Hi, is this hand ok?

I am playing 2/4 limit in my local cardroom.

It is folded to me in earlier position and I raise black pocket AA to try and thin the field and maybe win the blinds.

Two people call (ugh) and the bb calls. I dont like it already but I'll see what happens.

The flop is J99 with a heart flush draw. The bb checks and I bet. Everyone calls.

Turn is a K so now someone could have a flush or a straight and I am behind to trip nines too. BB checks, I check, one person bets, another calls, and the bb folds, and I fold, because I think I am beat.

Was this fold ok?

*G* ldo
flop:std value bet
turn: I take it that the K fell on the turn? the suit wasn't mentioned but you state that the flush is out there. You're beating AK KQ KJ KT QJ JT TT. You lose to QT KK JJ 9x, flush??. The caller probably has a jack with a SD (QJ TJ), the intial bettor could have a K. I dunno...I just think that there are a few hands that they could be betting once you check the turn. You're closing the action. I would peel in this spot.

Yikes! Bet the turn! As played, I'm not even sure I like the fold.

AA is the best hand in poker. Your pf raise is for value, and you want callers. Winning just the blinds sucks. Bet the flop and bet the turn.

i dont understand, why should i bet the turn? that seems very spewy to me as so many hands beat me? and plus someone could have KK or JJ because people dont reraise these hands in 2/4 all the time especially JJ

Keep track of how big the pot is. If you include this potsize in your post, you'll see that check/folding the turn is a mistake.

Also, "Two people call (ugh)" ? Sounds great, why would you want everyone to fold when you have the nuts?

You're showing a fundamental misunderstanding of how small stakes hold 'em works. You should really read Small Stakes Hold 'Em by Ed Miller et al. and hopefully will see why. You are raising for value because your hand is better than theirs. When more people call, it's great because that's how you make money. Your tone suggests you're more concerned with not losing money.

The more players that call you preflop, the more money you make. It may not make sense to you right now, because you instinctively realize that you win the pot less often the more players you're against; however, when you do win the pot, which is more often than the percentage of money you're contributing preflop, more callers = bigger pot = more money.

The check is really, really horrible, and the fold is bad. Did you give any thought to the hands that you beat? Here's a starter list: JT, QJ, KJ, AJ, AK, KQ, KT, T8. Live players will also see the turn with pocket pairs 88 and smaller. They'll show up with dummy end gutshots. Shoot, they'll show up with 75s that has a backdoor one card dummy end straight draw and a backdoor flush draw. You said they can have KK or JJ. OK, maybe, but they can also have QQ and TT, and there are more combos of QQ than there are of KK and JJ combined.

Bet the turn, and it's not close. If you get raised, then you'll need a read on your opponent, but you're usually going to want to call down unless the guy is super passive. As played, sure, there are some hands that beat you, but if you look at the pot size and consider the percentage of hands that beat you, you need to call down.

the doc's diagnosis: advanced case of MUBS

cure: post here; listen to repsonses; play accordingly

vaccine: read SSHE; especially the part about betting hands with few outs, checking hands with outs

OP: you gotta bet this turn!

This hand has made me die a little bit inside but it's ok since hopefully now we can all move foward and learn from this.

Please buy Small Stakes Holdem as soon as humanly possible and get ready to have your mind blown. I won't go into the hand because I will literally shed tears at work but others have been elaborating enough already.

It's nice to have been vaccinated, no?

No.

I'll try to FYP.

Looks good, now.

I think you had a little MUBS (monster under the bed syndrome) going on here. Easily fixed. Welcome to the forums.

when you first start playing it's natural to want to "thin the field". After a healthy dose of SSHE you will learn that AA is indeed the best multiway hand, and that poker is only about winning money, not pots

As a general rule in limit hold 'em, you should not fold aces before you are raised on the turn.

As played -- there's no way you can fold this to one bet.

Let me make this point. For the moment, let's discount the trip 9 possibility.

Let's say that the person who bet the turn showed you his cards and he already had the flush (without the Ace). It's one bet to you and you close betting,. YOU STILL CAN"T FOLD THIS TO ONE BET.

PF Raised 4 callers -- 8 Small Bets
Flop 4 betters -- 12 Small Bets total (6 big bets)
Turn -- 2 bets so far 8 Big Bets Total (7 big bets after the Rake)

Now your outs -- 2 Aces, 3 Kings, 3 Jacks and 2 9s -- 10 Outs (all make a full house). By the rule of 2, you have about a 20% chance of winning and there are 7 Big Bets in the pot (after the rake). You have pot odds, not to mention implied odds. You MUST call this.

So, the straight draw and the flush draw possibility cannot drive you away from this pot. The only concern, then is whether someone has Trip 9s. Unlikely (though not impossible) from the betting (Trip Jacks or Trip Kings are also possible though really unlikely). Most of the time, it's just not there, and the possibility of the set can't be the reason for folding this pot.

Add to this, the possibility (probability, I think) that you're actually ahead. Folding is not an option

Three pair is a medium strength hand in Texas Hold 'Em.

Ooops, someday I have to learn to read English. Sorry.

Dude. Hero has two pairs. Two pairs have 4 full house outs.

good thread guys - lesson learned imo