qq in a $5 SnG

[benny999]

i'm new to SnGs so advice anywhere in this hand is much appreciated. it seems like i keep waiting for good hands early on, playing aggressive but then losing a chunk of my stack. anyway, it's about the 5th hand of a $5 27-player on stars, so no real reads except villian hadnt played a hand yet...my turn bet is to block a bluff and get a call from a 9/spade draw. is it better to bet the flop, or is it like having kk on an A high flop?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t30 (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 (t2700)
MP2 (t2770)
CO (t1710)
Hero (t1420)
SB (t1200)
BB (t1470)
UTG (t2080)
UTG+1 (t1330)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, Q.
3 folds, MP2 raises to t70, CO calls t70, Hero raises to t270 (too much?), 2 folds, MP2 calls t200, CO calls t200.

Flop: (t855) K, 9, 5 (3 players)
MP2 checks, CO checks, Hero checks.

Turn: (t855) 2 (3 players)
MP2 checks, CO checks, Hero bets t270, MP2 raises to t2500, CO folds, Hero folds.

Final Pot: t3625

[DWayneBos]

(I probably should not give advice, but since I just finished my first reading of HOH1 yesterday, I'll give it a try! )

Up against two players, the king on the flop makes it a marginal one for you. I think I would have bet out on the flop for maybe about 2/3'rds the pot to do two things.. probe for another king and also to discourage any other draws.

Of course, I could be totally off base and need to re-read HOH.

[andy-akb]

Id reraise to around 200ish, not much different than what you did. If you are raising preflop you have to cbet a flop like that when checked to you in position. Id probably bet 500 here and expect to take it down enough time to be profitable, fold to a push and slow down to a call unless you improve. I dont really like the turn bet, its less than 1/3 the pot and at this point after not betting the flop Id probably want to just get to the showdown cheaply. I think the biggest mistake was cbetting that flop and making such a weak turn bet.

[jyms]

270 pf may have been too much, but checking the flop means , yea too much. The turn bet was too little to see what he had. Could be low PP and hit the set or Kx. I can't read guys that come over the top of a 1/3 pot size bet. Bet the pot or get out cheap by checking like they did. I have to guess he had a set, considering he checked and then the big reraise, and was probably slowplaying in hopes you would catch 2 pair.

[TLR]

Bet the flop. With an A hitting the flop I would be inclined to check/fold but with a K I would take a stab at it.

As playedI think it is a good fold

[JeffreyGB]

Echoing the above:
1. Preflop is fine
2. Bet the flop
3. If you're betting, bet more (betting as little as you did invites a play like he made from a decent player with almost any 2 cards)

[benny999]

oops

[benny999]

hey thanks for the comments. i agree i shoulda reraised a little bit less pre flop, and checking flop + betting turn weakly is much worse than either betting flop or checking down and calling a small bet(s). so with a k high flop, it makes more sense to bet?

there are a couple thought provoking threads on the idea that betting qq or kk on an ace high flop is -EV when there are no draws out, since only better hands call and by checking you can induce small bluffs, or else fold to a big bet from a likely ace. it's hard deciding if it's worth it to take that line or "make the decisions easier" by betting flop and check/folding if called. Here's those threads in case you haven't seen them...

qq vs ace flop: http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...142&highlight=
kk vs ace flop:
http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...oker-33216.htm

[TLR]

There is a big difference between a K high flop and an A high flop. It is much more likely someone is playing Ax then Kx to a raised pot.

On a A high flop I am inclined to check/fold this