Your preflop opening bets with QQ and KK are way too small. Once you make the first mistake of opening small preflop and get called, you cannot stop more cards from coming. The only tool we got to stop those two things is with our bets.

Thanks. My question then is how do I balance this out? Should I count on the opponents being so fishy that they will call large raises pre flop with worse hands whenever I have a good hand? Or do I need to open large for some other hands that I normally would not consider a top notch holding - AQs, JJ, TT (??) - ummm.... unsure what else to mix in... JT suited? Worried that QJs, KJs, and KQs would put me in too many big pot with second best top pair situations.

In my reg-infested room, I've long had a nit image. I also make some of the bigger raise sizes preflop. And yet I have no problem getting action, and in fact I often get *too* much action if I open in EP (where I usually limp/reraise big hands, and can *still* get action).

And the reason I get action is really simple: people didn't come all the way to the casino to fold 98s. They know you have AA. But they also know 98s can crack that. So they'll call with any two pretty cards, cuz this is just preflop and who knows what the flop will bring. They are here to gamble (for the most part, obviously this is somewhat opponent dependent).

Yesterday a terrible player whom I have a super nit image against limped in with A4 (I think suited, although I can't honestly remember). He had like a $140 stack. I was next up and raised to $20 with AA, a mere 1/7th of his stack. He called, HU OOP. Standard.

Against opponents like this, there is absolutely no need for balance (by raising a wider range other than premiums) nor no need to open to anything other than large raise sizes (that setup trivial stack-off SPRs).

GimoG

This was a hand I wasnt in, but curious if anyone else would ever fold this.

1/2 NL live. All players were at least decent. None were loose, all were taking the game seriously and wanted to win. All were regs to at least the degree that theyve played with eachother before, but none were friends. Didnt pay as much attention to turn as river, but Im close.

Small raise pf to $7. Like 4 to flop.

Flop ($28) A62. Checks to btn who bets $15. Sb calls and utg calls. Turn Ax. Btn bets $30 and sb check raises to $60. Utg calls, btn calls. River 6. So board is A62A6. Sb jams $140. Utg insta-reshoves $250. Btn (covers everyone) instamucks AQ face up.so yeah, button folded AQ on a A62A6 board. Would you ever fold that?

i would snap-call even if my entire poker bankroll was $300

I thought you said all players were decent.

It's reasonable. The logic doesn't need to be explained here.

I respect anyone that can go with their read/gut and make a fold. It's better than 'I thought you had quads' and still calls.

I def considered that quad 6s shouldnt have open jammed, but instead checked knowing an ace would bet or bet smallish amount knowig that ace would raise. However, I brought it up to consider the fold and not the bet.

As another poster said, the logic doesnt need explained, but if we are on button and we know A) that sb is never just jamming with less than an ace and other villain is typically never ever going to oversgove without at least an ace...how can we call? There is only 4 aces in the deck.

It's 1/2 and there is one combo of quads. SB can have 22 and plan to auto-jam any river w/o thought. One of them could have misread the board. One of them could have a really weird read. Or just be spazzing. I'd need pretty rock solid reads to ever fold AQ in that spot.

The high hand promo of $500/30 min must really be bringing in the nits. This is up there for the nittiest game I’ve seen. Every hand features a different villain currently at the table.

H3:

V1 limps AK UTG+2, button makes it $11, call.

Board: A9Tr-6-2.

Hand checks down the entire way.


H4.

V1 limps 99, v2 limps with 44 v3 opens to $12 and both call.

Flop: T94 two tone.

Check, v2 bets $25, v3 folds and v1 just calls with middle set.

Turn is a 2 bringing another flush draw.

V2 bets $45 and v1 calls.

River is an offsuit A.

V2 bets $45, v1 calls. V1 said he was worried about TT.

H5. Two limps, villain makes it $20 and limpers call.

Flop 952r

Limpers check, guy continues for $75. Limpers folds JJ face up. Other guy shows AA.

Currently up about $400 though so can’t complain too much.

Where was that? A retirement home?

Here's one...

1/2 NL last night

Blinds post, fold around to me in HJ, ~$150 stack

Hero opens 1010 to $8

CO has about $70, calls

BTN calls, Blinds fold, pot is $27

Flop: AK10

Hero: check
CO: Bets $10
BTN: Fold
Hero: Calls

Pot: $47

At this point I'm thinking he's probably got an Ace or King, maybe the nut flush draw, maybe a straight if he's got QJ but figured a hand like that is probably going to bet bigger. If my hand doesn't improve on the turn I'll think about giving up depending on what goes down.

Turn: K

Hero: check
CO: Shoves

At this point I'm thinking there's no way I'm behind. He's not gonna have AA, KK, AK because he probably would have at the very least bet pot on the flop. I don't think he's got a hand like K10 for the same reason, plus I'm holding a two 10's. Feeling Pretty good about the situation and call.

I think I have to call here right? Is there ever a time I lay this one down? Should I have put him all-in on the flop?


River comes J

I show the full house, kid groans and tosses Q7 on the table and thinks he lost and starts getting ready to leave. Doesn't even realize that he's just rivered the absolute best hand in NL Hold'em. AKQJ10. Literally have never even seen someone with that hand before.

I really hope this hand is a level. Bet flop. You flopped a set on a wet board that smacks Vs cold calling ranges. Bet out and get value from all the random aces in their (by pot size, there is at least one more V) ranges.

AP, the bet is really small. Juice it up. He might fold, as a c/r looks strong, but that's the price you pay for not having bet in the first place.

This can't be real. V has almost exactly one PSB left, you put him on a range that includes a ton of TP and 2nd pair, and you're considering folding turn with a set? If this is true, no offense, but you should not be playing poker for money.

No. Just no. You've already said you discount AK a lot based on his bet size. So let's imagine that turn is an ace and his range is AXs and AT-AQo. He has exactly 10 combos of bigger boats that beat you and 40 combos of trip Aces that you beat. Meanwhile, he only has a PSB left, so you only need to be good 1/3 times to break even. Hell, you'd be getting that price easily even if his range was all AT+ combos only, without discounting AK.

Very good point. So what's the right bet size on the flop?

As G says, just bet the flop. No one folds a draw on the flop, plus TP is rarely folded on the flop (although it may be folded on later streets), so just go for max value and PSB it, imo. This will setup a trivial smallish shove for the turn with these stacks, and we want to do this as quickly as possible before a crapload of scare cards come (any flush card, any 4-to-a-straight card).

GcluelessNLnoobG

Minimum 2/3 pot on a board that wet. Max depends on game conditions, how deep other V(s) is/are, and what's normal there, but somewhere in the range of a small overbet.

Ha, welcome to the future of poker, imo.

H3 could easily be two friends checking it down, which is pretty common.

H4 obviously looks super passive in a set over set case, although it does come down a little to how both Villains view each other (although I could understand a more passive line from 44 in this case rather than 99 which is admittedly surprising). But a lot of it also comes down to a lot people often fold to postflop raises now, so extracting value sometimes does require slowplay (not saying this case isn't off the hook).

H5 is again kinda opponent dependent, but it is also kinda standard in a lot of games. Basically, is *this* dude raising preflop and cbetting huge against 2 opponents with just AK? A lot of opponents don't. Which means JJ doesn't beat much.

Ggetusedtoit,imoG

So say I bet the flop and villain jams. This was a game where pre flop 3 bets were basically nonexistent so in a situation like that villain could conceivably have AA or KK. I probably still have to go with it and not see monsters in the closet, right?

Admittedly I never play 1/2 and only play 1/3 (so I'm not exactly familiar with stackoff thresholds), but the CO has *a lol $70 stack*. Pretty sure a $70 stack can go in on 1/2 on this board with about a zillion hands we beat. Plus, AA/KK often default to 3betting preflop.

GcaptainofthegoodshipMUBSy,butevenIthinkthisisafis tpumpsituationG

Of course you go with it. Say you bet $20 and he jams for $42 more. You're looking at paying $42 of a $151 pot, or 27.8% of the pot. Even if V's range is AA, KK, and only 3 combos of AK (out of 9), you have 29.4% equity and thus a profitable call.

And realistically, his range is nowhere near this tight.

Noted.. thanks gents

Had a really fun hand at 1/2

straddled to 5

V1 at UTG+2 is a short stack (50), but not really playing as tight as he should be. He limps.

V2 (~400) at CO is a typical LAG, plays too many hands at all position, who limps after another MP limped.

Hero at BB had TT, with ~310 total raised to 35

Folds to V1 who pushes AI, only V2 calls and others fold. Fold back to H, who can only call, but somehow I thought V1’s raise was from 30 to 50, and my original raise was 10-30, so I asked dealer can I reraise. Dealer was very inexperienced and mistakenly told me yes. So I pushed AI, hoping to fold out V2’s dead money and see the rundown with V1. V2 did complain that I shouldn’t be able to push AI, but while floor was called, V2 somehow decided to fold and showed his cards, 44. A few minutes later floor came and decided that I cannot raise, so V2’s 44 is still alive.

Flop (~170): A76r

H bet 20, expecting V2 to fold his 44, but V2 decided to call!

Turn (main pot 170, side pot 40): 8
Now V2 has a GSD and given he’s not in a mood of folding, H bet 60 this time, and he called again!

River (main pot 170, side pot 160): 9
H bet 50, hoping he will see the smaller size as a cheap bluff. However, this time V2 folded his 44.

H’s hand stands and took the juicy pot down.

Thought it’s worth sharing as it’s so rare! Comments welcome on how H could play it better - didn’t really think through too much when I was playing the hand, but from a retrospective view I guess turn bet could go a touch bigger while river bet could go smaller (20ish)?

The way you played it seems fine. Pretty lol that the guy is calling into a protected pot, where even if you're bluffing he's going to lose.

2/5NL. OMC (covers all) opens for $15 in EP. 1 call, LAGtard ($560) raises to $40. BTN (Guy waiting for PLO seat, seems likely to have extra-legal income and not take this game very seriously, but only $200) cold calls.

Hero cold shoves ($653) with AA in the BB for reasons. Folds to LAGtard who calls and says something about let's gamble. Amazingly, PLO-guy folds what he claims was JJ.

V asks to run it twice.

I flop a set on the first board. He turns one, leaving himself only one out. It appears on the flop on the second board. I river the case ace to scoop.