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1. High card hands. I've been raising KTo+ UTG, too tight or loose? What about QJ? raise or fold early?
I play very few hands under the gun, but your mileage may vary.
Specifically, on a typically loose 9-handed table, from early position I raise AA-TT and AK-A9, and that's it. IF AND ONLY IF I am confident that I will get enough callers to make it worthwhile, I will limp in A8s-A2s, KQs-KTs, QJs-QTs, JTs-J9s, T9s-T8s, 98s-97s, 87s-86s, 76s-75s, 65s, and 99-22.
I may open up IF I can successfully isolate against one player with a raise.
I just don't want to be playing trash or potential 2nd best hands out of position.
But this is entirely dependent on the table. If you are up against a tighter table and you think you can get folds all the way to the button with a raise, then you can actually open a pot with lots of hands.
On the other hand, if you are up against a tighter table which won't limp behind you, you shouldn't be playing suited connectors from early position and should either raise or fold smaller pairs.
One last thing. You play 6-max. So you can certainly open up your range a little bit as compared to my tight range for playing out of position in 9-max.
2. Small PPs. I've been raising 77+ UTG/+1. is this decent?
Same comment. If you can get people to fold behind you, you can raise any pocket pair, even a small one. If players are going to call your raise, then you want to maximize the number of callers, and you might also want to consider dumping small pairs and playing only big ones out of position.
3. Blind v Blind. JT folded to me in SB, raise it or call and see a flop?
There's nothing wrong with blind-stealing from the small blind if you have a good hand, though it should be a better hand than you are willing to blind steal with from the button, CO, or HJ, because you are going to be out of position if the BB calls or re-raises you.
JT, to me, is a good enough hand to try and blind steal with, so I'd raise it unless you are very confident that the BB will defend his position no matter what.
Now onto the hands. You need to post reads or stats if you have them. It's hard to know what villains might be doing without it.
Hand 1:
Pre-flop fine.
Villain leads on the flop. This is where a read would be nice-- does Villain always or often do that, or is he one of those "wait for the pre-flop raiser" guys who will only do that if he connects with the flop. In any event, the flop has an 8 and a 9 on it, so he could have a draw. Why not raise? You may very well be ahead of villain, you probably have at least 6 outs plus a backdoor straight possibility, and you may be able to see where you are at.
Turn: since you didn't raise on the flop, you don't know where you are on the turn. As played, given your outs are compromised by the pair on the board (villain may have trips), I think the fold is reasonable.
Hand 2:
Pre-flop perfect. You are heads up with a pocket pair.
Flop fine.
Turn: well, is that 4 likely to help a player who called a pre-flop raise and a bet on the flop? Plus, there was a straight draw on the flop. I'd bet here.
River: again, is that 3 of hearts, which completes a backdoor flush, really going to help a villain who called a pre-flop raise and a bet on the flop?
Now, I might check the river if I got called on flop and turn bets. I might also bet it. Depends on how much of a station I think villain is. But if you check the turn, I suspect that river card didn't help villain at all, so I would try a bet on the river. Villain might put you on top pair, checking the turn because of the pairing of the board.
Hand 3:
Pre-flop: fine, unless your reads tell you that you basically know that BB will defend his blinds.
Flop is a standard c-bet. C-betting theory is too complicated for this discussion, but you need to do reads as to whether this sort of thing works against this villain. But absent such reads, I don't have a problem with it.
Now the turn comes an ace. You have two choices here. Represent the ace and bet (you did raise pre-flop), or check and be prepared to fold if villain bets, because you don't have anything and villain is representing the ace. You chose the latter.
Hand 4:
Pre-flop. Raise from HJ is standard. Once you are re-raised, you should understand that the temptation to cap pots pre-flop in limit is often irresistable to players. I tend to like being the capper, because it gives me the initiative to be aggressive post-flop. But this is very much a personal choice (I got called an idiot at the poker table last night for pursuing this very strategy!). But OK, one way or the other, pot was capped.
Flop: Raise. You have more outs than a .157 hitter in baseball. You have 2 overcards, the nut flush draw, and a backdoor straight possibility. Ram and jam.
Turn and river: standard.
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