PokerStars - 40/80 Ante 10 NL FAST - Holdem - 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 166.81 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
SB: 123.87 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 2)
Hero (BB): 94.71 BB
UTG: 139.44 BB (VPIP: 100.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 1)
UTG+1: 250.5 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 3)
MP: 120.01 BB
MP+1: 36.75 BB
MP+2: 128.52 BB (VPIP: 25.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 4)
CO: 153.94 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)

9 players post ante of 0 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.62 BB) Hero has Q Q

UTG calls 1 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, CO calls 1 BB, BTN calls 1 BB, SB raises to 8 BB, Hero calls 7 BB, fold, fold, BTN calls 7 BB

Flop: (27.12 BB, 3 players) K 9 K
SB bets 10 BB, Hero ???

First decision point is what to do facing the unusually large raise preflop. Then what to do facing the small CB on the flop.

K I'm about to commit a grave poker sin and put a player on a single holding. OK, so once he does that, alarm bells are ringing like crazy. It looks like the most obv ak ever, large preflop raise from sb cus he's oop and is afraid to play flops and doesn't want to play multiway so tried to take it pre or atleast thin the field, then he's like oh **** i just flopped the nuts, I'm a better just put a small bet cus I don't want to see them fold. Honestly it's the oldest donkey line in the book. I'm calling cautiously, and seeing what he does on the turn. I guarantee you'll see a line like turn bet of 15 bb then he shoves most rivers, long as they aren't like the qc or something that hits tons of draws. I'm going to fold the river cuz I'm gonna say ok.... This is too small of a bet to fold the turn, so I call. And so I'll lose an additional 30 bb I didn't need to.
Preflop is fine to flat I guess. Can also just 3-bet get it in pre cus I need a really good reason not to just let it rip, cus qq is almost always strong enough, but flatting is an ok option.

imho there is nothing tough about this spot. QQ+, AQs+, AQo+ seems to be SB's range and fd AcQc that V could also lead OTF with is blocked. fold seems to be pretty reasonable.

hi there,

first off, I don't see this raise pre as "unusually large": with three limpers villain should make a raise to at least 6 BBs, villain is OOP and makes it 8 BBs. looks big, but imho it isn't. still I agree pre is a bit tricky for hero, but i guess having position on villain and playing 94 BBs eff I'd flat too.

I'd put villain on a range of 99+, KQ+.

cbet is 37% pot, pretty standard again imo. no need to go bigger here for villain. I'd call the flop and decide. cause BTN is also in the mix. if villain gets two callers on the flop and bets again we have an easy fold (depending on turn card obv). if BTN folds the flop we are IP and will have to decide. there is gonna be a ton of turns where villain will have a hard time continuing with hands like JJ.

I think 4bet > flatting. You can’t really be certain this is only AK, KK, AA as it’s a pretty good spot to 3bet so as nny says you can see hands such 99+ KQ+ here even though not everyone will play it like this.

That being said I don’t mind a flat either as it’s unlikely you will see a lot of calls behind and then you will have position on 3better which is rather nice.

As played it’s a rather trivial call on the flop and then we can evaluate on the turn. Your hand it simply too good to fold as it’s not unlikely that villain could play TT,JJ like this or that he might have a bluff or two or that you get there with a backdoor flush sometimes if he stops betting.

If you’re playing against anyone who isn’t a super nit you’re going to get massively exploited if you fold QQ on this flop texture with this action pre and to this size on the flop.

What's tricky about this spot isn't the flop decision itself so much as the potential decisions on turn and/or river. If I call and see the turn, I'm not happy with any card that isn't a Q or club (and even with a club I have to worry about the Ac). I probably have an easy fold if an Ace falls. Other than that I'm going to have a tough decision facing a bet on basically any other card.

Let's say I call, BTN folds, and the turn is the 3d and villain bets half pot? Or if the turn is the Jh? Or 9s? Or...

I agree with this apart from it being a 3b rather than 4b.

Normally I would have 3b but the 8bb raise gave me pause. At basically 100bb deep I don't exactly want to commit 1/4 of my stack pre with QQ.

That's what you signed up for by flatting in the small blind. You opted to use QQ as a bluffcatcher, bluffcatching is not supposed to be comfortable.

And don't fold to bets that haven't been made. It's not obvious that he will barrel off, you have a clear call on the flop so call and play a turn. On blank run-outs you'll probably let it go on the turn or river IF he keeps betting.

This

I just call flop and reevaluate turn. You are not commited yet and if V bets turn i fold.

I mean , from villain´s point of view what´s your range? Your continuing flop range must be pretty strong by now and he is betting again OOP and , as you say , potentially playing for his whole stack...call me nit but i fold to a turn bet

This is interesting and it reminds me of another hand I played with QQ in my live league. I opted to flat there too and ended up folding to a triple barrel river shove on a JJxxx board, and he showed the bluff. I need to remember that when I play strong hands passively I should often be committed to calling down because I've under-repped my hand.

I wouldn't fold the flop prob and if I did then I'm hammering every bet when he checks.

Pre is fine to just flat here.