No Money Microstakes, Everybody's Solid

[The Norg]

It might not be a good idea to min-3bet your K's.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed) - PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (UTG+1) ($7.60)
MP1 ($10.86)
MP2 ($11.57)
CO ($8.30)
Button ($9.55)
SB ($5.66)
BB ($3.60)
UTG ($11.43)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with Q, Q
1 fold, Hero bets $0.40, 5 folds, BB raises to $0.70, Hero calls $0.30
Flop: ($1.45) J, 4, Q (2 players)
BB bets $1.40, Hero raises to $3.10, BB calls $1.50 (All-In)
Turn: ($7.25) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)
River: ($7.25) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)
Total pot: $7.25 | Rake: $0.35

Results:
BB had K, K (one pair, Kings).
Hero had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $6.90

How was this ever ending up differently? Would you have folded to his c-bet if the flop had been J high?

[PlayToWin]

How was this ever ending up differently? Would you have folded to his c-bet if the flop had been J high?

My point was about preflop play. Why 3bet at all if he's going to min-3bet? No, I'm probably not going to fold the QQ, even to a shove, given his short-stack but I'm certainly not folding any pair to his min-3bet. He's just making it real cheap for me to see a flop and hit a good card or perhaps fold if a K or A hit the flop.

If he had posted the hand, all of FTR would tell him to 3bet bigger.

[daviddem]

My point was about preflop play. Why 3bet at all if he's going to min-3bet? No, I'm probably not going to fold the QQ, even to a shove, given his short-stack but I'm certainly not folding any pair to his min-3bet. He's just making it real cheap for me to see a flop and hit a good card or perhaps fold if a K or A hit the flop.

If he had posted the hand, all of FTR would tell him to 3bet bigger.

Well, precisely because his stack is so short, you don't have the correct odds to set mine here. I am not saying at all that his min 3b is a good play, but calling with any pair if you put him on, say, QQ+ for 3betting, does not make you money in the long run because of the lack of implied odds resulting from his short stack. If he had about $5 behind, it would be OK to set mine in position.

[PlayToWin]

Well, precisely because his stack is so short, you don't have the correct odds to set mine here.

Yea, I know. I figured someone would point that out. I usually go by the 20x rule. I guess the real reason, in this case, is that it was "just .30" and because when I see someone min3bet, I assume they're a bad player. So why not play along and take advatage of that. I didn't 4bet since that may narrow his range to hands that beat mine. If the flop had been J-high, he may have doubled up. He had the better hand, but I got lucky. On the other hand, if I had 22-JJ preflop, I probably would have folded to a standard 3-bet size of 3-4x. Unless, of course, we both had big stacks.

We also need to be aware that a shortstack is going to be more likely to shove once he makes a bet or when we make a bet or a raise, so we don't want to be surprised when that happens.