15/30 Oaks

Great game. People open-limping hands like 83s UTG.

9-handed, I'm dealt QJ UTG. My image is aggressive; unsure if people view me as tight. Most probably aren't paying attention. Reads aren't very reliable, as I am new to the 15/30 crowd.

I:
A. Raise
B. Limp
C. Fold

maybe i'm a LAGtard, but i open raise this hand from utg under most game conditions. if it's as great a game as you describe, you should be happy to raise and watch as the entire table calls. hands like QJs are sweet, fun hands to play in games like this.

flop:

flop:

turn:

river:

Super easy raise, especially in game conditions. I love when I get a sea of cold callers behind me, since I've a hand that can take down a huge pot.

Flop:


Turn:


River:

Flop


Turn


River

I raise pre and then check the flop.

How would you play this if it were 6/12?

Bet flop, and as played, too much action IMHO.

Turn check is fine.

River is a bet. You're at the absolute bottom of your range, you've already shown you can make a weird fancy pants c/r on the flop (to appease the "you should get called by everything given that you checked the turn" crowd), BB passed on an opportunity to value bet the river, BN checked the turn, and if I read that action right, everyone else has folded.

We are at the bottom of our range, but we are four way, and among the other three is a guy who cold called twice OTF, and another guy who got it in on the 1-2-1 installment plan. Can't we make an exploitative check here (to exploit the fact that they're insanely sticky and unlikely for both of them to have a draw)?

Oops, I guess I missed a cold caller in there. The river's closer with a 4th player in there, but that player shouldn't have a T after checking the flop, and you have a read that a 3rd 9 may be accounted for. I can still talk myself into a river bet as played.

I mean, b/3b and check back in position is a draw 100% of the time, we have the SB and the BN in a tough spot with substantial parts of their ranges.

Oops. I meant the 8 and K are dirty. It was late and I was tired.

Different in a couple of spots.

Preflop:
6/12
I'd probably limp and think it's more optimal, because I want weaker suited hands / offsuit hands to come in to pad my equity. Raising is equally good if I think those same hands will often call. The worst that happens is getting 3bet by a hand in EP and folding out the field.

15/30
Limping in general is bad, but the rare game conditions here might warrant it. I tried to follow much stricter guidelines for not open-limping, which prompted me to raise preflop.

Flop:
6/12
Well, the mantra in low stakes is "nobody folds anything". So b/3b/cap is totally fine with me, as I expect to have my share of equity.

15/30
The presumption is that people actually have a fold button now. I c/raised button thinking that I could buy outs to my J/Q against AJ/AQ and bluff later streets (I don't really expect hands like KJ/KQ to fold the flop for 2 cold, but hands like Q9/J9 have a reasonable chance of folding). If the action were to go bet/raise/multiple cold-calls, I'd start assuming I'm up against flush draws. As such, with the field not showing any strength, I thought there was a good chance I had more than 6 outs and benefit from folding the field + bluff equity.

Also, the presence of backdoor hearts makes my hand decrease even more in value should I let hearts take a cheap look at the turn.

Turn/River
I roughly play it the same in 6/12 and 15/30, though I think it's interesting making an argument to bet the river given the read. Btw, I do c/raise this turn with my sets against players who fire their draws regardless, though on this board texture, I'd be less inclined due to a possible straight. This gives my river bet a little more respect. (not that anyone is paying attention)

(1) I would insta-raise this preflop in virtually any game. QJs is a kingmaker, and you can't win kingmaker pots if it starts out with 4-5 players for 1 bet preflop. You have the equity, playability, IO - this isn't a decision worth thinking much about.

(2) I would bet-call the flop. I haven't run a stove, but I feel like this is one of the worst ways we can flop the nut OESD - our pair outs are often going to complete someone's gutterball or 2 pair hand, and we have to worry about the flush as well. I think check/raising is overly fancy and ambitious in a pot of this size and that capping is spew.

(3) Checking the turn flips your hand face-up as a draw, which is the worst thing you can do in a pot of this size. The pot is now large enough that it is worth fighting for, even if you will only win without a showdown a tiny fraction of the time.

(4) I think checking is fine given the turn check, especially with 3 other players in.

My primary factor in whether to open JQs (or other borderline hands) is how often I will get 3b and put HU OOP. There is some correlation between this and stakes, but % being 3b is the key point.

B/c flop

Asmitty beat me to it, but this hand shouldn't play differently in 6/12 than 15/30. As a matter of fact, you are probably at this 15/30 game BECAUSE it plays like 6/12.

Raise pre, bet/call flop. I would barrel the turn against 1 opponent, but be okay checking it back multiway (but massively multiway may bet for value).

you should of lost a lot less in that hand. raise pre is fine, b/c flop, c/c turn, c/fold riv ui (as played, b/c turn). maybe you think that you're actually pushing an equity edge (which would be the only sane reason), but the presence of 2 d's takes away from your equity more than you might think. it's 4 ways, you don't even have 1 d and you're oop.