Poker Forum

Over 1,246,000 Posts!

REGISTER
Subscribe to FTR web feed
Already Registered?      Username:    Password:   Remember      Forgot Password

Poker Forum

  > 

All Other (Limit) Poker

  > 

Problem winning w/ AKo, top pair on flop

  
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
rowhousepd
Old 06-25-2009, 06:27 AM     Post subject: Problem winning w/ AKo, top pair on flop #1 (permalink)  
rowhousepd's Avatar
Straight

Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 213
rowhousepd can only hope to improve
 Hi gang. This is my first posts to this forum for help with strategy w/ Low Limit Hold'em, and I'm aiming to post regularly going forward. I'm a newbie to FTR and somewhat new to online poker too. Still playing at low & micro limits for now.

Anyhow, here's a situation that I know I should be winning more often but am not. This is one of many hands like it where I seem to get beat on the river:

Full Tilt Limit Hold'em (9 handed)

Preflop: Hero is BB with As, Kh
1 fold, UTG+1 calls, MP1 checks, MP2 calls, 2 folds, Button raises, 1 fold, Hero calls, UTG+1 calls, MP1 calls, MP2 calls

Flop: (10.4 SB) Ac, 8d, 2h (5 players)
Hero bets, 1 fold, MP1 calls, MP2 calls, Button raises, Hero calls, MP1 calls, MP2 calls

Turn: (9.2 BB) 5h (4 players)
Hero bets, MP1 calls, 1 fold, Button raises, Hero calls, MP1 calls, MP2 calls

River: (17.2 BB) 10h (3 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets, 1 fold, Hero calls.

MP1 shows: Jh, 9h

Total pot: 19.2 BB

So... What am I doing wrong here? Help!
Reply With Quote

Play for FREE and practice your game at...

Join the FTR Poker Forum to disable these banners and start posting!
BennyLaRue
Old 06-25-2009, 11:47 AM #2 (permalink)  
BennyLaRue's Avatar
Full House

Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 646
BennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of lightBennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of lightBennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of lightBennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of lightBennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of lightBennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of light
 You're far too passive. AKo is a great hand. You need to 3-bet pre-flop, even though you're out of position. You're raising for value but at the same time, it should thin out the herd as it is two bets back to UTG+1 and the MP players.

As played pre, 3-bet the flop and remain aggro throughout the hand. The board isn't coordinated at all, so you have nothing to fear. You probably have the best hand. The button's range is probably AT - AK, 99+, so the only thing beating you is AA, an unlikely holding given that you hold an A. Again, a reraise makes it two bets that the MP players have to call, so it's your opportunity to defend what is very likely your pot. Draws almost never fold to one bet, but often fold to two bets so take advantage and force them out.

As played on the flop, you can be fairly certain the Button will remain the aggressor. Anticipating that, check-raise. It's your best chance to isolate against the button. Call if the button 3-bets.

The river is a huge pot. Calling with TPTK is not a mistake, even if you think you're beat. That said, you pretty much gave this hand away. If you'd have been more aggressive, it's unlikely a backdoor flush is around to beat you.
Reply With Quote
LawDude
Old 06-25-2009, 07:43 PM #3 (permalink)  
Full House

Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 940
LawDude
What Benny said.
Reply With Quote
rowhousepd
Old 06-27-2009, 08:12 AM #4 (permalink)  
rowhousepd's Avatar
Straight

Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 213
rowhousepd can only hope to improve
 Great reply, Tom Selleck ... I mean Benny. Thanks! I know I def missed the opportunity PF to raise, which was just a mistake on my part, but the table (as is often the case with low-stakes) had a bunch of callers & at least one maniac, so mostly I was hesitant to keep raising if it was less likely to push people out.

Alas, this is the frustrating thing about playing with novices who will just call & raise without any real strategy in mind.
Reply With Quote
BennyLaRue
Old 06-27-2009, 11:28 AM #5 (permalink)  
BennyLaRue's Avatar
Full House

Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 646
BennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of lightBennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of lightBennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of lightBennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of lightBennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of lightBennyLaRue is a glorious beacon of light
Quote:
Originally Posted by rowhousepd
Alas, this is the frustrating thing about playing with novices who will just call & raise without any real strategy in mind.
You should understand that these are ideal conditions for you. You may need to make some adjustments, sure, and the variance will be greater, but you make your money in LHE off of people making small mistakes over and over. Don't get frustrated over what should be good opportunities...it will affect your play.
Reply With Quote
Chopper
Old 06-29-2009, 06:29 PM #6 (permalink)  
Chopper's Avatar
Straight Flush

Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 4,255
Chopper
i second what the others have said....just saw the thread. rowhousepd, i would read up on a concept called "relative position." you need to use this concept to your advantage in multiway pots.

3betting pre would have forced others to call two bets cold. that is a huge sign of strength. not that the players would fold, but if they do, that is fine, and if they dont, they make an even bigger mistake.....making you money in the long run.

if you 3bet, you likely have to lead the flop. a c/r may fail because you had the momentum going into the flop. however, if you called the raise, you MUST check/raise this flop. again, you are forcing players to call 2 bets cold. that denies tons of drawing hands their odds to play this hand on a weak draw. and, you lead the turn after your flop c/r. this will be for value as you are very likely ahead if you dont get 3bet in response to your c/r.

there isnt as much of a need to "protect your hand" here, as there arent many draws up. but, you still need to thin out the field because other A-hi hands may catch their kicker cards. if there were two hearts up on the flop, you need to protect your hand by betting or raising or check/raising....whichever charges the most at one time and can cut down the odds to draw.

AKo is a 3betting hand even if you havent entered the action yet. and, AKs is a capping hand, even if you havent enetered the action yet. i dont care if there are 7 players limping and raising. you need to get that money in while you likely have the best hand.

and, dont sweat getting rivered. it happens in limit. sometimes you cant do anything about it. and, the more passive you play, the more you will be drawn out on the river. (in fact, try and find a thread on FTR called "why you cant make your opponent fold" or something close to that.)
LHE is a game where your skill keeps you breakeven until you hit your rush of random BS.

Nothing beats flopping quads while dropping a duece!
 
Reply With Quote
LawDude
Old 06-29-2009, 07:12 PM #7 (permalink)  
Full House

Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 940
LawDude
What Chopper said as well. The only thing I would add is that unless you are up against an EXTREMELY tight 3-betting range (which occasionally happens, but not often), you should simply always re-raise and cap AKo as well as AKs. If you hit your ace or king, you are going to be ahead most of the time. And if you don't hit your ace or king, you will often have some fold equity with a c-bet. And if you don't have fold equity, you will often get yourself an opportunity to see the river by being aggressive on the flop.

Plus, you dominate a lot of hands that are within players' raising range (i.e., Ax, KQ, KJ).

If you keep track of your results, you will be surprised at how much of your profits in limit come from AA, KK, and AK.
Reply With Quote
arborman
Old 07-01-2009, 06:12 AM #8 (permalink)  
Flush

Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 300
arborman
Quote:
Originally Posted by LawDude
If you keep track of your results, you will be surprised at how much of your profits in limit come from AA, KK, and AK.
And how much that spikes up when you start playing those hands better postflop.
Reply With Quote
Reply
Latest Poker News
KoRnholio Old 05-26-2012, 03:08 PM    Australia Legalized Online Poker coming up in next 6 to 12 Months
According to an email sent out by Mark Bryan, a gaming analyst at Merrill Lynch, the Australian government plans to legalize online poker sometime in the next six to 12 months. This move will coincide ...

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »
Thread Tools
Display Modes
Linear Mode Linear Mode

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


All times are GMT. The time now is 12:41 PM.

Contact Us - Archive - Top

FTR Testimonials

All content
© FlopTurnRiver.com 		Advertising  |   Partners  |   Testimonials  |   T&C  |   Contact Us  |   FTR News & Press  |   Site Map  |   Search FTR

Full Tilt  |   Titan Poker  |   UltimateBet  |   Poker Stars  |   Ladbrokes Bonus  |   Sportsbook  |   Cake Poker  

Play Texas Holdem Online, Online Texas Holdem Strategy, & Poker Forum
This is not a gambling website.