First post here in the forum, so Hi all. This hand is really bugging me because I feel like I did the right thing on all streets. Sorry if it's hard to follow, I haven't reviewed too many hands on paper. Usually go through them in my head. So here it is ..

I'm on the button I look down at QQ (about $160 behind). UTG +2 opens for 20 (has about $280) . Folds to me and I call (guess we can argue for a 3bet). Blinds fold . Heads up to the flop . Flop is 775 rainbow.. he bets $25 and I call ( clearly don't put him on 7 ever opening from early position) .. turn is a 2c . Puts two clubs on the board. He bets $35 and I call .. here's where I'm fighting myself should I have raised? But moving on .... I call and the river is 2x. So board reads 77522 ... And he thinks for a couple seconds and checks.. I think for about 10 seconds and shove with about $80 (he looked pretty worried about the board. so me being in the button with alot wider range I thought to rep a boat, or try). He tanks for about a minute and a half and eventually settles on a call . And turns over Pocket Aces...

I guess writing it there are a couple holes in my line. Please let me know what you guys think. I appreciate the feedback back . Thank you .

I don't think you played the hand that terribly, but more passively than I would have. I think the root of it is that you never played back at him so you didn't get any clarifying information about the strength of his hand.

A 3-Bet PF could have induced a shove, after which you could have possibly gotten away from the QQ a little cheaper.

Welcome to the forums. Some quick thoughts:

1. You don't mention what your image is or, or how you view the villain. For instance, how you play this hand might be different if you see villain as a hyper LAG vs being a nit...or if you're seen as a LAG vs a nit (though, with all due respect, after reading this hand history...well, you're not a LAG).

2. QQ on the button, obvious 3bet pre. Hate the smooth call. When he jams, you might be able to get away from this, outside of that it was pretty much destiny you were going to get felted here.

3. Why do you view betting $80 on the river as a semi-bluff? Seems like a standard value shove to me.

You have 80bb, GII pre if possible. AP, river is a clear value shove. This was not a semibluff.

My apologies . You're right

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Was there for only a couple hours, this guy was fairly new to the table.. probably played about 3 orbits before this hand. Any hand he played only went to showdown once and he mucked. But definitely not enough play to judge, maybe I'm just not so good at it .

2. I agree now that it's out there. Definitely won't make the mistake again. I've been playing NLH for about 4 months and don't know how to go about hands sometimes. But I'm hoping I learn a ton on here .

3. I called it a semi bluff because at the time of the hand I really didn't know where I was . I honestly thought I was behind then when he checked figured I might be able to steal it by shoving because of his actions . But I was wrong (about calling it a bluff) .


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Yeah I admit my poor preflop action . Definitely could have saved money, or had a clearer image of what he may have had.

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If he has been there for only 3 orbits, then it's reasonable to infer you should have no read on him, and vice versa.

Readless, if I pick up QQ on the button, I'm always going to 3bet. You have the third best starting hand in poker, and it's very likely your hand is stronger than the original raiser. So that's a situation where you want to put more money in the pot, and put pressure on the original raiser (and blinds) to put more money in the pot as well if they want to see additional cards.

If you had 3bet and faced a jam, it would have been incorrect to fold given how short stacked you were, so you would/should have lost the money anyways.

Since you're new to poker, you shouldn't feel bad when you lose these hands. Frequently in poker you can play a hard correctly and still lose all of your chips. This can happen when you get the chips in as a favorite and a bad card comes, or in a situation like this where your hand is very strong and you happen to run into one of the few hands that is stronger. Either way, even for the best players in the world, part of poker is losing.

It's also helpful to try to range your opponents in poker. In this case, it was unlikely your opponent had a 7. His range was likely something like 88, 99, 1010, JJ, KK, and AA. On the river, I think you're ahead of most of his range, and with your passive play (i.e. smooth calling pre flop, on the flop, and on the turn), your hand is strong and underrepped. It's hard to put you on QQ. If you shove, villain could call with just about any overpair, and you'll usually be ahead.

No one can be a mind reader or know exactly what their opponents have all the time. By paying attention to betting patterns, tendencies, etc we can put together pieces of the puzzle. In this case, you simply ran into a cooler. In the future, you're best off 3betting pre in these situations, otherwise you're going to let mediocre hands continue and outflop you, and you're going to go broke because you don't know where you're at in the hand.

Makes sense 100%, I think over all I'm super happy with the way I played. I lost money but I feel like I played great so I'm not upset at all. It feels good. Personally though, in late positions, what's the low end of my range that I should be 3 betting? JJ/1010? Should I also be fairly aggressive with suited connectors from AK to 98 ? I'm just trying to become a winning player and know I have alot to learn . Again, thank you for the advice.

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Vs. the casual EP 10x RFI, V is probably playing 4bet fold facing a 3bet, just go JJ/QQ+, AKs, and maybe a A5s or 87s. If he's raising multiple sizes from EP or has a limping range, he's going to be very nutted at this sizing. I'd probably just recommend QQ+/AK vs someone who fits that profile.

You were destined to gii with those two hands. As someone already mentioned, that's just a cooler. Normally you would gii pre-flop in this situation.

Seeing as no one else called the $20, I don't necessarily mind just flatting the PFR. It is unlikely that the blinds will come along. They shouldn't play most of their hands at this point and any hand that does is probably in the same percentage of starting hands as QQ and they would probably 3! with most of them. By just flatting, you are underrepping your hand a little bit. By playing your hand so passively, by the time you got to the river you had the best chance of winning the pot. Against any opponent, it would be hard to not get stacked QQ vs AA.

From UTG, +1, or +2, most players are not making it $20 without an uber premium hand. I have even seen some openings for 30-50 at a 1/2. Those people are typically scared of playing poker OOP and playing post-flop in general.

Yes, so that one of my biggest problems actually, and I'm not scared to admit. I'm very standoffish about playing OOP and 3/4 betting without premiums and I feel like I play too face up if that makes sense. I want to move up to 2/5 but I feel like I need to absolutely fix those issues for the level of some 2/5 regs. I think I need to take a couple weeks off and just make a big change to my garbage new player "strategies" haha. Then go test it all out .

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In a nutshell I think the hand is played ok vs a certain type of villan, against your usual 1-2 loosebpassive we needed to 3!...
River is a clear value shove not a semi-bluff, you were right to ascertain no 7s or 2s in a usual utg range, especially when he checks the river....

Right onto the villan and your image.....
You have played three orbits, so not a huge amount of data, 20hands is usually enough to know of some one is competent or a donk....if he has played 1/2 the hands thus far he is probably a fish at best.... If he has played 0-1 he is a rock, 1-4 provably solid....it's not hard and fast but you can get a general idea....
Other info is also available....sex, age, cloths, can he riffle his chips, or playing out of a rack, does he know the other players or the dealers....how much did he buy in for, how does that compare to other stack sizes/max buyin....is he loud and brash or quiet and reserved....

All of this will build a picture, not a perfect accurate representation, but will give us a clue....one of the beauty's of live poker is we always have information....don't ignore it,

Fwiw: I'm a terrible 'tell' reader and hardly ever but any credence into live tells, but to build an idea of what sort of player I'm up against,I will be looking for as much info as possible....

I don't think you should even consider making the leap to 2/5 until you're really comfortable and consistently winning at 1/2.

At 1/2, your 3bet range should be just about JJ, QQ, KK, AA, and AK. You should flat JJ sometimes too. I don't think you need to have any suited connectors or suited aces in your 3bet range (unless you see a rare great spot). Don't worry about playing too face up. The error most 1/2 players make is calling too frequently. The best way to exploit that is to bluff less (never, ever try to bluff a fish) and value bet your stronger hands.

Once you have a solid base and feel more comfortable with bluffs and semi-bluffs, and get more acclimated to playing deeper, you can open up. In the meantime, I would recommend playing solid ABC poker.

I won't rehash the things everyone has already said as I agree and it seems you do too. I will add though, the biggest advantage in NLHE is position. On the button, you get the most info out of your opponents. By playing passively, it is very difficult to put your opponent on a range. That's why aggression is so critical. There was several spots where you could have taken the initiative and may have (MAY MAY MAY) been able to get away. Pretty unlikely but still possible. For example, raising (the turn when the second club hit). Had he re-raised all in, you may have possibly been able to fold. When we call, we don't get info. Villains so rarely 3bet bluff/semi bluff at live 1/2 that it's a damn near certainty that he's got a monster. Obviously, if he calls your 3bet and checks to you on the river, you shove anyway and we get the same result. As others said, this had was destined. As played, not terrible. Keep reading the forums, posting hands, and analyzing your game. Good luck!


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Is learning pot odds a good idea? I understand the more I know couldn't hurt but I don't seen to understand it too much . And can't find a write up on here. Any help? Thank you all for the help. I feel like I'm already learning alot .

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could fold preflop given stack depth and facing the raise vs early position, and definitely could raise the flop or turn. as for the river:

- typical range is TT+ and missed Ahi hands.
- more weighted towards non KK/AA given the check on the river. however, if he bet all three streets the quality of our hand doesn't change that much.
- if you shove, it will be assumed you are very strong given your line up to this point (a willingness to keep putting money in on an extremely dry board + most guys who take your line with AK don't jam the river when it's missed)
- if hero has KK it's a pretty easy bet or jam, therefore it can't be horrible to do it with QQ

checking back isn't terrible either. we have to assume our opponents aren't playing close to optimally most of the time -- and up until that point, he showed strength and may have decided to let us off the hook on the river. in general, targeting a weak portion of an opponents raise with a large bet tends to not be that profitable.