No action with my big hands

Bleahh, I think that I am having my first experience with negative variance, and I am not a fan. It's synergizing with my regular spew to really kill me. The main problem I seem to have had over the last 3k-ish hands is that I am just not getting any action on my big hands. I am taking down a lot of small pots preflop, because I am being more aggressive.

Here are a couple of hands from my past two sessions, one to embarrass me and one that I actually want advice on.

First, the really bad one:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop

MP1 ($2.08)
MP2 ($1.84)
CO ($2.03)
Button ($1)
Hero (SB) ($2.06)
BB ($2.44)
UTG ($1.38)
UTG+1 ($2.53)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K:spade:, A:spade:
5 folds, Button calls $0.02, Hero bets $0.10, 1 fold, Button calls $0.08

Well, the villain is 33/11 over 9 hands, so not much of a read. He limped on the BU with no previous callers, so I conservatively discount AQ+, JJ+ from his Limp/Call range. That leaves something like [22-TT, A2s-AJs, A6-AJ, 86s+, 54s+, 76+, K9+]

Flop: ($0.22) 10:diamond:, 9:diamond:, Q:club: (2 players)
Hero bets $0.14, Button calls $0.14

In retrospect, I don't know why I c-bet this flop. I've got nothing but a gut-shot, and it hits a big chunk of his range. He calling here with [TT, 99, A9-AJ, Ad2d-Ad8d,86, 76, 87, T8, 5d4d-KdQd, KQ, QJ, QT, T9, J9, KJ, KT, JT] (May have missed some stuff; I'm tired.)

So I have 41% equity versus that range.

Turn: ($0.50) K:heart: (2 players)
Hero bets $0.36, Button raises to $0.72, Hero calls $0.36

I bet the King, which is stupid, because any Jack gives him the straight, and he's already got a lot of two pair hands, and he's got some good draws. Then he raises, confirming that my Top Pair is no good, but I call anyway. I think his range after the raise is [TT, 99, KQ, QJ, JT, T9] which all beat me.

River: ($1.94) 4:spade: (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $0.04 (All-In), Hero calls $0.04

Total pot: $2.02 | Rake: $0.13

This was just terrible.

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Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop

Hero (UTG+1) ($1.97)
MP1 ($2.11)
MP2 ($2.07)
CO ($3.06)
Button ($2)
SB ($2.20)
BB ($2)
UTG ($2.44)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with K:spade:, A:heart:
1 fold, Hero bets $0.08, 2 folds, CO calls $0.08, Button calls $0.08, 2 folds

BU is 11/7 for 142, CO is 86/29 for 7.

BU range[22-JJ, AJ-AK, KQ]
CO range[22-QQ, Axs, J8+, Q8+, K8+, A6+, 54s+, 64s+, 65+, 86+]

Flop: ($0.27) A:diamond:, 7:club:, 7:diamond: (3 players)
Hero bets $0.27, CO calls $0.27, 1 fold

I bet for value here, he only has 31 combinations that beat me out of
the hundreds in his range. I think he calls with [77-QQ, Ax, Jd8d+, Qd8d+. Kd8d+, 5d4d+, 6d4d+, 67, 78, 75]

Turn: ($0.81) K:heart: (2 players)
Hero bets $0.81, CO raises to $1.62, Hero calls $0.81 (All-In)

I bet again for value. I think that he is raising [77, TT-QQ, AT-AK, A7, 78, 67, 75] So, 23 combos beat me, and 41 don't. (That must be incorrect, because PokerStove gives me 59% equity.)

Anyway, oblivious to all of this analysis, which took me about 20 minutes, I call. I think that it still wound up being +EV, (correct me if it's not) but had I been more aware of how many connectors and one gaps hit the sevens, I may have played it differently.

River: ($4.05) 6:club: (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $4.05 | Rake: $0.27


In constructing this post, I've discovered that I have been spewing way more than I thought over the past few sessions. I figure that about 60% of my losses at showdowns were due to bad decisions. But also, I have definitely had some trouble landing big hands.

A friendly tip -- any time a hand goes to showdown (even if you aren't involved), make notes if you notice anything that can help you in the future against this opponent. Stats alone will not help you in the long run, especially if you are just relying on VPIP/PFR.

Here are some examples of common notes I take during a session (made up):
- Plays TPNK like the nuts
- Flopped NFD, checked all streets when missed (or: played 98s flush draw for stacks on flop)
- CO: raised 3xbb with KTo, bet pot all 3 streets with air
- UTG: limped/called with AQs, flopped top pair OOP, checked flop, checked turn, minbet river

You get the point. Then, when you play against this villain in a hand, you have a much better idea of how he's playing and how to adjust his range after each action.

Finally -- when you post hands here, include those reads. You'll get significantly better replies.