3 replies to this topic

[Hiatus]

This is my first hand post. I started playing 4 months ago. I've done pretty well, working my way up the limits from 5c/10c using the 300BB bankroll rule. Things went sour a few weeks ago when I moved up to 1/2 and went on a 160BB losing streak. I know I've got some major holes in my game, particularly in knowing when to be aggressive. I'm very frustrated with the game right now. I've moved back down to .5/1 and I'm going to be posting some hands to try to get a handle on some of the fundamentals.Paradise Poker 0.50/1 Hold'em (9 handed) converterPreflop: Hero is UTG+1 with K:heart:, K:spade:. UTG calls, Hero raises, UTG calls.Flop: (5.50 SB) 3:diamond:, A:heart:, J:club: (2 players)UTG checks, Hero bets, Hero folds.I'm guessing this is too weak, but I keep getting burned in these situations and I'm always second guessing myself. Should I 3-bet? Just call? And what's the plan from here?Final Pot: 4.25 BBParadise Poker 0.50/1 Hold'em (9 handed) converterPreflop: Hero is BB with 7:club:, 8:heart:. 7 folds, SB completes, Hero checks.Flop: (2 SB) 5:club:, Q:diamond:, 3:heart: (2 players)SB checks, Hero checks.I'm never sure how aggressive to be when heads up. Should I have bet here with position, or do I really need a piece of the flop to justify it?Turn: (1 BB) 6:spade: (2 players)SB checks, Hero bets, SB calls.Is it correct to semi-bluff? The turn card doesn't look particularly scary for my opponent, so I'm not sure how likely it is that he'll fold. When he doesn't, I'm usually sorry I bet.River: (3 BB) 2:diamond: (2 players)SB checks, Hero checks.Since he didn't fold on the turn, I don't expect a bet will win this pot.Final Pot: 3 BB

[Rocketwadster]

My thoughts only:On the first hand, he check-raised you, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. He may be doing that only becuase the ace came and he is hoping it scared you (in case you had pocket kings, queens,jacks, etc). You can fold here once an ace hits (weak), call (weak also), or re-raise him back (powerful). By re-raising him back, you are letting him know that you are not scared of his ace-rag hand (at the most, or maybe he cuaght trips with a low pocket pair). If he calls, see what happens on the turn. It's only one more small bet, so it might work, no? Safe bet is to fold though, or call it down.On the second hand, pre-flop check is fine. Post-flop, check is fine, but you can raise here (only one small bet), maybe getting him to fold. On the turn, nothing wrong with a raise here (as you have a drawing hand now). River, do not bet this (if I understand an article by Jesus correctly, betting here is a common mistake that even pro's make). :wink:

[econ_tim]

Hand 1: The villain's check/raise is suspicious. If he plays ABC poker, I would call on the flop and then fold the turn unless you improve. If he is capable of checkraising with a Jack or a smaller pocket pair, you might 3 bet.Hand 2: If you're going to bet, you should bet the flop. It's not a big pot, so the SB will have to fold half the time to make the turn bet worthwhile. Checking the river is fine. Since the SB only completes, you might raise preflop and follow up with a bet if he checks to you on the flop. Since your hand is so bad, I think it is fine to check down and surrender if SB bets.

[Emptyeye]

Hand 1: Yeah, folding is weak. What to do instead really depends on your read of UTG and how you've been playing to this point--if you've been following pre-flop aggression with post-flop aggression no matter what, as you should be doing just about invariably, he may just have you on a continuation bet (Though this being Party .5/1, I doubt it), in which case you should 3-bet back at him to let him know you're not giving up just yet. If you think he's only capable of doing this with an ace, I'd still call the turn and see what he does there.Hand 2 looks good; I like the semibluff there, if for no other reason than it may confuse him if the draw gets there and you bet the river. And yeah, you can't bet the river there unless you've seen him fold there before.