*Disclaimer* Hi, this is my first ever thread/post as a member of this site. I searched around to see if this was the correct place to post a question like this and it didn't seem like it was fitting for the dumb question - so I apologise if I've made a mistake straight off the bat. *
I'm really struggling to play well (and/or improve) in tournaments as a beginner at super-micro stakes and I thought perhaps my postflop bet sizes were a big reason for that. The only way I can think of to illustrate this is to give an example of a hand that I think I've played really badly and have therefore included a hand history in this post (also my first time trying to do so - and I can't seem to get the hand history converter to accept what I've pasted from HM3 Beta).
My main query regarding the hand below is if there is a bet size I can make that will prevent the villain from calling in this spot, as my obvious fear is the flush draw. I clearly should have let it go once the flush came but I'm trying to figure out if there's a move I can make prior to this to avoid it getting to the turn.
Spoiler:
***** Hand History for Game 18702948394 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $0.33 USD Buy-in Trny:209254231 Level:13 Blinds-Antes(1.5K/3K -375) - Thursday, June 13, 20:28:33 BST 2019
Table Big Turbo. $50 Gtd (209254231) Table #6 (Real Money)
stevie1010 posts ante [375]
nanda855 posts ante [375]
maxi1200 posts ante [375]
Deniruz posts ante [375]
HookieBookie posts ante [375]
creser111 posts ante [375]
aser11 posts ante [375]
Mr-cat posts ante [375]
Deniruz posts small blind [1,500].
HookieBookie posts big blind [3,000].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Qc, Ks, 5c ]
HookieBookie bets [25,875]
aser11 calls [25,875]
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ac ]
Your time bank will be activated in 6 secs. If you do not want it to be used, please act now.
HookieBookie bets [64,687]
aser11 is all-In [34,443]
** Dealing River ** [ 8s ]
HookieBookie shows [ Kd, Kh ]three of a kind, Kings.
aser11 shows [ 9c, 7c ]a flush, Ace high.
HookieBookie wins 30,244 chips from the side pot 1 with three of a kind, Kings.
aser11 wins 155,136 chips from the main pot with a flush, Ace high.
you win when you get all your chips in the middle when your a favorite to win the pot either by bluffing or because you currently have the best hand. just keep doing that.
Thanks for confirming that a shove is the best approach here. I often shy away from it in these situations once I have a larger stack than the rest of my table as I'm paranoid that I'm being too careless and risking my position overall in the tournament.
Taking spr into consideration makes a lot of sense. I'm very much still a beginner so I struggle to keep all of these concepts in mind, which is probably why I come across as results orientated - since my first assumption is that I've made a mistake, rather than I've gotten unlucky.
Your 3bet sizing against his stack was fine. His openraise early with 25bb with 97s is a losing play. His 3bet call is okay.
The only mistake from you at this hand is your flop sizing. You bet like 80%+ potsize which was way too big considering he doesnt have many hands to call with. With a smaller bet you would induce bluffs.
All in on the flop would also be a big mistake. Dont think about the hands which could beat you on later streets. Think about all of the hands he could have.
But as said 97s was a bad open raise from him, usually he shouldnt even have that hand in this spot. Even his call on the flop was a losing play.
You basically have 3 reasonable options on the flop.
1. Trap him with a check (since the board is a bit draw heavy its a risky option)
2. Bet 1/3 of your opponents stack to commit him and get the rest in on the turn.
3. Bet very small to induce bluffs.
By betting the flop big, your opponent will fold all his bluffs, usually fold his draws (unless hes a losing player), will also fold a few of his value hands like 88,99,..
Especially players at this level tend to call and bluff way too much. So your goal should be to give them as many options as possible when you flop a hand like that.
