Out and swinging

Yesterday was a triumphant day. I finished my last mid-term, played a little poker, and won a little change. It was my first time in almost a month. To start I was a little shy but after scooping my first pot I came out swinging. My third hand dealt were Rockets aka Aces. It's funny how the letter A can signify such great things and give one such a wonderful feeling. An A on an exam makes one feel accomplished, while A's in poker makes one giggle. I was dealt them in Big Blind with 4 limpers behind. In a 5-5 game I raised it to $50, Under the Gun called and everyone else folded. UTG is a very aggresive player. Flop came Ah, 8S, 4d. I checked and UTG betted $100, I smooth called. From my thoughts UTG didn't have enough skill to think I had a monster by raising pre-flop out of position then just smooth calling on the flop with no possible drawing flop. Also the way I played so far signified that I probably could have QQ or KK and checked, scared of the ace. Although if I did have either of those I'm a good enough player to fold and know that UTG has an ace and I'm beat. The turn brings a 2c. Another brick. I check and UTG bets $300 and I push my remaining $350 into the middle. He instant calls and flips over Ac,Ks proudly and says, "Ship IT". I reply, "You're drawing DEAD" and flip over my set. He imediately sat down and was muttering, "Check, check, check, how does he have pocket ACES?" By the end of the night I made a grand off the exact opponent alone.

Leasoned to be learned is a check-call most of the time means weakness, but not when there are no drawing hands on the board. Also the opponent could have bet less risking less of his chips to see whether his top pair was really good.