AA - completed flush on the board and opponent shows strength

Hi Spidey,
I like your play and your bet sizing all the way to the river.

I think that we can discount the flush -- he didn't call the flop with just a back door flush draw -- but A♥:J♥: for example. We know he had something.
OTR, are you betting your Aces for value? If so, what worse hands do you hope to get value from?

My preferred river play here is check back, and let your showdown value speak for itself.

I'd love to hear what others think though...

Peace,
VS

When he x/raises the river it is a pretty easy fold. U should consider making a smaller bet on the river (about 1/3) or just checking behind. There are very few weaker hands that will call a bet on the river and you even block some AJ combos. Either bet small or check behind imho.

You had only an over pair on a wet paired board , maybe a Turn or River check may have given you some information on your opponents holding, by him calling all the way to his final re raise you had no information , except when he re raised . Many hands had you beaten , I hope if I were in your shoes at the time I would have rather tried not to let the size of the pot get too big.
tmannie

You should consider checking on at least on of the streets

I think pre, flop and turn are ok.
OTR I would definitely check behind. Draws complete and I guess villain could be able to fold some Jx hands vs 3barrel. There are not many weaker hands that will call. As played I think you should fold vs that raise.

Originally posted by Fanko
U should consider making a smaller bet on the river (about 1/3)

And please don't do this. You should very rarely make a thin valuebet OTR when in position. Betting very small has almost the same EV than checking but when you do it in position you will just open the betting round again and villain has an option to raise you.

Bet river smaller 20-25% (and call a small reraise) or check/ call river

Originally posted by Fanko
U should consider making a smaller bet on the river (about 1/3)

And please don't do this. You should very rarely make a thin valuebet OTR when in position. Betting very small has almost the same EV than checking but when you do it in position you will just open the betting round again and villain has an option to raise you.

It is perfectly fine to thin value bet in position. In this situation the board is not very good for us but it is nl2 and there are still hands that can call a small bet. We have an easy fold vs raise so it is not a big concern anyway.

We don't want to see a raise.. If you want to induce villain to bluff us by betting small then go ahead.. But I would advice against thin valuebetting while in position..
You can check some of weazel's videos and see what he has to say about it

I cannot since i have no status to check anything.

Well, to sum it up:
The EV of betting very small and checking are very close to each other and when we are in position it is more wise to check behind so we won't open the action again.

I understand the idea and i am fine with check behind in general. I also believe a small value bet is also viable and profitable in this particular spot.

Thanks for all the replies - seems the general consensus is that checking behind would have been better - unfortunately, I did have to fold.

I will now add the check behind to my repertoire in these situations.

Thanks again

If the board were 8♥:8♠:2♣:, then a flop check-behind would almost provably be the best play. It is multi-purpose. With 8♥:8♠:J♣: it isn't crystal clear. It would be good to get the button out. But once this is done, a check on either turn or river is warranted. Chances are that you are beat if bets go in on all streets.