Where I'm going wrong...

So I'm slowly trying to get back into the game an relearning it if you like.

I've been looking through my HM stats it appears that my biggest losing hand type is 'Pair hands'.

So I wanted to throw out a couple of spots where I always find I have trouble and possibly am doing things all wrong.

For the examples below and for the sake of making things consistent lets assume that Villain is standard TAG but quite new to the table so no real reads.

Eg #1:

6 Max. Hero UTG AQs. Raise 4x BB. Button calls.

Flop: A 10 5

Hero bets 3/4 pot. Button calls.

Turn: This is where I get into trouble...advice?


Eg#2:

6 Max. Hero QJs on the button.

Middle position villian raises 3-4xBB, Hero calls.

Flop: Q 9 2 rainbow.

Villian bets out 3/4 pot.

Hero: Calls? Raises?

I'm trying to work on how to hand read too so any advice on what I may be able to take or should be able to confirm from these situations regards to what range I should put Villian on would be appreciated too.

Cheers guys.

Eg#1:
if the turn doesn't come a 10 or 5, i'd prefer bet again, if button's got AK, he probably would have 3bet you preflop.

Eg#2:
call. he may have you dominated, but it's also very possible that he has nothing

#1, hero bets again for value
#2 hero calls because he he's ahead and villain might double barrel.

The honest to god way to learn to hand read is to review hands and think of what ranges your opponent has and to play hands where you think about your opponents range after every action.

Learning to hand read comes from trying to hand read and thinking about opponents ranges. It doesn't happen by magic.

So my next question would be at what point should I start doubting I am behind.

Eg#1: If Villian raises the flop am I almost always behind a set/2 pair? What if its drawy? should I be wanting to reraise my top pair, call and play the turn or just fold and wait for a different spot?

Eg#2: As above, if he continues, should I bet 3 streets or check back the turn to keep the pot small vs maybe KQ/set etc?

On the topic of handreading, I find it very hard to ever rule out sets. Am I really looking for a raise to set off alam bells?

Also if top pair gets raised on the turn or river are you ever up against anything less than 2 pair, other than a semi bluff on a turned drawy card?

Any advice etc is welcome.

Once you have a fairly solid pre flop strategy there is one piece of advice essential for beating the micros.

Genius advice ITT.

in a multiway pot, if there are two flush cards on board, and you don't see anyone betting here, you can generally believe that nobody has a set or even two pairs.

but i think most of the time, what you believe is not the most deciding factor of how to proceed. It's the SPR and your hand's strength relative to the texture of board you should first consider. Sometimes it's just not the right moment to be a hero. after all, you don't need to win more than 50% of the time to be profitable

hand 1: basically, if he's got you beat he'll raise you to protect his hand from the draws...otherwise he's calling you with a worse hand and you have to bet out the turn to make sure he doesnt outdraw u on the river...make it a decent sized bet to make sure its not worth it to call for him...if you get called, then it depends on how comfortable you are firing that 3rd barrel on the river then, but most likely you will have him beat..

hand 2: to rule out that he's just c-betting, i'd raise his flop bet and see how he reacts to that...theres too many hands that he would raise in middle position with preflop and then c-bet with to steal the pot, so you have to raise...