This is me playing poorly

Sitting behind 49 bb, I watch UTG, with 135 BB, open to 4 times the big blind. It is folded to me in the cut-odd where, with pocket Queens, I elect to re-raise. He thinks about it and finally calls.

The flop is one of those frightening but fun flops where things can go horribly wrong when you get stacked or very right and double you up…Qc/Kc/Jh. I am way behind the Cowboys, about even with A/10, and way ahead of everything else. He comes out firing about a third pot bet.

Why would he lead out into the pre-flop re-raiser? My best bet was he had a marginal hand and/or was trying to prevent the draw at the flush. It did not feel like he hit the flop hard but more like it missed him, he thought it might have missed me too and wanted to drive me off.

I re-raised him all-in. Now he faced a decision. I was laying him about 2-1/2 to 1 to call. I had twice shown strength, re-raising pre-flop and on a dangerous flop.
What types of hands could I do that with? Considering he was under the gun, I should respect his hand and indeed I figured him for 6+, any suited Ace, and any unsuited A/J+… a pretty wide range, many of which suited his actions.

So if that was what I put him on, he had to put me I would think on a stronger range…JJ+, MAYBE suited Aces if I am loose, perhaps two face cards. The only way he is chasing me off that hand is if I have something like pocket 8s type hands.

Unless, of course, he is thinking deeper and trapping, trying to make it look like he missed the flop or hit it semi-hard and is trying to draw me in.

He ended up calling with A/Q, catching an Ace on the turn, and the river….was a blank. Nice. Scary as he had lots of outs…any Ace, King or ten gave him a winner on the river, so 8 outs. But I always like getting it in as the favorite and having my hand hold up. I actually think I played the hand pretty well, though perhaps some people would try for pot control and just call on the flop.

The problem with that approach is the turn card. When the Ace falls, it makes calling off the rest of my chips a tougher decision. With Aces up he is shoving, but at that point, I have to give serious thought to him having a straight or two pair. The 2 pair counterfeits many of my outs.

If I put him on A/10 then I am drawing to 13 outs and need to be getting 4-1. I would not be and have to fold. If I put him on 2 pair I am actually still ahead and need to call. Having him on a range where I do not know what he has means I have to guess at what is the positive EV play…and I am not good enough to figure that out.

Thus it was a case where I was better off taking a strong hand, adding the fold equity and shoving on the flop. This time it worked out.

Later on I made what I think was a completely poor play.

I have picked up a move where if I am in position and the pre-flop aggressor, I regularly make continuation bets, expecting flop calls, then raise again on the turn and have them fold. Having rat-holed a nice gain, I was sitting behind 43 bb and picked up 10h/qd.

When I am playing well I often fold that, but this time did not have the option. The button open-limped with a deep stack, the sb folded and I checked.

The flop was As/Qc/9s. Top pair, mediocre kicker. I bet half the pot, he merely calls. The turn was the 9c, adding a gut-shot. I bet half the pot…and he triples my raise. No problem, this is a clear fold.

What hands can he open limp, call the flop, and raise with? 10/J is the most likely holding, but so is stuff like A/8/ For that matter, 8/9 suited is a reasonable holding as well. Nor would I be surprised to see him have pocket 8s or pocket 10s.

Across his entire range,the only thing I am ahead of here is a semi-bluff with something like K/J. It is a clear fold. Whenever someone re-pops on a second barrel, they always have SOMETHING. Just let the hand go.

Or be an idiot, call planning to bet again on the river if a good card comes, so that is what I did. The river was the irrelevant 3s. I suppose if he has K/J or picked up the club flush draw on the turn he MIGHT fold here…but cut your losses.

Or put in a half pot bet, watch him call with A/9 and lose a sizable portion of my stack in a hand I would not even have been in had I not been big blind.

I do not hate my flop and turn raises…but the rest of the hand…I played like a chump and deserved what I got. Putting in half my stack with second pair, mediocre kicker against demonstrated strength is a horrific play I am embarrassed to have made.

Of course, making correct choices does not always have a good outcome either.

Sitting behind 68 bb, late medium position raises 3.5 times the blind with 80 bb behind. I re-pop from the button to 13-1/2 bb, the big blind, sitting behind 45 bb, repops to 30 big blinds. Then the mp calls.

Now I have a decision. The re-raise by the big blind screams Aces or Kings, MAYBE A/K on a move, but I am weighting it towards the pairs. The call is less sure…he can easily get squeezed by me as I have enough left to force him to a decision if I re-re-raise. So I figure I am behind one guy, ahead of the other, and getting about 4-1 real odds with much better implied.

I elect to call.

The flop is rags, 6d/9s/2c. No flush draw, no believable straight draw. BB raises his last 15 blinds all in, the mp flat-calls. It just screams weak to me. I figure I am way behind the big blind, but the MP looks like 10s or jacks maybe? Or maybe that is what I am hoping.

I want to get his chips, and if he called one bet, he will call another. I come over the top for my last 38 blinds, he calls, and sure enough, BB had Aces and he had…7s?
Sweet! I thought he had a stronger hand. I will most likely lose the initial bet and still come out ahead by taking his chips…until the turn is a 7.

Sigh.

I had him where I wanted him, read him correctly, and made the right move. It just failed when he hit his 2-outer.

So up and down, get down to about 26 bb when the button, with 140bb, opens 3xbb. For some bizarre reason I decide to defend with 10/9 off. But I go about it the wrong way.

To properly defend, I should re-pop here. Just calling does nothing to differentiate between someone on a blind steal with any two cards or someone with a legit hand. Now I will spend the hand out of position with a marginal hand.

Nor is there anything reassuring in the Jh/Kd/6d flop. I have the ignorant end of a gut shot straight draw…do not think I will be happy to see a Queen, either, as A/10 is certainly in the realm of possibility. I have yet to narrow his hand. I check, he bets 30xbb, and I fo….call?

What? Well, actually, I had an idea he was on a steal. I had notes on him as being pretty aggressive. I planned to see what he did on the turn and go after him on the river. It is a pretty standard play on this level to continuation bet any hand on any flop and it seldom means anything.

Sure enough, the turn is 3c, I check, he checks behind. The river is a harmless 6c, but it works well for me. The way I played this hand it is well within the realm of cards I COULD have and was just trying to see the river. So does anything with a Jack or king with weak kicker…maybe even something like Q/10.

Still, I am highly unlikely to win if it is checked down and I am not a good enough player to check-raise a pure bluff, so I bet half the pot and he folds.

In all honesty, as soon as he checked the turn it was almost impossible for me to NOT bet the river. I had twice called with nothing, I had to take a shot at winning the pot. I acted in those manners because of things I had noted him doing and it paid off THIS time.

A bit later I am utg+1 with 37 bb. The utg, sitting behind 57bb, opens to 3xbb and I look down at Ad/Qd. Ironically, this is a hand I routinely fold. Easily dominated, against a first position raiser, I am simply not a good enough player to play this hand. But this time I decide to call for whatever reason.

Everyone folds and we take a 6c/Ks/9d flop heads up. He bets the pot and, with no hand, no draw, but position, I call, planning to raise the turn after he checks and take it down. But the turn is the 7d and he goes all in. Well, that changes things, doesn’t it?

Why would he over-bet the pot here? Most likely holding is a set he is protecting but if so, it is a big set. He raised under the gun, thus representing strength. He made a standard continuation bet, but then bet 3 times the pot, all-in, so he is absolutely committed to the pot.

The only thing I can beat here is a pure bluff and I am getting less than 3 to 1 on a call, so calling based on a flush draw is a poor play. Time to fold and move on…or, idiotically, call and get stacked by the A/K when the flush draw misses.

I was not getting the proper odds, I was just hoping to "get lucky". Not a good choice.

There are times when it is good to follow up with a second barrel, other times it is not. I really need to differentiate between the two.

On my over-pair that stacked off against the suck-out set, I should more carefully consider the long-term odds. On drawing hands, I need to get BETTER than the actual odds because I usually do not think on enough levels and have secondary plan to win the hands.

So this was not an example of good play at all.