$2 NLHE Full Ring: QQ in Hijack Played too strong?

[TheBigFinn]

Hero has $2.12 in the second round of play and gets QdQc in the cut off. No reads in a Bomb Pot game which tends to attract looser players. UTG+1 opens for $0.05, Fold, HiJack raises to $0.18, Hero calls, Button call, and UTG +1 calls. 4 players go to the flop and I am regretting not raising. I was surprised button called and I thought i would be in position.'

Pot =$0.72 and the flop comes Jc, Td, 2s. UTG+1 raises $0,56, Cut-off folds, Hero calls as does the Button. I don't UTG+1 hass AA or KK, given he didn't 4-bet pre-flop, although he could have JJ or TT for trips or AJ or AT for trips.

Pot=$2.31 turn comes 7c giving a flush draw. UTG+1 check with $1.39 behind. Hero shoves thinking UTG+1 will have to call an Button won;t call, Both fold.

I feel I should have raised preflop and perhaps bet smaller on the turn, Opinions?

 

[300HPGOD]

I'll start that I am unfamiliar with how bomb pots work so if Im missing something from that maybe it changes how I would play but I'll give my opinion as if it were a regular table. I think you should be 4 betting pre there since calling is going to do what it did and that is attract a lot of players to be in the pot. I would be almost certain that UTG +1 is calling if we call due to price and on top of that others behind would probably know that as well and try to get a price. My opinion on this might change if I knew something about hi jack villain but I am not sure that we do or not so I like 4 betting here and more than likely getting the hand heads up with hi jack in position with a hand we like.

The flop is weird because UTG+1 donk leads for 3/4ths pot but in this scenario I would be very happy they did so. To me, they are never doing this with JJ or 1010 since why would they try to get a fold with a set (with you I also doubt KK+)? Possibly they think hijack or you have QQ+ and are never folding but why wouldnt they just wait for that player to bet and then either call or check raise? My thinking is they specifically have AJ here and possibly KJ (which is loose but possible) and try to lead to take it down now. I also like that they did this because if my read is right then we have a built in set blocker to the J. The button is who I would be more worried about as JJ or 1010 is possible for them and a hand like 98 is possible (we block KQ so I discount that). In thinking that I am way ahead of UTG+1 and a little less worried about a set or KK+ from button I would just call here as you did and plan to get it all in on the turn one way or another.

The turn is a bad card in a sense because 98 suited is a hand I think button could call behind with. I wouldnt be worried about it enough though to alter from my plan on the flop which was to get it in here. If my math is right we have about $1.40 left and pot is over $2 so I believe your jam is correct. If they have nothing and fold then you werent getting anymore anyway. UTG+1 with their check is either giving up or checking with the nuts which I doubt they have 98 so if they have a strong hand they would have had it on the flop as well and that lead makes no sense with super strong hand.

All in all, besides 4 betting pre I think you played this hand well and did what I would have done post flop. To me, we are not checking that turn and what bet size could we make that makes sense? Betting even 1/3rd pot there is half your stack so you might as well get it in there.

 

[fundiver199]

I also dont know, what it means, that this was a "bomb pot". As far as I know, "bomb pot" is a live poker phenomenon and mean, that everyone put in some money, and then a flop is dealt. And this is obviously not, what happened here. So I will just go ahead and analyse this as a normal hand:

Preflop
This is a somewhat awkward spot with QQ. You could 4-bet, but against tight players that might fold out all the hands, you beat, and only get action from KK+ and occationally AK. So I dont hate flatting here and even less, if UTG+1 is a bad player. But for sure 4-betting can also never be really bad, and folding is surely to tight.

Flop
The donk lead is kind of weird, and right off the bat I will tend to put him on a medium strenght hand like AJ or KQ. I think, KK+ would surely have 4-bet in a multiway pot, and while TT-JJ makes sense from preflop, I think, these hands would generally be more likely to check to "trap" the opponents behind. Especially JJ since it was top set. So I feel, you are very likely to have the best hand here. I do like your decision to just call though, because if BTN now jam, and UTG+1 calls it off, then I can see letting those QQ go, since then I would assume, that at least one of them probably have you beat.

Turn
98 completed but that hand is somewhat unlikely in a 3-bet pot, so when checked to I would also get it in. Its a little difficult to understand, what they can both have, that put money in on the flop but did not want to continue on the turn, but at the end of the day you won a nice large pot

 

[LetterRip]

My thinking is they specifically have AJ here and possibly KJ (which is loose but possible) and try to lead to take it down now. I also like that they did this because if my read is right then we have a built in set blocker to the J.

That is a really interesting idea - using the read on one villains range to block the range of another villain in the pot.

 

[LetterRip]

I also dont know, what it means, that this was a "bomb pot". As far as I know, "bomb pot" is a live poker phenomenon and mean, that everyone put in some money, and then a flop is dealt.

Pretty sure it means the same here, but it is done at random some percentage of the time. So some pots are 'bomb pot' and others are not.


Here is ACRs,

When a Bomb Pot drops, all players put in extra cash. There is no preflop betting and all players get to see the flop. Once the flop is dealt, players resume the hand just like normal. Because every player at the table is in the pot with whatever two cards they were dealt you can expect the chips to fly!

[...]
1. Bomb Pots drop 4 time per hour at 6 max tables and 4 times per hour at 9 max tables.

https://www.americascardroom.eu/online-poker-promotions/bomb-pot/