Got a chance to play a nice hour and a half or two hour session tonight, 5-tabling with 3 25NL Bodog tables and 2 10NL Full Tilt tables. I ended up down a buyin on Bodog and down a buyin on Full Tilt. On Full Tilt I just never got hands and lost a buyin with AA vs KQ on a K high flop when he turned another K, so whatever. But on Bodog I got into some tough spots. I don't think I played terribly for the most part, but I'm frustrated with myself because I think I'm playing scared poker and not getting correct value when I'm ahead and paying people off too much when I'm behind. In a lot of the hands I've posted on this blog recently if I've erred it's by playing too weak and too cautiously, scared that somebody's going to hit a card on me or make a move on me. Like the hand in the post below where I check the turn with AK. WHY? If he check/raises me give up the hand, he's telling me he has me beat and I have no reason not to believe him. What am I scared of? I need to conquer this and I think it will bring more steady play.
I also need to work REALLY hard on making good decisions and not constantly thinking about whether I'm up or down for the session.
Hands from tonight:
1) http://www.pokerhand.org/?1238261 Opponent has been very passive, no reason to think she doesn't have a big hand here. Is this an easy fold to a represented set? Am I getting any value out of pushing here? Looking back I can't think that she plays JJ-KK like this at all, and AT seems really odd too. SEems like an easy fold but it's easy to say now of course!
2) http://www.pokerhand.org/?1238267 One of those hands where the board goes ugly on you, is betting the turn and folding to a raise okay here? Is my turn bet too weak?
Thanks again for all the comments, I will try to post on all of your blogs as well tomorrow (at work, lol). :)
Pete
8 comments:
Hand 1: The old min raise. I see this play at these stakes way to often from monster hands. Tough to get away from two bullets looking at you. Sometimes in tbhis game we play you have to throw all the numbers out the window and go with your gut. If it screams set then listen and muck it. Nothing to be ashamed of man. You either have to fold or shove and you went with shove.
Hand 2: Raise more preflop, charge them for having position. Bet pot on flop to draw heavy of a board. I dont like your weak turn bet as it screams I dont have it and opens you up to be bluffed. I rather check and see what he bets or if he bets. Then make my choice.
Hand 1: I agree that the min-raise is almost always a monster at these levels. What's more, it's after so many ppl calling the raise PF. You have to tread carefully with so many callers. AA doesn't play well against a lot of players and this is an example of that. If the preflop raise just isolated one player then maybe you're good here, but after so many have called you have to figure someone might have caught their set. Hands that you are ahead like KK, QQ, JJ would have raised PF and are unlikely. AK, AQ, KQ, etc. all missed the flop. This doesn't eliminate all the possible hands but quite a few of them, coupled w/ the min-raise I think you can get away from this one. The last time I folded AA post flop was to a T8x board w/ 2 spades. I'm not trying to win huge pots w/ AA. I'm happy with the little ones that are uncontested or the 3bet, 4bet, and 5bet PF that don't even see a flop.
Hand 2: I think checking the turn is right here. Any A beats you and it's hard for someone w/o the A to bet here when you check. I've been trying to play situations like this better myself. Basically, you want to put all the hard decisions on villain and sometimes checking does just this. From villain's point of view, I don't think he can fire the turn, then the river w/o at least the A.
Hand 1. I agree with Noel. It's either shove or fold on the flop. It really looks like a set. I don't see a str8/flush draw playing like this 5 ways. Plus, JJ-AA is going to reraise preflop alot of times.
What is your image like? If you have been lagging it up, I shove instantly. If you been playing rocky, it's a clear fold.
Hand 2. I agree with Noel, raise more preflop for having position. I would make it $2.50-$3.50.
On the turn, I like the way you played it. I don't think he would mini raise without a set, 2 pairs, or str8.
By checking turn, that allows him to bluff you off your hand. It's best to be aggressive and make him make the tough decisions.
Hand 1: These are the trickiest spots in poker often. It depends on the opponent here obviously but with 5 players to the flop I start getting worried! The worst thing about folding is that you don't get to know if you were correct or not. The only way to judge this is to look at long-term results. I've started throwing more hands away, and it feels really weak at times, but my results are improving so I'll continue to do so.
Here it's tough. I agree with Noel that often your gut tells you what to do. Sometimes you have a bad feeling and there's nothing wrong with folding and waiting for a better spot. I can't really explain why I sometimes commit with AA here and sometimes fold but I think it's based on a general feel I have for my opponent.
Hand 2: Yep, make your 3-bet larger to cut down on odds for them to setmine. I try to make my raise big enough so it's more than 10% of my stack. Horrible turn. I think checking is best. I'm probably giving up if he makes a strong bet.
In the AA hand I still have to c-bet that flop though right? No argument for checking behind? :)
Hand 1: I always assume "min raise = monster hand" until my opponent shows me otherwise. AA is never an easy fold. I will call the min raise to see if I can get lucky and felt him, but fold to any bet if I don't hit that 2 outer.
Hand 2: I was tought to make my 3 bets much larger from the blinds than I normally would. But that turn is a killer, betting will get opponent off any hand but an A or sixes and maybe a set, and checking lets them bluff you off if they don't have it. This is all because they have position on you, which should have cost them more money. I think its a tough fold on that turn, but the right play.
"In the AA hand I still have to c-bet that flop though right? No argument for checking behind? :)"
I say hell no. A free card is more likely to let someone behind you catch you than is it to help you catch someone ahead of you. In this case at least.
"Hand 1: I always assume "min raise = monster hand" until my opponent shows me otherwise. AA is never an easy fold. I will call the min raise to see if I can get lucky and felt him, but fold to any bet if I don't hit that 2 outer."
With stack sizes isn't that a bad call of almost 1/5th a stack to try and hit a 2 outer? Villain doesn't quite have a full stack either.
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