AKo on A♦ 7♣ 2♠, checked to you — bet or check?
The answer
Bet
small c-bet · ⅓ pot
Best size: ⅓ pot · $13
The math: Top pair, top kicker on a dry ace-high board — and your 3-betting range holds far more strong aces than the capped caller does.
Why
Ace-high flops belong to the 3-bettor: you show up with AK, AQ and AA far more often than the caller, who'd have 4-bet the very top. Top pair top kicker is a clear value bet — worse aces, pairs and gutshots call — and the low SPR means you're building toward getting stacks in. A small ⅓-pot c-bet keeps their whole range in and sets up barrels on later streets. The solver bets 100% of the time.
The spot
- Your seat
- BTN
- Stakes and stacks
- $1 / $2 · 100bb
- Your hand
- A♥ K♠
- Board
- A♦ 7♣ 2♠
- Pot
- POT · $40
- Action on you
- CO checks
Every option
Checktake a free card
Why not: Checking top pair top kicker gives up value on a board you own — worse aces, pairs and gutshots are all happy to call, and a free card lets the caller's overcards or backdoors catch up for free.
Betsmall c-bet · ⅓ potCorrect
⅓ pot · $13 · pot · $40
The idea behind it
On ace-high boards the 3-bettor's range advantage is large; top pair top kicker value-bets and plans to stack off given the low SPR of a 3-bet pot.
Concept: Value c-bet
Terms in this spot
Play it instead of reading it
The trainer deals this hand with hints, grading and spaced repetition — and randomized variations of it once you have seen it.