Hello everyone, it has been a while since I have posted anything on here as I have been playing non-stop, the last two months.
However, like most people when winning you don't need any advice but when you are losing, you seek any help that you can get.
Let me tell you more about what I have been playing. The game is 1/2 no limit which often becomes 1/2/5 no limit. I have been crushing the game for about four months making around 11k but March has been an absolute nightmare.
I am down 1700 which constitutes a bit over four buy-ins for me as I buy in for four hundred. However, if you look at it in terms of blinds it is around 850 blinds.
The main reason for my downswing besides running bad are two bluffs which I ran, both of which got called.
I want to share them with you and see what you think.
The first one, I am playing from the big blind, looking at AQ offsuit. The UTG limps, player in middle position calls and the SB completes. I make it 17 from the BB, the UTG, and middle position calls,SB folds.
UTG has 290 and is a tight calling station capable of the occasional move,the middle position player is extremely loose looking for a good time and has around 500 in front of him, I have both players covered.
The flop comes 10J6 rainbow, I c-bet for 20 as I feel there is a lot of fold equity for both players especially the player in middle position as his VPIP is at least 80% plus there are good turn cards on which I can continue to barrel on.
The UTG player calls and the middle position folds. When UTG called, I put him on middle pairs such as 77-99 as well as on tens such as 109,108 and to me, the top of his range is J10.
The turn is a 7 not bringing a flush draw, I feel the seven is better for his range than for mine so I plan to barrel again, fold to a raise and jam on a brick or a K.
I bet sixty, he thinks for a long time and decides on a call. When he calls I know, his range is capped to weak tens, 88 and 99 as this is a player that will always raise anything better than an overpair.
The river brings another six, which is perfect for my range and I decide to go all in for 190 effective. Villain thinks for around ten minutes and calls me with pocket eights.
What do you think?
Doing some calculations, I have come to the conclusion that I will have 30 combos of value on the river- JJ-AA, 89 suited,J10 suited
Due to this, I think I need around 15 combos of bluffs which are basically covered by KQ(16) but I thought because Villains range is so capped I can add AQ(16) and then check back AK on the river.
What do you think?
The next hand is much more interesting, I am playing on a very tough table and I have a terrible seat so I have already made plans to move to another seat on the same table at the very least.
There is a live five Euro straddle, the table is super deep with the average stack being around 600 hundred. I look at JJ with the jack of clubs in the Highjack, there are two limps before and I make it 30 both limpers are calling stations that will call 15 as well as 30 here.
The button cold calls, everyone else folds. The button is a very good professional with around a million in tournament winnings, we are both five hundred effective.
The flop is KQ8 with two clubs,in this spot, I don't want to check back JJ because they are not strong enough for me to call a bet out of position so instead I decided to add them to my bluffing range as I have good turn cards on which I can continue to barrel on plus I have an absolute range advantage on this board. Anyways, I c-bet for 40 , button calls and the turn is a six of clubs, now here I feel I should definitely barrel again an put some pressure on AQ and perhaps some kings such as K10/K9 suited. I continue for eighty five and the button snap calls, the river is another eight. Here, I feel I have to go all in, I mean what can he have plus I feel that even the top of his range -KQ can be folding some of the time.
I shove and he snaps calls with q8 of spades
What do you think?
I would appreciate all responses and advices.

In general bluffing gives you a better chance of winning the pot, but sometimes you will get called and lose. But that's poker!

Dont bluff calling stations because they....um...Call...

Hand 1: You should not always c-bet this flop. When calling station makes the flop call you should give up the majority of the time. Once he calls turn just give up every time. Don't try to 3 barrel stations off hands.

Hand 2: Overall your line is OK but it's a very high risk bluff that should be very rare. If villain is a good player and called preflop with Q8s it means you have been raising too loose and barreling too much and villain is exploiting that.

The thing is that it will be very rare as the majority of my semi-bluffs on the flop become flushes on the turn-I will have an insane amount of value hands and I think I can bluff here with JJ as well AJ with the ace of clubs.
Calling with q8 is simply minus EV in my opinion if he wanted to exploit my aggression, he could have three bet q8 suited. Calling there 250 blinds deep is extremely dangerous as he makes weak pairs, as well as non-nutted straights and flushes-The runout, was perfect for him but it won't happen often.
Thanks a lot for your comments and suggestions.
I had a winning session last night- I won only 115 blinds(230 Euro) but at least it is a starting point.

Checking this flop isn't an issue of balance. It's having a flop multiway that hits calling ranges when you missed. Both A and Q could be dirty so the gut shot cards are your only clean outs. This is a good situation to just give up some of the time.

That is a trap with stations. They look weak, they act tentative, take their time debating the situation and then they go ahead and call.

I agree that Q8s is too weak to call a raise in this situation also. But once he hit the flop he apparently knew you where barreling too much and over playing AK/AQ too often for him to fold two pair.

That or he is playing too loose preflop and too sticky post flop, that is a fairly common mistake for tournament players in a cash game. Playing cash the stacks seem super deep and tournament players end up trying to see too many flops. They then get too sticky post because they are used to tournament play where people are very aggressive with one pair and bluffs post flop.

Hand 1: This is tough to read but why would a 6 on the river be "perfect" for your range?

It counterfeits any two pair combos he might have such as J10/107(of which 107 is much more likely as he is raising J10 on the flop) and as I am the only one with possible overpairs, it is perfect for my range of hands.