Hi folks, as you know, I am relatively new to poker. I feel pretty good about my game, but there is one situation, where I always feel bad about. Getting raised on the flop.
Here are some examples so that you can see what I mean.
1)Lets say you are on the Button and evryone folded to you. You pick up A
8
and decide to pick up the blinds and raise to 4$ (BB=1$) The SB folds but the BB calls.
The Flop comes 8
7
2
The BB checks, you bet out potsized to protect your TPTK and then the BB reraises.
Is he on a flush Draw, did he hit a set, called he preflop with an Overpair.......
2) Same Blinds but you are on the CO with A
T
and the Button calls your 4$
Flop: T
4
5
You bet out and got raised
What do you in this situation: Do you come over the Top with only One-Pair, do you call, do you fold....?
I knoe it depends a lot of stacks and the opponent. Lets say we are both very deep.
To the opponent I would like to hear a opnion from you better players to two different type of players: The aggressive "Draw-Raiser" and "The tight player".
So the question is, what do you do in Hand#1 and #2 against these two different players...?
Please help.
As you pointed out this is player/read dependent. Bascially in any decision in hold em you have to consider a number of factors:
1. Your read on the opponent. Are they loose or tight? Are they passive or aggressive? These are general terms but you should turn them into specifics for opponents. Sometimes opponents will be aggressive in protecting one pair hands but passive in playing draws. Sometimes the opposite. You have to know your opponents and their tendencies in certain situations. Obviously against a loose and aggressive opponent you're more likely to play your TPTK but against a tight passive player, when they raise, its unlikely your hand is best.
2. Your opponents view of you. Obviously not how you really play, but how your opponents think you play. Have you been raising a lot of pots on the button and CO? Have you been c-betting after you raise a lot? Have you folded for the last hour? All of these things come into play. Tight players sometimes make loose plays against people they think are getting out of line.
3. Recent history. This is in line with the above two, but includes things like is the villian getting bullied a lot? Are they on tilt? Have you or others been raising their blind/button a lot and now they are just playing back?
4. The villians reasonable holdings. This is based on their playing style but you use some logic to narrow down their possible holdings. For example, in the second hand, on a ten high board it would be unlikely that they would have an overpair in that spot unless they are a tricky player because the only over pairs are big pairs JJ+. If the opponent isn't tricky then I would rule out an overpair as a reasonable possibility. Some players would raise on that board with a middle pair though, like 88 or 99. Is that reasonable for your villian? Perhaps. Is the villian loose enough to call a LP bet with a trash hand like a sooooooted 7-2 or 10-5? Would they call with a suited connector like 8-7 or 4-5? Would they reraise preflop with 10-10?
5. Stack sizes. If the stacks are short you're more inclined to go with the hand and play it more aggressively. If you're deep, like in the examples you have more options. You could just call the raise and control the pot size. Or you could raise to better define your hand. Be careful being aggressive with one pair hands in deep stack situations though, because, obviously, you have more to lose.
6. Physical tells. These are pretty self-explanatory and are opponent dependent.
Its a lot to think about at first, but with practice you will find it will become second nature. Poker is a game of information so keep collecting it while you're playing and you'll be better equipped when these times come.
Or, you could just bring a magic 8 ball to the table, which i've found to be quite effective.
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