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Originally Posted by mkv
Sorry, everyone folded except me and the other guy who limped in at $15. Then BB 3 bet to $65.
I wanted to slow-play my 99s, cos I didn't feel they were too strong anyway.
You should (almost definitely) not be limping with 99's from the CO (the seat next to the BTN).
Even if you're going to slow play your 99's, PRE is not the time to be doing so.
In general, you should not be limping. If you're limping, then let it be for a specific reason to target a specific opponent. Don't assume that just because other people limp, you should limp.
In general, if you want to limp, you should probably fold. That's your intuition letting you know that you have a speculative or "usually gonna lose" type of hand. Unless you understand the math to show that it's not a losing proposition, then trust me that limping is (for almost all beginners) a losing tactic.
In this spot, you should say, "Dude, you are saying I should fold 99? No way! You're mad!"
I'd say, "Exactly. Nice to meet you. No, don't fold your 99. Don't limp. Do open the betting to 3 - 5 BB."
The whole hand plays differently when you put the decision on the BB PRE to either 3-bet or call your open. This is going to be a dramatically different set of ranges than what you've given him. As it stands, for all you know, he's betting PRE because no one has shown strength, so his ranges are super wide. Or he could have a strong hand, too... but his ranges are wide. If you had opened to, say $60, then he either folds, calls the $60, or raises. Now, you can (probably) cap his range when he calls, so QQ+ is less likely, and you can fold or call when he 3-bets, knowing pretty strongly where you are in the hand (prob behind a big PP, and prob scared of an A or K on the flop).
So the takeaway is to stop letting Villains play weak hands against your strong hands for a good price. When you have a strong hand, you put the decision on them; you set a worse price for them. Don't worry about them "reading" you. They don't know whether you have 99 or AA or QJs or A4s. Don't worry about the times when they bink that flush against you. Try to not pay them off, but rest assured that you're probably winning more than you're losing by forcing them to pay more when they play weaker hands.
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