I had just sat at the 5/5 table (first time I play any other game than 1/2). I'm young and I really think I was looking intimidated so people will put me on the tight/really tight side without information (I had never played with 3/4 players at the table). Also the fact that I just had post 1$ on my small blind instead of 5$ (lol) might indicate I'm intimidated. This hand was about the 5th since I sat and I hadn't shown any info yet (called on 1 previous hand and folded OTF).

Game: Live 5/5
Hand: QTo
Position: MP (5-handed)
Stack: 700$
Villain: Looks solid, 40yo reg (covers in BB)

Preflop Action: I open to 20$, BTN, SB & BB all call. (80$)
Flop: J98r
Action: I bet 65$, fold, fold, BB raises to 130$, I ?


I really don't know between reraising or just flat calling here. I put him on approximately this range, you would think it's a good range for the situation and without any other info on V?

Two pairs: 30%
A set: 10%
TT/77: 5%
Top-Top or overpair:10%
SD (AT, KT) : 10%
A bluff/semi bluff (with backdoors, a gutshot, or nothing): 35% (high because of the situation and against me)

I like a small 3-bet here. Probably to $225. I want to get the money in on the turn and this raise will give us a PSB. And sometimes he overplays sets and 2-pairs on the flop and just jams it in OTF thinking you have a scared over pair.

I would flat. Hero has position, so we'll be able to dictate action on future streets.

Flat the flop. If he bets the turn, shove. If he checks the turn, bet $250. Call or bet all in on river.

What if a 8, 9 or J comes OTT to make him a FH? What if a Q, T, 7, K, A comes and will scare him off his two pairs, give him a straight also or even making him a better straight?

Call. It is a rainbow board and V is likely drawing thin. Raising here just gives him a chance to get away especially given our image. I probably just station him off TBH. Prob. bet $250ish OTT if checked to, setting up a <1/2PSB shove OTR.

yeah thats probably the right play, maybe I was too scared he hits a FH... But also I thought he might think I'm spewing and would not be able to fold a set or maybe a good twopairs.. Any thoughts?

raising. plenty of bad cards and anything that folds flop probably won't give us much value anyway. small 3bet seems best.

I like a flop 3, even tho the c/click would be indicative for a top pair type hands there are some turns that would kill your action or if he doesn't hit 2p you're not making another $, if he has 2p+ he's never folding and I'd like to get my $$ when I'm fav.

Those are all very realistic scenarios but you can't play scared money and always expect the worse run out to happens, don't "pot control" with the nuts.
You'll miss a ton of value with that thought process or have a mental melt down!

With your described image I would just re raise trying to look like you are overplaying over pair.
He's never folding set or two pair or a hand like AT if you size it right

I know that, I'm never folding here lol it's just arguments to raise and not only flat call. I think he is paying me way more often OTF than OTT because of the scare cards and also when he actually beats me OTT.

35% bluff. No chance.

Raise to $250 and plan to shove all turns. Any Q through 7 creates a scary board for you and could kill your action. Get more money in now while V seems interested. You have a well disguised hand and your range looks like you want to play for stacks with an overpair.

Don't slowplay. Try to get stacks in on the turn.

Right, what about a bigger reraise, say to 350-400$ ?? Pot is 340$ already, with a raise to 375$ (-130$) it's only about 2/3 pot raise (245/340)??

raise. He's got plenty of hands he's not folding that can beat the overpair we're repping. All he's folding are pair+ten combos and weaker, and you're not getting much more money from them anyway.

Think about sizing on the turn. If you bet $250 and V calls, you can shove $430 into a $580 pot on the turn. $300 is probably the max because then the pot is $680 and you can shove $380.

You want to encourage weaker hands to call without blowing them off their hand. String out your value bets over two streets to get stacks in.

Your $65 flop bet looks like a standard AK/AQ c-bet. Though, being the first to bet into a field of three other players, it would look more like QQ+, but that shouldn't matter. This hand almost plays itself. You have a guy raising into the nuts.

Two ways to play this: 1) GII OTF after a raising war, because he's repping 2pr/set, or 2) you want him taking the lead here. Problem with 2 is that it narrows your range considerably when you flat his click back. I prefer to get it all in OTF eventually, because most players don't expect a fast play with the nuts most of the time. In fact, all but the most cautious and observant players won't potentially read the nuts in this spot and will commit with even T2P. He MIGHT find a fold here, if he has less than a set and thinks you do. I like a !3 to 275-325 here.

Raise for sure on this flop. He has an awful lot of hands in his range that he's not gonna fold and there are a lot of bad turns (either for you or for him) that could kill the action.

Your right, I have to look at stacks more, I hate myself now for raising waaaayyy too big here, I actually reraised to 450$ and he folded, but I think he would have folded anyway since he claimed to have AJ.