Advice on a few hands

I need some help/advice on a few hands here. All of them I found myself not knowing what to do or second guessing my judgement.

Hand 1 - UTG is a tight-ish player from what I've seen. I've only been on the table for around 15 hands.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop

MP ($6.20)
Hero (CO) ($5.65)
Button ($1.45)
SB ($11)
BB ($5.25)
UTG ($5.30)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Khttp://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...miles/club.gif, Ahttp://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...es/diamond.gif
UTG raises to $0.35, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.35, 1 fold, SB calls $0.30, 1 fold

Flop: ($1.15) 10http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...miles/club.gif, 9http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...iles/spade.gif, Ahttp://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...miles/club.gif (3 players)
SB bets $0.50, UTG raises to $1, Hero folds, SB calls $0.50
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Hand 2 - Villain is an aggressive player. I min. betted flop due to a mis-click. Did Villain sense weakness from that and raise? And could I possibly have called on the turn?

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop

CO ($7.20)
Button ($16.40)
SB ($1.75)
Hero (BB) ($24.95)
UTG ($18.25)
MP ($10.10)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ahttp://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...miles/club.gif, Qhttp://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...iles/spade.gif
1 fold, MP calls $0.10, 3 folds, Hero raises to $0.30, MP calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.65) 7http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...iles/spade.gif, 5http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...iles/heart.gif, Ahttp://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...iles/heart.gif (2 players)
Hero bets $0.10, MP raises to $0.95, Hero calls $0.85

Turn: ($2.55) 5http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...es/diamond.gif (2 players)
Hero bets $1.10, MP raises to $5.85, Hero folds

Total pot: $4.75 | Rake: $0.45
Main pot: $4.75 returned to MP
__________________________________________________ ____

Hand 3 - Villain likes to play a lot of hands. Couldn't put him on a hand but I figured I was beat here.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

MP ($4)
CO ($7.10)
SB ($9.25)
BB ($7)
Hero (UTG) ($9)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Jhttp://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...es/diamond.gif, Jhttp://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...iles/spade.gif
Hero raises to $0.35, 1 fold, CO calls $0.35, SB calls $0.30, 1 fold

Flop: ($1.15) 8http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...iles/spade.gif, 10http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...es/diamond.gif, Khttp://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...iles/heart.gif (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.70, 1 fold, SB calls $0.70

Turn: ($2.55) Ahttp://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...iles/spade.gif (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1.10, SB calls $1.10

River: ($4.75) Khttp://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...miles/club.gif (2 players)
SB bets $3, Hero folds

Total pot: $4.75 | Rake: $0.45
Main pot: $4.75 returned to SB

#1 You want to 3bet AK usually. Especially at lower limits, where a lot of people have a hard time letting go AJs/AQ/KQs vs a 3bet, just pop it up to 10-12BB and build a pot when villian is likely dominated and isolate the raiser. Your hand makes top pairs a lot, which are get harder to play correctly the more people see a flop. As played the flop action sucks. We have two bd draws to the nuts and the toppest pair with toppest kicker, UTGs minraise is likely a pair weaker than ours. SB must have caught some piece on this board to donk into 2 on a board that fits UTGs range well. I dont mind folding here, since you´re sandwiched in between, but you´re giving up a decent share of your equity.

I missed that you´re short. One more reason to 3b/call preflop. Awkward SPR on flop, shove >=fold imo.

#2 Meh. Depends on the villian, I can see b/3b´ing turn given how the hand was played.

#3 Easy fold on river. What is your reasoning for betting turn?

why are you min c-betting in hand 2? what are you trying to accomplish?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AFchung

why are you min c-betting in hand 2? what are you trying to accomplish?

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one thing that annoyed me when I used to post HH's is when I posted reads/history and then people typed responses that proved to me they didn't read the extremely relative information.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by XTR1000

#1 You want to 3bet AK usually. Especially at lower limits, where a lot of people have a hard time letting go AJs/AQ/KQs vs a 3bet, just pop it up to 10-12BB and build a pot when villian is likely dominated and isolate the raiser. Your hand makes top pairs a lot, which are get harder to play correctly the more people see a flop. As played the flop action sucks. We have two bd draws to the nuts and the toppest pair with toppest kicker, UTGs minraise is likely a pair weaker than ours. SB must have caught some piece on this board to donk into 2 on a board that fits UTGs range well. I dont mind folding here, since you´re sandwiched in between, but you´re giving up a decent share of your equity.

I missed that you´re short. One more reason to 3b/call preflop. Awkward SPR on flop, shove >=fold imo.

#2 Meh. Depends on the villian, I can see b/3b´ing turn given how the hand was played.

#3 Easy fold on river. What is your reasoning for betting turn?

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I thought Villain might fold to a bet on the turn.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chrisa

Quote:

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Originally Posted by XTR1000

#1 You want to 3bet AK usually. Especially at lower limits, where a lot of people have a hard time letting go AJs/AQ/KQs vs a 3bet, just pop it up to 10-12BB and build a pot when villian is likely dominated and isolate the raiser. Your hand makes top pairs a lot, which are get harder to play correctly the more people see a flop. As played the flop action sucks. We have two bd draws to the nuts and the toppest pair with toppest kicker, UTGs minraise is likely a pair weaker than ours. SB must have caught some piece on this board to donk into 2 on a board that fits UTGs range well. I dont mind folding here, since you´re sandwiched in between, but you´re giving up a decent share of your equity.

I missed that you´re short. One more reason to 3b/call preflop. Awkward SPR on flop, shove >=fold imo.

#2 Meh. Depends on the villian, I can see b/3b´ing turn given how the hand was played.

#3 Easy fold on river. What is your reasoning for betting turn?

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I thought Villain might fold to a bet on the turn.

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And what kind of hand thats ahead of us do you think would fold?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by XTR1000

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chrisa

Quote:

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Originally Posted by XTR1000

#1 You want to 3bet AK usually. Especially at lower limits, where a lot of people have a hard time letting go AJs/AQ/KQs vs a 3bet, just pop it up to 10-12BB and build a pot when villian is likely dominated and isolate the raiser. Your hand makes top pairs a lot, which are get harder to play correctly the more people see a flop. As played the flop action sucks. We have two bd draws to the nuts and the toppest pair with toppest kicker, UTGs minraise is likely a pair weaker than ours. SB must have caught some piece on this board to donk into 2 on a board that fits UTGs range well. I dont mind folding here, since you´re sandwiched in between, but you´re giving up a decent share of your equity.

I missed that you´re short. One more reason to 3b/call preflop. Awkward SPR on flop, shove >=fold imo.

#2 Meh. Depends on the villian, I can see b/3b´ing turn given how the hand was played.

#3 Easy fold on river. What is your reasoning for betting turn?

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I thought Villain might fold to a bet on the turn.

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And what kind of hand thats ahead of us do you think would fold?

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Hmm none. Should I have checked the turn then or put in a smaller bet? I'm thinking check now.

The only time we want villains to fold when we bet is when we don't have showdown value, or when we're pretty sure they are folding a better hand. This means that when we semi-bluff with a draw, a fold is a great result.

When we have a pair like JJ on an board with 1 or 2 overcards, it's highly unlikely that we're making a better hand fold. Therefore, if we bet and get a fold, we didn't really accomplish anything except to "protect our hand." Protecting your hand is vastly overrated IMO, especially when we have position and have the option of checking behind and keeping the pot small when we're not sure that we have the best hand.

That said, betting this turn isn't horrible if you have a read that villain knows where the fold button is. Someone who called from the small blind with KXs and then called you on the flop isn't going to like their hand much on the turn. If you want them to fold, though, you're going to have to bet like you mean it. Betting less than half pot just doesn't cut it. You might even have to 3-barrel the river to get a K to fold, so it's up to you if you feel like you want to risk that many chips. Of course you have to fold when a K comes on the river and villain leads big. I'm putting them on QJ or some K like 95% of the time at this point.


The whole point of my post, though, is to point out that you have to have a clear reason for betting. We're never betting simply because we think Villain might fold. We have 3 major reasons for betting:

1) We expect the range of hands that continue against us to be worse than our holdings. This is value-betting. When the board comes KT6 and we're holding AK, there is a ton of value in betting. The only better hands that are continuing (generally) are KT, AA, KK, TT, and 66. There are tons of worse hands continuing (AT, KQ, KJ, QQ, JJ, QJ, QT, JT, 98, 97, 87, any flush draws, etc.).

2) We probably have the best hand right now, but it's vulnerable. Villain likely has 6 or more outs to a better hand than us, and we're happy to take the pot down now. An example of this is when we raise with AQ and get called by a loose player. The board comes KK6. Since Villain is unlikely to have a K (but could, of course), our AQ is likely to be the best hand, but Villain has at least 3 outs and possibly 6 to beat our hand, and we'd love to take down a raised pot right now.

3) Our villain is likely to fold a better hand. These are most profitable when they are semi-bluffs. Let's say that we are holding 98s and the board comes J76. We have an open-ended straight draw, meaning that we have at least 8 outs to the best hand. We think villain likely is holding broadway cards (some Js, but more As, Ks, and Qs), so we bet here with our draw. Villain folds a lot of hands that are actually beating us right now (any overcard is beating us). For the times when Villain does call with a paired J, we have 8 outs to improve our hand and get more money later on (implied odds).

An example that is not a semi-bluff is when we open in early position with a low pocket pair (say 33) and a tight player flat calls us: this is often a low pair. The board comes something like AKT: we are highly likely to have the worst hand. But we raised preflop, so to the player who called us with 66, it looks like there is no way they have the best hand at this point. With a hand like 33 on this board, our opponent is folding a huge percentage of their calling range, most of which are beating us right now, so there is a lot of value in bluffing here.


Of course, there are other reasons for betting, but these are the 3 main ones we should be focusing on. At low stakes, we are mainly betting for value. When better hands call us and worse hands fold, there is no value.

Sometimes we do bet because we want our opponent to fold, but we don't approach this from the mindset of, "I'm going to bet and hope you fold." Instead, we consider that we have a vulnerable hand and Villain is highly likely to fold; or that villain has a range of hands that is mostly beating us, part of which will fold to a bet, and the other part of which we have a chance of beating and extracting more money from down the line.

hand 1 - I don't mind flatting AK preflop, given your read that UTG is tight. It's a good way to keep worse aces in. As played, you practically have the nuts. I would at least call the minraise and see how turn plays out. I might even shove this flop given how draw heavy it is, and people will call with worse.

Hand 2 - If you're going to donk lead into an aggressive player, then you need a plan on how to react to a raise. When you donk lead, aggro players will get annoyed and insta raise you a lottt. If I'm leading this turn, then I'm definitely not folding to a raise. Just c/c this turn, he's not really repping much once this 5 comes.

Hand 3 - Check turn, no point turning your hand into a bluff. Fold riv as played.

Yea please don't let anyone tell you PF is bad in hand 1.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DoanDiggy

1) We expect the range of hands that continue against us to be worse than our holdings. This is value-betting. When the board comes KT6 and we're holding AK, there is a ton of value in betting. The only better hands that are continuing (generally) are KT, AA, KK, TT, and 66. There are tons of worse hands continuing (AT, KQ, KJ, QQ, JJ, QJ, QT, JT, 98, 97, 87, any flush draws, etc.).

2) We probably have the best hand right now, but it's vulnerable. Villain likely has 6 or more outs to a better hand than us, and we're happy to take the pot down now. An example of this is when we raise with AQ and get called by a loose player. The board comes KK6. Since Villain is unlikely to have a K (but could, of course), our AQ is likely to be the best hand, but Villain has at least 3 outs and possibly 6 to beat our hand, and we'd love to take down a raised pot right now.

3) Our villain is likely to fold a better hand. These are most profitable when they are semi-bluffs. Let's say that we are holding 98s and the board comes J76. We have an open-ended straight draw, meaning that we have at least 8 outs to the best hand. We think villain likely is holding broadway cards (some Js, but more As, Ks, and Qs), so we bet here with our draw. Villain folds a lot of hands that are actually beating us right now (any overcard is beating us). For the times when Villain does call with a paired J, we have 8 outs to improve our hand and get more money later on (implied odds).

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Cheers. Will definitely be asking myself those questions before I bet in the future. :)

Thanks everyone for their input too. Quite a lot to process. Guess I'm a bit of a nit too at times. :P

Hand 1: I re-raise at this point since you have position on villain... this gives me a better idea as to what he has if he calls or re raises you narrow his ranges a bit more and you can always outplay him on the flop... especially if you are sharing cards you're more likely to take the pot since you're the aggressor... and if he has AA or KK you're not gonna win much if an ace flops if he has KK and might be in a tough spot if he raises you when you hit TPTK... as played... gf..

Hand 2: Horriible time for a misclick... i 3-bet the flop here... fold to aggression...

Hand 3: check fold after the flop... insta-muck... like... check the fold to any bet button...