**THESE HANDS ARE PLAYED FROM MY FRIENDS PERSPECTIVE WHO I HAVE NAMED HERO. WE BOTH ARE PLAYING AT THE SAME TABLE. THE GAME IS POT-LIMIT. 100 BIG BLINDS DEEP**

HAND 1
Preflop: Hero is dealt K5 in CO seat
2 players limp, EP makes it $11, 1 player folds, MP calls, CO calls, BTN folds, SB folds, BB calls, UTG and UTG1 call.

Flop: T7Q Pot $66 - Rake
6 Players to the flop, BB, UTG and UTG1 check, EP checks, MP bets $40, Hero in the CO pots-it to $145, everyone folds and MP gets it in and CO calls.

HEROES THINKING:
My friend felt EP who had opened preflop was weak and most likely had a combination of AT-AK hands when he checked the flop. MP is loose and a very bad player and had made a very weak bet into 6 players. He felt that he could take it away from him with a semi-bluff. I didnt think he was ever getting MP to fold a Queen.

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HAND 2
Preflop: Hero is dealt A5 in MP
UTG makes it $7, 1 player folds, EP calls, Hero in MP calls, 3 players fold, small blind folds and big blind calls.

Flop: 992
Big blind, UTG checks, EP checks, MP thinks for a bit and checks back

Turn: 2 Pot is about $44
Everybody checks to MP who bets $25, Big blind folds, UTG folds, and EP c/raises to $75, MP calls.

River 9
EP checks, MP bets all in..............

HEROES THINKING:
He said he regretted not betting the flop and taking control of the hand. When the turn card peeled it didnt make much sense to him why EP who c/r the turn after checking both streets and at the time it felt like a bluff because he didnt think EP would c/raise with a 2 and would be more likely to c/call and if he has a 9 he either leads out or c/call. The river was interesting as it made it less likely EP did have a 9 so his range here is some bluffs. I argued that EP hand is a small pocket pair that didnt want to fold.

The thing about guys who play poker like this is that don't get the concept of frequency. There is no defense against a well timed bluff. But bluffing is spew if its done too often.

Hand 1: The question is why he can't get a queen to fold. If its a game/player characteristic then don't make the sem-bluff. If its because of the image of your friend that is something he can work on. Fold preflop.
Hand 2: I like the action right up to the point that your friend calls the check raise on the turn. WTH? As played the river shove into quad nines is sexy.

The MP player in hand 1 is some what of a bad player, calls too often. I guess after EP checking that MP would be bad enough to bet with any pair (thinking it was good) or any draw (hoping to take it down). On the flip side after MP betting he would never fold a queen or a draw but fold all other smaller pairs like A7 on that board but would call with a hand like AcTx maybe.

in order for hero to make such plays, he must show that he makes these same plays with a monster
if he keeps bluffing like this, wish him luck

Hand 1:

I fold preflop. I'd probably limp this behind limpers on the button, but to a raise I think this is a pretty easy fold, no?

I'm not sure how it is reasoned that $40 into a $66 pot vs the world is a "weak" bet; looks perfectly strong to me. If those acting after me were loose/passive, I might consider a call here since if we get a couple callers behind us then we're getting decent odds. But if we get a couple of callers behind us then I'm also worried that I'm not drawing to the nut flush draw. So I probably just fold. Did I mention I fold preflop?

1-2 is the kiddie game?

Between this and the other Kiddie Games thread, one thing is for certain. Your friend loves playing enormous pots, generally by voluntarily and unnecessarily making them enormous himself, with non-complete or marginal hands. Perhaps your friend should try flopping a set once in awhile. He's so far jammed pots with:

- unimproved AK hi with no draw
- a naked flush draw
- the board

At Mohegan Sun, there's a 1/1 game.

Hand 1 is a fold pf. Ed Miller actually used playing that specific hand in his latest Cardplayer Magazine article to illustrate where poker players start when learning about poker. Playing K5s to see a flop is one of the first habits to break.

Beyond that, players have to be a certain level of weakness for a c/r to work. They can't be too bad, or they'll go, "I can't fold, I've got second pair," or good enough to realize, "He's never checking to allow a free card to come with a hand that is good enough to c/r."

We don't have stack sizes for hand 2. Assuming that the pfr has over 100BB and a tendency to get sticky with TP or over pairs, I'm fine with the call pf as long as Hero knows enough to realize that TPNK is no good if he gets any action.

On the turn, I don't mind the stab at the pot on the turn. The flop is way too early to make a move. The odds are fairly good someone will have a hand. However, once there is a raise, it is an easy fold.