2/4 full ring online.

I hold Qh9d 2off. My first hand at the table, I posted the bb.

5off calls, I check, CO raises, button calls, blinds fold, 5off calls and I call.
(9 small bets).

Flop comes Ks9c3h. Checked to me, I bet into the pf raiser and he raises me.

I'm getting 12/1 so I call.

Turn comes Qc. Do I bet or check raise? I check raised and he called.

River came 2d. I bet and he called.

why did you post

and

why did you bet into the pfr?

Did you have a plan when you decided to bet into him? If he raises you're probably in trouble, but you've then bloated the pot enough that you may be compelled to call to catch your 5-outer, then possibly call the river if you don't improve because you've made the pot big.

I would've stopped the action at the flop raise. Including what villain did on later streets may influence responses. Now that we know you spiked a Q and PFR just called down, it's tough to consider anything but c, c/r, b.

To answer your question: Yeah, I c/r the turn.

I understand it can bias the readers if I give the whole hand (even without giving the results), but I am also interested in whether check raising the turn is better than just betting the turn.

Although Qc gives me 2 pair, it also creates a flush draw and a possible straight or straight draw.

If I check he might elect to check behind me and make a completed hand on the river at no cost.

yeah, I meant stop the action at the turn... wherever you have the question. But don't include the river action.

I think if he'd just called your flop donk you should bet the turn because he hasn't shown much strength and would likely check behind a draw. Since he has shown strength, he'll likely bet again.

id like to hear your reasoning behind the flop play.

Betting on the flop was bad. What would you have done if it came back to you with a raise and reraise?? You have middle pair in a multiway pot. Check and see what action occurs after the c-bet.
The way played I would bet the turn. If the flop went c/c then c/r the turn.

Posting in a 9 person game in the CO doesn't seem hugely -EV. You should raise PF though if you do with ATC if it folds to you and you certainly should iso-raise here with a fairly strong hand getting a discount.

Flop is a check, turn c/r is definitely best.

i would raise pre with this hand if i'd posted in the HJo to isolate the limper. having said that i only post in the CO or i wait for my blind, your giving up a bit by posting anywhere else.

Personally i would just peel one on flop instead of gaybet/calling, then c/r the turn.

I’m a live 4/8 player, so playing on-line may have some impact on this.

PF: Q9o is a little light for me, but against 3 players in and raised, one bet is not a major problem.

Flop: Middle pair and a large pot getting 9:1 – 5 outs. But three my outs (Qs) put 3 to a high straight on the board – not good. If the PF raiser was to my immediate right and bet out I would be getting 10:1 immediate pot odds and would want to play and desperately want to protect and maybe buy outs from the 2 remaining players. Raise SOP.

In this position, with PF raiser on my immediate left but still two PF limpers to act, I cannot protect. It may be way tricky, but a bet directly into a PF raiser (as you did) will frequently get them to raise and protect for you (and you don’t worry about a reraise from the PF raiser). Since I would be willing to put 2 SB in to protect per above, calling his raise here is no biggie. If it’s just called around, I got more than enough pot odds to justify the original flop bet.

I would be more inclined to attempt this if I had been at the table for awhile and had the PF raiser pegged as aggressive – it’s more likely to work. But I don’t think this play is particularly spewy here.

did you post in the CO or the HJ?

If you posted in the HJ and that is something you do normally, then I suggest you stop. You gain more value when you post in the CO because it is easier for you to steal raise and win the button or even the blinds with more marginal hands. In the HJ, you have two players to get through, who have position on you and may guess that you are usually light and try to take a shot at your flop c-bet if you do decide to raise.

In this hand, you don't want to be raised on the flop. You should definitely play, but since you have good relative position on the raiser it is like you have the button. You get to check and let him c-bet whatever he has and then you get to see what every other player in the hand does before you have to act again.

I think optimal play would be a check, and if everyone folds to you then a c/r is best because he will peel when he misses the flop (most times) and you gain more value with your Mid-pair. Also, you gain more value from hands that raise on the button like 66 for example.

On the other hand, if he bets and everyone calls the flop then calling is best because the chance that you are ahead is not as good as it is in a HU pot.

As played, definitely c/r turn and lead river.

I Check/Call that flop, I think you have to pot control out of position like that.

Listen to afraziaaa, he shared some wisdom there.

They call it donking for a reason.

Also, notice how you played the hand backwards? You bet when you were drawing and checked (to c/r) when you hit. This is a symptom of FPS (fancy play syndrome). I like the turn c/r, on its own. However, you can become quite readable if you favor these backwards lines.

It is also strange that a guy who donks middle pair in to the PFR becomes suddenly concerned about all the draws. If you're playing this far out there, you can't slow down now. Why would you put the guy who bet/raised at every opportunity on a drawing hand? He's got top pair, you hit a 5 outer so take his monies.

Doug
PS. Also, you should really consider what I said in my PM. Equity-wise, you took a beating here.

I'm not a big fan of posting in this spot preflop. If I can't post the CO, I usually don't. I also rarely post outside the BB in online games. Not sure why, but I don't. Probably because it's only a minute or two before I can post in the BB.

As played I don't like the flop play. You have great relative postion here and you should us it. The PFR is directly on your left and you should allow him to bet(or choose not to) and see what the entire field does before you act. When he raises, you can't like your hand but you're also forced to call.

Given the flop action, CR the turn seems standard as it seems likely he'll have to call you down in this pot.