A poor play by me?

I seem to have lost my strategy at present and don't know what to do. I need people to tell me if I'm making bad decisions, or maybe I don't because I'm sure I am.

An example:

$100 NL, blinds 50c/$1

Folded to me on the button so I raise to $4 with QJs. Not a great hand but one I like to raise with in late position. SB, who i know to be an gentleman of mature years and quite experienced at poker ,calls. BB folds. $10 in pot.

Flop comes down Jh 6c 4c . SB bets $7. Looks like a continuation bet to me, as I've seen him make this type of play before, especially if he thinks the button was trying to steal and if he's been watching me he knows that I might try and steal with any two cards. So I just call. $24 in pot. Turn is 4d. SB checks and I decide to check and take the free card. River is 9d. SB bets $10. Now I am wondering if he sensed I was weak and is trying to steal. I contemplate just calling but then convince myself I'm in front. So I raise to $25 (now $49 in pot and SB has only committed 1/3 of his stack so isn't pot committed). SB goes all-in for his last $40. It is $25 for me to call and there is $89 in pot - I'm getting 3 1/2 to 1 to call and so I do. He turns over KJo to win the pot.

I couldn't put him on KJ at the start because I understand that KJ is not a calling hand (especially in the SB with the BB to act) but it is a raising hand, especially if checked or folded to you. If you call with it and hit your K, you don't know where you are! Misjudgment number 1 perhaps? When he checked on the turn I was convinced he couldn't have KJ or AJ as he's giving a free card ( I dismissed a check raise as surely he would have done this on the flop). Misjudgment number 2. On the river I thought that even if he had KJ, maybe I could make him lay it down by representing AJ, two pair or even trip 4s. Misjudgment number 3, I guess, as he would only call (or raise) if he thought he had me beat.

My judgment seems to be off at the moment!

On a related point. One of the first things I learned when new to poker was that there is one hand in particular that you have to learn to fold - and that is top pair, medium kicker. I'm having to strange my strategy here as well because at one point I seemed able to make players lay that hand down. Perhaps the have learned how to play me or perhaps they won't let it go these days!

Personally, I would've bet harder on the flop, just because of the fact two clubs came out and I'd be protecting my high pair against a potential flush draw. However, given the fact he wasn't on a draw I'm not sure he would've folded. The only error I can see, is not betting the turn (after he checked). You said it yourself, SB probably thought you were trying to steal the blinds with any two cards (which could very well mean you had a 4) and when you checked he probably sensed the weakness... I would've bluffed hard on it.

Never raise on the river? You only get called by hands that have you beat. With Top Pair, Medium kicker I'd have just called and hoped I had him beat, if not that's poker but at that point raising just risks more of your stack on a not all that great hand.

The river raise is not a good one, like Thee One says, you are only getting called with a better hand. Why not bet out the turn? What if he's on a club draw?

Originally Posted by bunthorne

I couldn't put him on KJ at the start because I understand that KJ is not a calling hand (especially in the SB with the BB to act) but it is a raising hand, especially if checked or folded to you. If you call with it and hit your K, you don't know where you are! Misjudgment number 1 perhaps? When he checked on the turn I was convinced he couldn't have KJ or AJ as he's giving a free card ( I dismissed a check raise as surely he would have done this on the flop). Misjudgment number 2.

You cannot assume your opponents are knowledgable and know that KJ is a leak hand, especially to call a raise with OOP. In short, don't assume that your opponents are rational and logical thinkers, as they often times are not.

Originally Posted by bunthorne

On the river I thought that even if he had KJ, maybe I could make him lay it down by representing AJ, two pair or even trip 4s. Misjudgment number 3, I guess, as he would only call (or raise) if he thought he had me beat.

Don't assume that you can move an unknown off TPGK, because most times you simply can't. Which brings up the question, what was the point of your river raise? Was it for value or to move him off a better hand? You should have a very good idea of why you are raising the river if you do decide to. Without a good read, a river raise here is ugly. As for the rest of the hand, preflop and flop call are both fine. I would bet the turn when checked to though, and hopefully check behind on the river. On the turn there are quite a bit of river cards that you don't want to see.

Originally Posted by bdawg56kg

You cannot assume your opponents are knowledgable and know that KJ is a leak hand, especially to call a raise with OOP. In short, don't assume that your opponents are rational and logical thinkers, as they often times are not.

DAI= Don't assume intelligence

"I contemplate just calling but then convince myself I'm in front"
"On the river I thought that even if he had KJ, maybe I could make him lay it down"

So in other words you thought that no worse hands would call you, buuuut you felt like sticking in a raise anyway.
This is equivalent to saying you were absolutely 100% sure you were ahead
donk

preflop: fine

flop: fine. Many FTRers will advocate a raise here to 'see where you are at.' I do not. That is just building a huge pot with a very marginal hand and 2 streets to come. Depending on villain, a fold may not be bad.

turn: Depends. I personally like the check-behind here with the intention of calling most river bets. A lot of agressive players will use the lead + c/r line, so a lot depends on reads. I don't think a strong bet here is necessarily bad, but leading into the preflop raiser on the flop represents a big hand, so checking behind on the turn may not be such a bad play.

river: awful. Simply awful. Just call.

The river: If you are trying to push him off a hand that you know is good and could have you beat you need to push if you are going to raise, I persoanlly would call here but if you really want to push him off his hand you need to push here.