Simply Hilarious

Just a quick update to a funny situation. It's been one of those nights where no matter what you do, you are destined to lose. I had A9 4 handed on the button and raised 3 times. BB calls and the flop comes J-1o-7 with two hearts. I have the ace of hearts and bet about 2/3 the pot. BB calls. Ace of clubs on the turn. He bets min, I push in for a bet of almost the pot, he calls. I have A9, he has A4. Most of the time, it's going to be a chopped pot. If a king, queen, jack, ten, or seven hit it's a chop. His only win is obviously one of 3-4's. River....4.
Which brings us to the funny situation. To me it's pretty standard. We are 4 handed, and it's been a pretty aggressive game. I'm on the button with AA. Over the last couple of orbits, I had been pretty active. I had a few hands, played position on a few, raised and limped, I was mixing it up pretty well. I had limped the button a few times throughout the game, most of the time they would see a suited connector or a hand that has value in position. Again, we are 4 handed, so I know that if I raise I can win the blinds, but I want someone to stack off. What's the best way for them to do that? Well, if I give up a little EV before the flop, I can possibly get someone to overvalue top pair in a limped pot, or better yet, someone could push with a weak ace or marginal hand. So, I limp on the button for 200. I have about 3300 and sitting second. The small blind raises to 800, he has about 1700 left. I thought about the pro's and con's of re-raising. If I re-raise I can get him to probably stack off when I have the best hand, especially if he has a pair or a big ace. If I re-raise him in now, he may fold, I'm trying to get him to stack off. He still has some fold equity, especially because He would have about 9 times the blind with the short stack in the BB next hand. So I decided to just call. Again, I'm not worried about a lot of hands. If the flop comes all big with one suit or some kind of really wet board, I'm prepared to ditch the hand and pick a better spot. But that's part of playing poker after the flop. Yes I have AA, but I'm trying to get my opponent to make a huge mistake against me.
So the flop comes 9-6-4 with two hearts. For the range of hands I have him on, this is a very dry board. There is 1800 in the pot and he has 1860 left. He shoves in on the flop. I snap called him. The range I had him on was 10's+, AJ+, QJ+, he had been very loose and aggressive up to this point. So I knew he had the capability of pushing for over the pot with just two big cards on a 9 high flop. The cards flip over, he has QQ. SWEET!!!! He has no back door draws, like a straight or flush draw. I'm a 9:1 favorite to take him out, secure a money spot and take over the chip lead. My play had worked out, I got a second best hand to stack off, I got the money in as a huge favorite, what more could I ask for? So the turn brings a blank, then a queen hits the river. This is where the humor of the situation comes in.
I've taken beats, I've given beats, they are a part of the game. Remember, poker is about putting yourself in the best possible situation to win. I was 95% to win on the turn. Right after the queen peels off and I lose. The chip leader in the BB types, "That's what you deserve. You played that hand horrible, you're a donkey." LOL. So let me get this straight. I get a player to overvalue a second best hand, put his money in the pot as a substantial dog, disguise the true strength of my hand, then take a beat on the river and I played the hand horribly? That's just hilarious. So let me make sure I have this perfectly clear. If I had raised on the button with AA, like he is advocating, what would I win? I might have got the player to stack off. However, we were 4 handed, on the bubble. Most players tighten up on the bubble, especially with short stack that's in the blinds next. So if I raised the blinds, the SB probably just calls, the flop comes down, he might have bet, but I would have pushed on the flop. Would he have called? Don't know. If I was in his situation it would be a tough call, but not impossible. Think about it for a second. Tight, aggressive player raises on the button. I've shown down a lot of strong hands after the flop. I haven't really shown down too many one pair hands. Most of the time I have gotten my opponents to fold so I haven't had to show some weaker hands. So he just calls my raise. If he bets half the pot on the flop, technically he is pot committed to call the push, but he could still fold. What could I have to push him in on a 9-6-4 flop? To me, it's almost like telegraphing your hand. I would have to have 99, 66, 44, KK, or AA. But I digress. Funny how a lot of players cannot wrap their head around playing hands in different ways. I refuse to play scared aces and I will give up some pre-flop EV to get a player to stack off on me.