Need help on how to play 2 pair, feels like im losing way too many pots. I feel the need to sort of slow play it because I figure villains MUST be needing to hit outs to get ahead of me? They always hit the outs though.
I have been having this small issue as well and found that I was able to increase my winnings on two pair and reduce my risk of being sucked out by playing the two pair more aggressively, especially if I flop two pair. Your hand is a perfect example where I would have 3-bet villain to protect again them possibly chasing a 4-card straight, although that wasn't the case for them, they more than likely would have folded the 8s and you would have avoided the suck out.
Definitely, idiots chasing is when the money is made.
Maybe I have just been sucked out one too many times when I have two pair and it has skewed my thought process but I am always trying to get my money in when the hand is in my favour before it turns sour.
Playing 2 pair against regs compared to against fish is completely different. You don't want to overplay it against regs, and you want to build a big pot against fish. Really troublesome hand for me at the moment.
I c/r the flop if I flop two pair, especially if it's AJ, AQ, AK.
I have often lost chips to chasers, but as I have learnt while being here, that as long as you make the right decisions, that's all that matters!! Don't be like how I was like, results oriented, Variance will often rear its ugly head its part and parcel of playing live or online poker.
You played wrong... In this situation you should play more aggressive - not just call but raise.
Preflop - 3bet (~0.60)
Flop - bet (~0.60), not call.
+ there already was open straight on flop - so check in this situation is pretty stupid.
When you have 2 pair with a broadway type hand...be very very careful with going all in with them when the board is coordinated. Any if the flop brings you a two pair say QJ but no straight is possible yet, please for goodness sakes raise.
Look at it this way, when the flop lands this way, very little of your opponent's hand will improve in a way that makes them happy to go for 2 streets of value, if he has air type hands, he will either just fold anyway even if he pairs on turn cause broadway heavy turn board, or he will turn into a monster that crush you.
May as well charge the draws like say 9T KT and prolly AK that will definitely peel the turn and get the one street of value from Qx and if you are lucky you run into Qrag and Jrag that ran into an inferior 2 pair.
I dont understand. Playing 88 when flop is 3 overcards and still betting. Maybe a raise from you could stop him on the flop. When he see turn he`s just in his element. He`ll just bet as much as he think he can get from you. This is a hand where you`ll never fold when he dont go too big so this is what he does. This is what makes me go on tilt. It`s a bad play from your oponent on the flop but he did best on the turn after you show weakness.
Im still not sure on your play on the flop. Only way he could of beat you om the flop would of been a straight...possible. or a set, VERY UNLIKELEY how pre-flop betting went. So you should of simply open raised this on flop. Then checking it and not re-raising. You slow played it and got exactly whatyou wanted. The aggressor raised. This is where you needed to come back with a 3-bet.
Villain was a bit of maniac, as you can see from the flop bet. I didn't want to 3-bet because I thought id scare off everything. Whatever way I play this hand im getting no value though, since he has 8s. Unless he decides to start barreling to push me off just an ace. Looks like he was going down that route but spiked his 8...
Even maniacs will fold to a c/r from time to time especially on a flop like that, if he did call your raise then his would be the wrong play and he just got lucky and your play would be correct but very unlucky! Variance is a beeatch.
Need help on how to play 2 pair, feels like im losing way too many pots. I feel the need to sort of slow play it because I figure villains MUST be needing to hit outs to get ahead of me? They always hit the outs though.
2 folds, CO raises to $0.30, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.20
I don't like the flat call here. CO can still be raising loose, and AJ is strong enough to see a flop. I would be absolutely be 3-betting here mainly for information (and to raise my aggro factor so I can get called when I have AA/KK)
Flop: ($0.65) 10
, A
, J
(2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $0.34, Hero calls $0.34
This is actually not a good flop for you. The reason being is that you really can't know where you stand. Your villain could easily have J10, which would be great, or KQ which would be terrible. But if you sum up all of the things that would raise the cut off, very little of it is actually crushing you on this board. The half pot bet doesn't really narrow things down except to say he's repping something that hit the board. Which could be a lot of stuff. I think raising is really the move here as well.
Turn: ($1.33) 8
(2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $0.92, Hero calls $0.92
I don't see this 8 changing the board, except that now Q9 and 88 got there. Both of these are fairly unlikely. But it doesn't seem the villain is slowing down, so unless he's a maniac player its safe to believe he either liked the flop or got there now. All that said, there's a fair number of hands you are ahead of that take this line too.
River: ($3.17) 2
(2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $1.66, Hero calls $1.66
Now there's a flush on board too. This river has A LOT of shit beating two pair. And the guy has been betting for value the whole way down, even with the spade on board. I can't see how this wasn't a straight.. which is what seems to be implied, or some kind of combo draw. Either way the guy is value betting the river. All that said, I don't mind the call on the river, you do have showdown value with top two. And if the player is loose you might be against A9, AQ, AK or even maybe J10. But guessing by the description going in I'm going to assume you were beat.
Bringing light 3-betting, check-raises, and min-raises, as well as donk bets into my vocabulary as a hold'em player has been really helping me avoid these situations. It feels like I get rivered religiously - and for a long time I thought that it was bad luck. But in reality it was partially because I was letting the rivers get there. If I'm seeing a river and I feel I'm likely ahead before hand, I find it's perfectly fine to get folds before then.
Here's some of the reasoning:
1) If you are a favorite GET THAT MONEY IN. Long term you will be banking if people are chasing rivers. Don't give it to them cheap.
2) If the guy doesn't hit his river, he's not going to pay you off most of the time. And IF he is going to pay you off it's going to be with a big bluff. I don't know about you but I don't personally enjoy having to decide if I'm good against a big river bet/raise unless I have a nutty hand. So you're not getting extra value by slow playing.
3) If the guy folds, GOOD. You win. Get money, move on.
4) Aggression factor influences what hand requirements people are going to choose to involve themselves with you. If I have a passive guy at the table, I'm going in with any ace, connectors, low pairs, anything with equity. If I have an aggro guy at the table I'm either going in with something strong, or going in with a serious plan in how to deal with the aggression. Either way I'm folding more hands to the guy who plays aggressively post flop. BE THAT GUY. Make me play cautiously against you.
*Just for further explanation, the reason that flop wasn't good wasn't just because you don't know where you stand, but also because it's a scary flop for any hands that didn't hit. So it's hard to get paid off if you're ahead, and easy to lose money if you're behind.
Hello. I would have bet large after the flop. You cannot allow villain to enter a situation where if he hits part of his hand you cannot make the pot so large that he is in a -EV situation. The turn gives flush and straight draws and now it is too late to bet him out of the pot. On the turn villain has a 24% hand and not enough money for you to raise at least 5 times the size of the pot to force him into a -EV situation.
Hello. I would have bet the flop and go all in on the turn. The turn gives flush and straight draws that you must make -EV. The only way to do that is making the pot so large that villain is in a -EV situation. On the turn villain has a 24% hand so raise at least 5 times the size of the pot. You are ahead and need to protect your hand.
, A
(2 players)
(three of a kind, eights).
