Overplaying hands

I did something tonight which I knew was wrong and yet I did it anyway. Long story short, I called a 3 dollar bet pre-flop with 88, ended up calling 7 more I was raised and found myself against 2 10's as well as 2 fours.

Since I figure this whole forum is to help people be better, how about I explain how many levels I played this hand wrong.

(Before I do, let me tell you that this was a .25 NL table I was at, not like dollars and such.)

1. I definitelly should not have called 3 dollars with 88. Some people will likely disagree, but in my opinion this was my first bad step.

2. After the bet was re-raised to 10, I really should have got out. I am usually a fairly tight yet smart player. But for this instance, well I shot myself in the foot.

There are three things anyone should learn from this.

-Don't be calling big bets like that with marginal hands
-See pocket 8's or anything kinda similar for as little money as you possibly can (within reason of course)
-But the most important thing really, at some point we all will make mistakes. There is no doubt about that. All anyone can really do is learn from them and try their hardest not to make them again.

(As a footnoe, in the past 2 months I have increased my bankroll to nearly 300 from 60 without needing to reload. I can afford a bad play now and again as long as it is only now and again. For those of you who don't have that kind of a luxury, well take my advice and don't overplay your hand.)

A raise with a re-raise makes you a big dog....if it's a halfway decent table you have to put one of them on at least a pair higher than yours (which makes you a 4.5-1 dog) or two over cards (which is just slightly better than a coin flip).

With mid-pp you want to see flops and see them cheaply. Something over 10x BB is not cheap (the $3 bet) and even worse with 40xBB ($10).

At least you did learn from hit.

This was a lesson I learned quickly and has since paid off for me. Just last week I was on the big blind with pocket T's, had a raise from UTG and a re-raise from the button, I knew to get out...

Luckily I did...UTG had KK, button had AA. UTG was quickly dispatched.

I think it was smart to call preflop and maybe even after the flop but your opponent wanted you to call the 7 dollars and thats why he bet 3 on the floop. You have to fold after the flop.

The big mistake is calling the bet preflop. The maximum bet I call with middle pocket pairs is 4x the BB, and that is if I am heads-up in a pot against another player.

Calling 12x the BB preflop is not a good idea, especially against two opponents, but you know this, so I'm not gonna keep beating a dead horse.

88 is a good hand if you can get in cheaply and either flop a set, an open-ended straight draw, or three undercards.

You have correctly identified your problems, which is a sign of a good player getting better.

I wouldn't call any bet that is 12xbb

I wouldn't either but i'd sure call a bb bet 12 times...lol hahahhahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ha....shoot me!