First time posting on here and looking for some feedback to help improve my game. I've only been playing for a few months with some success at the 1/2 level and any critics is greatly appreciated.
Button=$60
BB=$25
Me=$200
There were three people in the hand and I called (K-Q) from Middle position, button raises to 8 and big blind called. I raise to 25 and button goes all in, BB calls and I call. I have seen the button show a 7-2 bluff and he seems totally uninterested in the game showing random overbets and a lot of limp-calls. The BB has only been raising from Button or blinds possibly just trying to make some steals and haven't seen a hand from him in showdown.
Wondering if I should have raised from the beginning and possibly take it down then or sit back and see how the hand played out from there actions since they were so short.
Board played out 8c-9s-8h-10h-9d
Button folded without showing, I turned up K-Q and BB folded
I took it down getting lucky
KQ despite looking pretty is king-high, definitely not a hand you want to be all-in with because you are easily dominated by hands that other people might get all-in with short-stack (AQ, AK) and behind most of the rest (other ace-high, pocket pairs). You got very lucky here that your king high held up.
I fold KQ from MP at an aggressive table, cautiously limp it at a passive one. Not a fan of this hand.
Not a bad first post, but read the stickie about posting hands. Your description of the the hands lacks some fundamental information.
PF: So when you say "There were three people in the hand", I assume you mean that three people limped in front of you. Needs a better description.
Anyway, so three limpers and we limp along with KQ in MP. I don't like the limp. We need to be folding or raising this hand.
As played, the BTN raise to 8. LOL! Way too low with 4 limpers. LOL on the 30bb chip stack he has as well. The BB calls with a even more LOL chip count of 12bb calls. We decide to limp/3B our KQ after the 3 limpers ahead of us fold. Why? Did you know that they had such little stacks before doing this?
KQ plays horribly against many raising ranges because it's easily dominated and can be an reverse implied odds (RIO) hand.
Because we didn't start with a raise, we really aren't sure how to define the Button's hand. The BB, theoretically should have a stronger hand that the Button, but just because of there stack sizes, these guys likely have no clue what they are doing.
I don't really see any point in the limp/3B. I would of just called, took my KQ to the flop and got all the monies in if I flopped a K or a Q.
As played, we call 3B and of course we call the rest when the BTN 4bets. (4bets with 30bb, LOL!)
F: Doesn't matter in the hand. Doesn't matter if the BTN or the BB showed their hand.
Conclusion: Don't limp KQ in middle position. BTN and BB are clueless.
Edit: After reading other posts. I'm not sure what Thorware is talking about, but raising KQ in MP is just fine even with a few limpers in front. Not a fan of limping it at all, even if I know it will absolutely not be raised behind me. Since you are just starting out, honestly it's probably just best to fold it though. Just as Thorware said, it can be easily dominated, and many beginning players overvalue this hand and it gets them in trouble.
And I don't know what matza_ball is talking about; the limp/3B KQ from MP is horrible. It doesn't really matter if you made it bigger; stacks were too short anyway.
limping is bad, but folding is worse imo. KQ is a strong hand, I can't even fathom how people make money playing so nitty that you are just folding KQ in middle position when nobody has raised.
KQo UTG is closer, but honestly, if I'm playing in a game where I can't profitably raise KQ UTG, it's probably not a very good game.
