1/2 NL in Vegas.

I had about $100 in front of me, from what I could gather the table was reasonable players, 40-yo some on their phones but none drinking.

I get pocket queens, a lot of players must have limped. Flop comes AK and something low, I think rainbow.

I’m misremembering a lot of important details but what I do know is that this was the only hand where 4 or 5 other players tossed in $10 and I laid it down figuring I had a second-best hand. I guess the question is did I?

I was playing quite tight and it was one of the first hands I’d played in an hour, so even throwing in $10 pre flop I was worried I’d Telegraph too much.



I also had a similar hand I’m pretty sure I played wrong. Pocket aces, I led with $10 and was down to heads up. Flop came KQ + a low card (I think 2 of one suit) and I thought for a while then shoved ($75). I wanted to shut down the hand, but now I realize that two pairs could easily have called me and I’m sure this guy saw right through my bravado. He mucked but that was still too much to risk for such a small pot...pocket aces isn’t a “You Win” card.

Poker is interesting...even after a couple hours I’m realizing that playing too tight causes problems, and GD is live different than online.



Another question: If people are playing hands in cash games that aren't part of any book's opening range even from the button, what are the chances they're a poor player? 90-10? This guy next to me got in a pot with 2c3c and won with a flush. If I had a hand like that my only thought is whether I muck them with my right hand or my left.

Hi, welcome to the forum. I strongly suggest reading the stickies. There's a lot of great collective wisdom in them.

With a $90 stack and $50 in the pot, I'm not laying down AA on any flop. The stack to pot ratio is under 2 and everyone at this level puts you on AK as the preflop raiser. If no one bet, put in at least $35 and if someone bet, just shove. A lot worse will call this shallow.

You are correct that shoving on hand two was wrong if your goal was to make money. Shoving just lets the villain play perfectly. Whether to check or bet the flop depends on too many factors to go through here.

Finally, if someone is calling 32s on the button at low stakes, it is 100% they are no good.

QQ hand: Folds is fine. The chance you are good if multiple other people are interested is negligable. The real trick with these hands is to find the preflop size that cuts down the limpers. If your used to playing online you will need to get used to ridiculous sizing. You probably want to make it $20 after multiple limpers.

AA hand: With $75 in stack SPR should be so low here that folding shouldn't be an issue. Your goal is mostly to extract money. The board is sorta ugly though and preflop action and pot size do matter. Shoving won't be the most optimal line but it isn't terrible.

As for 3c2c how did he play them? It's probably 99% bad but there are situations where it could work if he was first in from LP with a raise.

x/folding QQ on AKx board multiway is a trivial decision, you did the right thing. Live players are really sticky and love garbage aces and love garbage broadways. You have 3rd pair on a board which gives them lots of top pair, second pair and straight draw hands. You have no value to bet and no bluff that will get through = no reason to bet or call bets.

AA with $20+ in the pot, HU and ~$75 behind is usually a two street hand when you control the action. I would make it $15+ and then rip turn. Shoving is not terrible because it looks like a weaker hand than AA so you may get looked up light.

You should never fold on this board with this hand with this little $ behind, and you need to make sure the money goes into the middle quickly, so while I would give this 2 streets, shoving is the next best thing.

If he has you beat, he has you beat, that's poker. Don't worry about it.

Ok so let’s change the situation slightly.

QQ in late position, I raise to $20 and one player calls. Flop is AK +1 or even just K +2. What am I looking to do, what kind of ranges call that?

^^^

Reads on player? Stack depth? Position? Which flop is it, there's a huge difference between AKx and Kxx? What is the flop texture?

There's no way to answer your question properly because there are so many factors involved. You're basically asking "how do I play postflop when I don't smash the board" which is a book length topic.

Exact situations matters immensely for these sorts of hands to the point there is no real general guide.

I will say that on an AK flop your plan is mostly give up. On a K board you are winning more then losing and can bet for value but need a plan to get to the show down without putting too much money in.

An A high board is different and knowing something about your opponent and what sort of range he could be playing critical. In some situations villain's range will be ace heavy and in others it won't be. In general your plan needs to be getting to a cheap show down but how much you should be willing to put in and your route for getting there will vary widely.