DECISION POINT: In a $1/$2 cash game you have the table covered with $550 and are at a 9-handed table with loose players who call and limp often. Two of your opponents have stacks over $400, with the rest at around $200. The player in MP1 open limps and MP2 raises to $6. Action folds to the Button who calls, you call from the Small Blind with K♦Q♦, the Big Blind calls, and the original limper folds. You lead out $14 on the A♣K♠Q♥ flop and only the Big Blind calls. On the 7♠ turn you bet $26 and the Big Blind calls. The river is 2♦ and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing a low stakes, $1/$2 live cash game. The table is loose and splashy with lots of limping and calling. There are two opponent stacks over $400 and the rest have $200. We have the table covered with $550. We are dealt K♦Q♦ in the Small Blind. Action folds to MP1 who open limps. MP2 makes a raise to $6 (3 times the big blind) and everyone folds to the Button who calls.

We have a speculative hand in a multiway pot and only have to call a very small percentage of our stack, so we meet all of the calling criteria and can call here. Raising would also be an option, however with the table being loose/passive the raise from MP2 is likely to be a stronger than normal range. We’ve seen that this table is full of opponents who like to call a lot, and with several players also having deep stacks our implied odds are very good in this hand so we do elect to call. The Big Blind calls and MP1 shockingly folds for $4 more.

The flop is A♣K♠Q♥ and we are first to act. It is quite likely that we have the best hand right now with bottom 2-pair. MP2’s raising range does contain QQ+/AQ+ here, however since the other players just called preflop they are unlikely to hold these types of hands and we block many of the possible combinations with our specific hand. Given the opponent profile, JTs or even JTo are possibilities for the Button and Big Blind calling ranges. Weak Ax hands are more likely as well, and this board is scary enough those hands would likely call a bet but might not bet themselves.

There are compelling reasons to both bet and check, but generally speaking when we flop a big hand we want to start building a pot as quickly as possible. With that in mind we bet $14 and are called by only the Big Blind and everyone else folds.

The turn is the 7♠ and action is back on us.

With the Big Blind being the only caller, we are likely only dominated by A7 and JT combinations. There are a lot of KJ/KT/Ax type hands that will definitely call if we bet again, but would likely check behind if we decide to check. If we bet and our opponent made a sizable raise we could make an exploitative fold. This exploit would be viable because our opponents in this game are playing quite passive and likely only raising hands that beat us. We bet $26 and the Big Blind, once again, just calls.

The river is the 2♦, and this is a spot where many players make a mistake in lower stakes passive games. There are very few, if any, realistic missed draws so checking the river is unlikely to induce a bluff from our opponent. When we check in this spot we allow the Big Blind to check behind with their marginal Ax/KJ/KT/QJ/QT type holdings and realize their equity. The Big Blind is likely to value bet and get paid off on the occasions when they are ahead of our 2-pair on the river.

As long as we think our opponent isn’t capable of bluff-raising, this is a great spot to bet small and then fold if we are raised. Betting small accomplishes the goal of allowing us to extract value out of many of the hands that would just check behind, and also set the price of the bet versus the hands that beat us. Since we’re targeting hands like Ax/KJ/KT in Big Blind’s range we could bet a smaller amount of around $35-$40. This size is perfect to extract value out of those hands, while also setting a smaller price than the amount we would likely have to call if we checked and the Big Blind bet the river.

This is a somewhat exploitative line based on the read that our opponents in this specific game are generally passive and not capable of turning some of their weaker holdings into bluff raises with an appropriate frequency.

Betting small, around $35, is the best play.