponent was check-raising a naked T, there is now a good chance that he has filled up, since J and T go together like gin & juice. I though hard about pitching it here, since I could be drawing really slim. But, the smallish bet gave me pause...if my opponent is full, he should be inclined to bet big, knowing that I'll have a hard time folding a naked T and wanting to charge me for the chance to fill up myself. If it had been a PSB, I think I would have folded. Instead, I made the nervous call.

River: ($30.20) K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

River is another bad card, but I get to exhale when my opponent checks to me. I basically only beat a bluff or semi-bluff so I snap check it back.

Total pot: $30.20 Rake: $1.51

Results:
BB had 7, K, A, A (two pair, Aces and tens).
Hero had Q, 10, 2, 8 (three of a kind, tens).
Outcome: Hero won $28.69

Interesting that my opponent didn't 3-bet PF with a strong suited AAxx, and also that he check-raised with a FD on a paired board. These are all the sorts of actions that I might have had good insight into with any extent of notes or hands against this opponent. So the combo of naked trips + facing heat + Rush poker = tough spot. I'm just lucky I got spared on the river from making another tough decision.

In this next one, I created a giant mess...I think.

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
CO ($25)
Hero (Button) ($53.48)
SB ($48.73)
BB ($28.25)
UTG ($20.15)
MP ($35.85)
Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A, K, 10
3 folds, Hero bets $0.75, SB raises to $2.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $7.75, SB calls $5.25

So I 4-bet here without giving much thought to our stack depth. With most hands, I think that would be a mistake, since I have position and we are 200BBs deep. But my hand is so strong that I think I'm happy to build up a pot.

Flop: ($15.75) 4, 4, 3 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $15.75, SB raises to $40.98 (All-In), Hero calls $25.23

Not the worst flop...I'm happy to see low cards, but not to see the 2 hearts. Is this an automatic bet and call off spot?

Turn: ($97.71) J (2 players, 1 all-in)
River: ($97.71) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)
Total pot: $97.71 Rake: $3
Results:
Hero had A, A, K, 10 (two pair, Aces and fours).
SB had 6, 8, 4, 7 (straight, seven high).
Outcome: SB won $94.71

Turns out I was in rotten shape. Here again 3-bet stats would have told me a lot - is this guy's 3-bet range wide enough to include a lot of 4s? But still, given this flop, I'm not sure I can fold, since my opponent should be shipping it in with any piece of this flop, including something like 567x or any 2 high hearts. So if you agree with that, I'm still left wondering, what was the mistake? Your options:
1) 4-betting PF. You should have called and played with a strong, underrepped hand in position.
2) Betting full pot on the flop. Bet smaller, since you will learn either way whether my opponent has anything, and with a smaller bet you may be able to get away.
3) Nothing wrong, just gross luck.
4) Being born. You suck at this game and deserve every bad thing that happens to you in life.

Go easy on a battered poker player, friends.