Hey guys, i'm back with a few hands i played today in my last session. Any feedback? Trying hard to improve as fast as I can.

HAND 1

PokerStars - 15/30 NL - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 41.33 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 6)
BB: 47.67 BB (VPIP: 16.67, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 6)
Hero (UTG): 49 BB
MP: 114.67 BB (VPIP: 83.33, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 6)
CO: 42.33 BB (VPIP: 16.67, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 6)
BTN: 155 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 6)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A Q

Hero raises to 3 BB, MP calls 3 BB, fold, fold, fold, BB calls 2 BB

Flop: (9.5 BB, 3 players) 4 3 Q
BB checks, Hero checks, MP checks

Turn: (9.5 BB, 3 players) 8
BB bets 5 BB, Hero calls 5 BB, fold

River: (19.5 BB, 2 players) A
BB bets 10 BB, Hero calls 10 BB

BB shows 9 4 (Flush, Ace High)
(Pre 37%, Flop 23%, Turn 32%)
Hero mucks A Q (Two Pair, Aces and Queens)
(Pre 63%, Flop 77%, Turn 68%)
BB wins 39.5 BB

Should i have pushed him away from the hand on the turn? Should i fold on the river?

HAND 2

PokerStars - 50/100 NL - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 23.4 BB (VPIP: 25.00, PFR: 14.81, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 28)
BTN: 15.65 BB (VPIP: 22.22, PFR: 18.52, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 28)
SB: 35.98 BB (VPIP: 35.71, PFR: 25.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 28)
BB: 7.85 BB (VPIP: 17.86, PFR: 3.57, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 28)
Hero (UTG): 52.12 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T T

Hero raises to 2 BB, fold, fold, SB raises to 3 BB, fold, Hero calls 1 BB

Flop: (7 BB, 2 players) T 3 2
SB bets 3 BB, Hero calls 3 BB

Turn: (13 BB, 2 players) 6
SB bets 5 BB, Hero calls 5 BB

River: (23 BB, 2 players) J
SB bets 11.5 BB, Hero calls 11.5 BB

SB shows Q 7 (Flush, Queen High)
(Pre 32%, Flop 66%, Turn 77%)
Hero mucks T T (Three of a Kind, Tens)
(Pre 69%, Flop 34%, Turn 23%)
SB wins 46 BB

Kind of similar to first hand, I kinda thought it was very low of a chance of him having hit the flush on the flop. Still, I was a bit scared and only called his bets, instead of raising. Should i have folded even with a set?

HAND 3

PokerStars - 200/400 Ante 25 NL - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 5.97 BB (VPIP: 13.92, PFR: 6.90, 3Bet Preflop: 5.00, Hands: 162)
Hero (CO): 8.22 BB
BTN: 4.79 BB (VPIP: 26.90, PFR: 16.30, 3Bet Preflop: 4.88, Hands: 150)
SB: 14.77 BB (VPIP: 38.74, PFR: 19.80, 3Bet Preflop: 3.70, Hands: 116)

4 players post ante of 0.06 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.75 BB) Hero has A A

Hero raises to 2 BB, fold, SB calls 1.5 BB, fold

Flop: (5.25 BB, 2 players) J T 8
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (5.25 BB, 2 players) 4
SB bets 1 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

River: (7.25 BB, 2 players) 7
SB bets 1 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

SB shows 8 J (Two Pair, Jacks and Eights)
(Pre 20%, Flop 72%, Turn 82%)
Hero mucks A A (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 80%, Flop 28%, Turn 18%)
SB wins 9.25 BB

Any way I could get away from this hand? I didnt push preflop because it was right on the bubble and people would have most likely folded, so i only raised 2x. Bad decision? And on later streets?

HAND 4

PokerStars - 100/200 Ante 25 NL - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 18.6 BB (VPIP: 31.37, PFR: 12.24, 3Bet Preflop: 4.55, Hands: 51)
Hero (BB): 15.33 BB
CO: 9.86 BB (VPIP: 12.60, PFR: 5.88, 3Bet Preflop: 2.86, Hands: 128)
BTN: 23.72 BB (VPIP: 24.11, PFR: 22.86, 3Bet Preflop: 6.45, Hands: 115)

4 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2 BB) Hero has 4 Q

fold, fold, SB calls 0.5 BB, Hero checks

Flop: (2.5 BB, 2 players) 4 J T
SB checks, Hero bets 1.25 BB, SB calls 1.25 BB

Turn: (5 BB, 2 players) 2
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (5 BB, 2 players) 3
SB bets 2.5 BB, Hero calls 2.5 BB

SB shows T J (Two Pair, Jacks and Tens)
(Pre 49%, Flop 76%, Turn 89%)
Hero mucks 4 Q (One Pair, Fours)
(Pre 51%, Flop 24%, Turn 11%)
SB wins 10 BB

This one was kinda interesting. V was bluffing a lot, so after the check ott and the bet otr, i decided to call even with such a bad hand. Should have done things differently, even with aggro/bluffing Villain?

HAND 5

PokerStars - 100/200 Ante 25 NL - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 9.18 BB (VPIP: 12.03, PFR: 5.69, 3Bet Preflop: 2.78, Hands: 136)
Hero (CO): 13.73 BB
BTN: 11.3 BB (VPIP: 28.57, PFR: 16.10, 3Bet Preflop: 2.56, Hands: 129)
SB: 17.48 BB (VPIP: 28.26, PFR: 9.09, 3Bet Preflop: 6.25, Hands: 48)
BB: 15.83 BB (VPIP: 38.71, PFR: 20.24, 3Bet Preflop: 4.17, Hands: 95)

5 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.13 BB) Hero has J J

fold, Hero calls 1 BB, fold, fold, BB checks

Flop: (3.13 BB, 2 players) K 5 7
BB checks, Hero bets 1.57 BB, BB calls 1.57 BB

Turn: (6.26 BB, 2 players) 5
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (6.26 BB, 2 players) K
BB bets 6.26 BB, fold

BB wins 6.26 BB

Did i pussy out of this hand?


Thanks guys, if anyone can tell me a good study 'path' for MTTs it's also greatly appreciated!

1 This is a cooler. You could c-bet.
2 Another cooler. Some people would raise though as a single club is a likely value target.
3 You shouldn't fold for these bet sizes so no, you can't get away from it.
4 This is a typical question here. It can be rephrased as "Given my read that this is ok, is it ok?"
5 What's the buy-in level? They are often good here. I must admit I'm usually curious enough to call but you still rep a K so you don't absolutely have to call JJ.

1) bet the flop (small)
2) raise the flop (big)

rest not read :P

homework: find my reasoning for the suggested plays

Hi there,

to get better responses in this forum here are some general tips:
- Hide the results of the hand – you will get better answers!
- Focus on a specific aspect/street of a hand (for example Hand 3 „How to play bottom pair/weak hand vs Loose-Aggressive player?“)
- Think in ranges of hands not a specific hand your opponent might have
- After reviewing a session (and picking out hands to post here) don‘t solely focus on the hands you lost, but also on spots which you won. Winning a hand doesn‘t necessarily mean you played it right.
- Include the buy-in of the tournaments as ranges change dramatically across limits ( I am assuming that this is around or below 10$ - so small stakes)

Hand 1:
Bet Flop – You have TPTK and we are going broke here. Don‘t slowplay here. We are trying to get our chips in as soon as possible.
As played: Raise turn. If you slowplay the flop here by checking you have to act now. You haven‘t gotten any information on the opponents nor chips in the middle with a big hand, which is problematic.

Hand 2:
PF: I would not min-raise here but rather make it 2,5 BB at least. TT is not the hand I want to encourage too many calls here. After getting min-raised the call is perfectly fine.
Flop: You hit a set on board which is pretty dry besides the possible flush. Again we are trying to get all our chips in and make it expensive if some Ax wants to chase his draw → Raise/Push Flop.
As played: Raise turn.
To answer your question: No you should not have folded but the way you played the hand you missed out an load of value against his range (think about all the pairs in his range and how you crush every single one of them…).

Hand 3:
PF: Honestly just push AI here. With 11-13 BB I like a small raise but with 8 BB I just shove.
Flop: Ehm … you have a working Bet/Raise button on the flop, no? You got the call from the BB with a wide-range (which you made possible by min-raising and giving him superduper odds with trashy hands!) and the flop comes quite awesome for such a range (Hands like A8, KT, K9, 9T and yes also J8s all got a piece). The pot is 5.25 BB and you have 6.25 BB left → Again we are trying to get all our chips in, get value from worse hands and make draws pay. There is no way you can ever fold here with these stack sizes. As the flop is draw-heavy I just push All-In.
Betting half-pot is okay aswell if you think you might get calls you wouldn‘t otherwise → Push turn regardless.

Hand 4:
Flop: Check. No discussion. I actually check/fold this hand bascially no matter what the action is. You hand is trash. You saw a free flop. Get rid of it. He will pay you off once you have a good hand. Furthermore: If he is aggro you should let him bluff. If you actually think your bottom pair is good, then check behind flop and let him bluff the turn. I think calling once is okay then.
As played: fold river.

Hand 5:
PF: With the stack sizes and blind-levels I would never call here. Either raise or fold. With JJ: Raise, please! To answer your question: One can only pussy out of a hand if one pussied into the hand in the first place
I personally play a tight, pretty straight-forward style which helps you avoid many of the spots you encountered. I think it is okay to develop a unique style, but I think you should first work on the Basics and knowing what the „default“ play should be. If you have that down feel free to deviate and adjust, but you have to know what the expected/ev/normal move is to exploit opponents tendencies. Less tricky play – more straight forward poker! Good luck!