$5 NLHE Full Ring: $5 NLHE Full Ring: Middle pair queen kicker. Tough spot to be in OOP...

$5 NL HE Full Ring: $5 NL HE Full Ring: Middle pair queen kicker. Tough spot to be in OOP...

Since I increased my volume I have been finding spots lilke this more often. Could I have played it a better way?

pokerstars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($2.05)
Button ($5.01)
Hero (SB) ($4.17)
BB ($4.26)
UTG ($6.78)
UTG+1 ($4.27)
MP1 ($4.76)
MP2 ($5.92)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q , K
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.05, MP1 calls $0.05, 3 folds, Hero bets $0.25, 2 folds, MP1 calls $0.20

Ok nothing too criminal so far!

Flop: ($0.60) K , 10 , A (2 players)
Hero bets $0.55, MP1 calls $0.55

Middle air on a scary board! What can I do but bet? Its one of these hands again!

Turn: ($1.70) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.15, MP1 calls $1.15

OOP again but I must bet no? Already thinking I am about to lose this hand!

River: ($4) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $2.22 (All-In), MP1 calls $2.22

What can I do now? If I don't bet then he obviously will. and Any half decent bet will have me commited so I HAVE to shove... I think :/

Total pot: $8.44 | Rake: $0.41

Results below:
Hero had Q

, K

(one pair, Kings).
MP1 had A

, K

(two pair, Aces and Kings).
Outcome: MP1 won $8.03

Again, no results, post stats, start each hand with 100bbs.

If you're going to be raising limpers OOP you need to make your bet sizing larger preflop. Your standard raise seems to be 5x from reading other threads so adding at least 1 bb per limper here makes sense.

Not a fan of your play postflop at all. After he calls the flop the worst he has is some sort of combo draw and more than likely he actually has the Ace. Cbet flop, ch/fold the turn. Also your flop cbet is on the large size. I think you will get just as many folds betting .40 on that flop as will .55.

Sorry but I had no reliable stats so went buy the average at the level is 21/8. I know I should start each hand with 100bbs but I am playing slightly under-rolled and want to limit the risk untill I break $100.

This is the sort of hand that I think I play the worst. I want to stay aggressive. Perhaps I should have anticipated the problems I would face on the flop?

It's weird because in a lot of the hands you post you give up way too easily imo and then you post a hand like this where you barrel away your stack despite almost never having the best hand.

I don't mind the raise preflop at all despite being OOP. I like treating limpers like the free money that they are so preflop is fine imo. But once you bet near pot on the flop and get called you have to slow down/stop.

BTW I hope you made a note on the villain that he limped behind/called with AK.

Why do you feel so compelled to be the turn every time?

I bet the turn when I think I am ahead to protect my hand and to build myself a pot as I believe you should usually bet your good holdings and keep on the aggressive. When I miss the flop OOP and have C-betted I will fire another barrel on the turn if I feel the turn card either doesnt help him or hits my perceived range in his eyes. I also kinda use it as a blocking bet to control the pot size since I am at the disadvantage of having to act first.

I am however coming round to the idea that check calling the turn might be a better option when OOP in a WAWB situation or when I hit middle pair and my kicker isnt great. I hadnt considered that after calling his turn bet he probably wouldnt fire agin IP on the river when checked to unless he did have the goods.

I feel these are advanced concepts (for a microstakes player) but I think its slowly sinking in....

hands where you have middle pair are not great to build pots with. Sometimes you need to keep the pot as small as you can OOP. Also, this is 5nl. Most villains aren't thinking about what you might have so there's no need to represent the ace. Just check this turn and call a small bet or fold to a big one, there's always more hands to get him. If you do want to use a blocker bet make it smaller like a half pot bet around .80 or so.

Deceitful_Frank said:

I bet the turn when I think I am ahead to protect my hand and to build myself a pot as I believe you should usually bet your good holdings and keep on the aggressive. When I miss the flop OOP and have C-betted I will fire another barrel on the turn if I feel the turn card either doesnt help him or hits my perceived range in his eyes. I also kinda use it as a blocking bet to control the pot size since I am at the disadvantage of having to act first.

Click to expand...

I think you might be misapplying some concepts. Normally, second pair isn't a hand that you want to build a pot with. If you think you are ahead, you want to get to showdown cheap, and you can't do so with triple barrels and pot sized bets. As far as protecting your hand: this isn't a situation where you need to throw chips in to protect your hand. If you have second pair and he calls your near pot sized cbet, you are most likely already beat.

Also, try not over thinking what your opponent thinks you have. Your first priority should be figuring out what he has, then proceeding from there.

Anyway, I hope I helped
Good luck