$100-300 buy in, $2/3 blinds.

Fresh table opened up so images aren't really needed. Second hand of the very first orbit

Villain ($300) limps UTG+1, hero ($300) makes it $15 in HJ with TT, villain calls

Flop (~$30): Q55
Villain checks, hero bets $20, villain calls

Turn (~$70): 5
Checks around

River (~70): 4
Villain bets $40, hero calls

Feedback on all streets please. To get value on these hands do we check flop to induce bluffs and since we have position or do we always bet?

That's how I would play it.

I would cbet here because I'm heads up and in position.

Strategically, there's huge value in cbetting a wide range. Low limit villains aren't very observant, but they tend to notice a high cbet frequency. To the extent that they notice and adjust, their adjustment is typically a disaster for them. Commonly they keep their preflop limp/calling range broad, and go into super-fit-or-fold mode on the flop, with plans to checkraise monsters and call down with medium strength hands. That kind of stuff. Huge money.

It's a challenge sometimes to find the right amount of time to cbet air. Yeah, you have to dial it back a bit against really brain-dead gamblers. But heads up, IP, with equity? Shoot, I never check back in a million years.

OTT, I play conservatively until I get reads.

What did he get quads? High five the guy, and make him buy the table a round of shots, and take notes so as to stack villain later. (Make sure he shows)

Well played. Nice hand.

Nice hand.

I like betting flop. We get called by a lot worse and our hand is vulnerable.

I'm gonna' have to say that I prefer not checking back the turn. I think you should bet the $40 on the turn rather than checking turn and betting $40 on the river. I say this because they'll likely check back any river card to you if you bet turn, if they improved on the river, they'll check to trap so they can CR you but you just check it down for showdown value.

In this case river is a brick but I think checking the river down after betting the turn is best here rather than the other way around.

no - because than no one bluffs and the only thing that calls you is a better hand. The only thing you do is protect against some random A or K high that floated the flop or an under pair but you lose the value of every ones bluffs which is worth more than protecting against random hands which probably would of folded on the flop.

Depending on the level of aggression common in these games river could be a fold. We beat bluffs and thin value bets. Bluffing hands dont usually call the flop. 66-99 are in his range, but I expect them to get bet much less often than Qx/5x.

cbet flop half pot. check turn. fold river.

Asked my buddy who's a pro and figured I'd share his thought process

"This is one of those plays where I haven't decided what's better to do on the flop or if doing one all the time is really correct so I just do a little bit of both to try and remain balanced. I like checking back to induce bluffs against aggressive players who always stab once you show weakness and I like betting for protection and value against flush draws against tight players who probably won't stab the turn if you check back. In general, the higher the pocket pair, the less you need to protect against over cards falling on the turn. With a hand like 33, I'm betting nearly every time because if I check back and a 8 or something falls on the turn I'm going to be playing this big guessing game. With KK on a A92 rainbow board I'm more inclined to check back to induce bluffs and/or let a hand like QJ pair up on the turn. 99-JJ kinda fall in the middle and I'll probably be doing a bit of both fairly often. I don't mind the way you played it and on the river it's very close. Half the time you're gonna call and kick yourself when he tables a queen and the other half you'll be glad you did cus he'll have a smaller pocket pair or a busted flush draw. In live poker I feel like people don't bluff as much and are more inclined to check/call small pairs but not always. It's really player dependent. Honestly I'd probably check back more often in this spot on the flop, especially at low stakes when you're hand isn't as face up and people always think checking means weakness"

FD missed and people make weird bets with 88 in a spot like this sometimes. Without reads I think it's an easy call.

Grunch

I like your line.

I bet flop for value. Most pairs call. FDs call. Floats are common on boards like this.

River is easy call as played.

Turn is interesting spot. I see arguments for betting to get value from smaller boats and also bc it would suck and no longer be an easy river call if an A or K fell on the river. Checking back keeps Vs range wide and is bluff-inducing.

Again,
"Yeah honestly I think I've been falling prey to that too. I told you people aren't giving me action as much so I've kinda just been mindlessly c betting more but I started to realize I was losing a lot of those c bets and double barrels too. At the lower stakes I think people always view checking as weak so I think you should check in those situations and even check back top pair. That used to be my go to favorite play lol. Check back top pair and the guy would always stab the turn and sometimes river. You'd be surprised how much value you can gain from a hand that would have just folded to your cbet on the flop but all of a sudden "senses weakness" and fires turn and river in a sort of panic to win the pot. Many bad players do this especially against tighter players because they think you'd be too scared to check back and let someone catch up. The truth is, that just doesn't happen all that often. When you flop a pair of aces on a dry board and have the best hand you're gonna usually have the best hand on the river too. Another thing to realize about your hand in particular that is really important is that you're only going to get one street of value for the most part so it doesn't matter when you're going to get it. You can still get it on the river too. If you check back flop and he checks turn you can check back again. If he checks river then you can make a bet and he call fairly often with a pocket pair because he'd think there's no way you'd check back a queen twice"

Ya I thought this basically

This.

I'm cool with preflop, HU in position with initiative, nice result.

Reads might alter our postflop plan, but without any, I'm cool with a flop bet. We're not WA/WB, our hand could be best but is vulnerable, there are worse hands (including draws) that can call. I'm cool with anything around a 1/2 PSB.

I'm cool with the check behind on the turn. Is a worse hand (ex. 99) going to pay off 2 more streets? Without knowing exact reads, it seems unlikely.

I'm cool with the river call. We look weak / whiffed when we check back the turn. There's a busted draw. Unknown reads.

ETA: Your friend's reasoning is very sound, imo. Against aggro/bluffy players, I would also check back this flop a lot. And, like your friend, the less vulnerable our hand (i.e. the more WA/WB we are), the more we can check the flop back. But readless, and with this hand, I think your line is fine.

Gnicehand,imoG

What's wa/wb

Does anyone think this makes it less likely that a player is bluffing vs. a table that has been open for several hours that you just sat down at?

I'm probably checking this hand against any opponents who I would check QJ against.

Way ahead or way behind

I think it's better to bet turn for value against villain's flush draws, and 66-99, then check river.

Your line is perfectly reasonable, but there is a risk that villain doesn't bet river with a bluff, or an overcard comes which a) scares villain from calling a bet with his worse pairs, or b) gives villain a better pair.