Quote Originally Posted by detroitjunkie View Post
the answer lies in this statement

If you were the villain here, would you make the same moves throughout with a hand like AQ? The answer better be no because the story doesn't make sense. He either has complete air (which is a tuff buy considering his stack size UNLESS you notice he has been bluffing all day) or a monster (at least tied with your hand, and god help you if he has AK hearts here). The only other hand besides a set that would make sense would be KQ or QJ hearts, and even then you may want to consider folding because the bubble is at stake.
Yes - the preflop action tells you that he either has an ace or a moderate pair. The check-raise on the flop should indicate that he hit a set or his ace-kicker. With what you have left in your stack, you still have odds to call with the bigger kicker, hoping to pair it and outrun him, but if you were close to the bubble, the chance to catch a cash might have given you value for folding after his check-raise.