I chronically overvalue and/or misplay 2 pair. Take a look at the below and let me know what you think.

My table image should be about the same in both hands: 30ish white guy wearing a golf shirt and playing somewhat tight. Both games are 1/2 (cap buy-in at $200) but take place at different tables several hours apart.

Hand 1:
V is talkative, middle age black guy. I've played with him before, but not sure if he remembers me. He's poker savvy, but I don't know if he's good or just not stupid. To negate that read, I saw him cold flat a 3b OTB with 23s then not raise when he rivered a back door flush so clearly he hates money. V has about $340 in this hand, I cover comfortably.

SB is a lost fish who just won a huge pot by flopping a set vs an OMC with AA. Still in first orbit at the table. Might not know rules of game or hand strengths. SB covers both.

V raises to $12 UTG
1 caller
I call with QTs from BTN
SB calls

POT: $48
FLOP: 9QT

SB donks $45 (after counting it out in stacks of 2 chips)
V thinks for a few seconds and raises to $105
Limper folds
I think for a few seconds and ship it.

Help me Obie Wan.


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Hand 2:
V is a mid 50s Raymer look alike, complete with goofy glasses (but sans fossil). He likes to tell everyone how they can player better and has a fancy set of headphones in. He is a donkey with a lot of hours under his belt. Is wearing a poker hat and has a royal flush medallion card protector. V has an unknown amount of chips (he's in the 1 seat and I'm in the 9) because I forgot to look at the beginning of the hand because I play bad. I believe he is doing ok but not great.

I have about $550.

V limps from UTG.
3 more limpers to me
I raise to $25 from BB with AK.
Only V calls.

POT: $56
FLOP: A4K

I bet $30
V calls

POT: $115
TURN: A4K - T

I check
V bets $40
I raise to $105
V calls

Yep, the good ole pick-up-equity-then-c/r-less-than-1/3-pot move. I make myself sick.

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As a fun epilogue to my TL;DR OP, I did see a guy who was roughly 85 years old give his equally old wife $40 to buy into the $4/8 limit game at 2am after she busted her slot roll. He was eating Fig Newtons from a snack sized ziplock bag at the time. Casinos are weird places.

Hand 1 is fine. Sometimes they will have 99 or a straight but there's enough hands you're beating to shove given the action and stack sizes. Don't think I could fold there.

Hand 2 needs stack sizes. I would have blasted the flop for $45-50 and as played the c/r on turn needs to be a lot bigger to charge all the possible draws and two pair combos V could have. Big difference playing this hand with $550 effective versus $200-400 effective.

lol

as stated previously, please include stack sizes in hand 2.

I'm probably just betting $70-$75 OTT.

check/raising is probably losing us value, as we get a lot of Ax hands, as well as some flush draws to fold.

Not to mention all the times it just checks through.

Eh, hand 2 is about 10 hours into my session and like I said, I forgot to look at how much V had when he called my PF bet.

V in hand 2 had about $340 to start the hand. I didn't realize he was that deep until after I c/r him.

c/r should be to $160ish if he has 340 so you can set up river shove and hope the river isn't a heart or T/J/Q. I don't really like a turn c/r here since it gets checked through often and he could fold Ax to a c/r.

The other problem with c/r on hand 2 is that it commits us to the hand. This is kind of a PLO concept, but if we just bet turn, we can c/f river if it's something gross like a Jh or Qh or even just a heart.

I know our hand is nutted, but it plays better as a bet on the turn.

If we get called on turn, we can check to induce on blank rivers

So everyone is cool with hand 1?

C/r on hand 2 seems bad now and seemed bad as soon as I said check. Definitely agree it should just be a bet.

Hand 1: Fold pre. Not deep enough to be calling an utg raise with suited one gap/face cards with one caller in between.

As played, ship. He could be deciding he wants to iso the incompetent sb

Hand 2: 40+ otf. 80+ ott. Keep betting. No need to c/r.

Hand 1 is fine. PF is fine OTB, especially with a fish in the blinds. Flop is a shove, though not fist-pumping since villain's range does include all the hands that beat you (KJs, QQ, TT, 99) as well as monster draws (AJdd, AKdd).

Hand 2 needs to be larger on the flop ($40+). Turn check is atrocious, you let him draw cheaply with random hearts and flopped gutters that picked up a pair on the turn, plus you don't get value from weak aces in a spot where there are a ton of bad river cards that will cause those hands to fold to a bet.