H
HeftyR
Rising Star
Bronze Level
I was playing $0.01/0.02 NLHE 6-max cash on PokerStars earlier today and I made a play where I almost immediately thought 'well that was a mistake'. I won the hand, but as I've not been playing for very long I'd like to see if people out there with more experience agree, as I think I lost myself some potential value, and also whether you agree with the line I took generally as I'm just getting into hand analysis to try to strengthen my play at the tables.
I am in the SB with Qd 7c
UTG and CO fold, HJ and BTN limp. I call $0.01. The pot is $0.08.
The flop comes Ad 7d Ac: giving me bottom pair. I'm a little concerned about being against an ace-rag hand, but with two aces on the board figure I'm likely ahead with my 7 and a strong kicker, only losing to K7 combos. I also expect that most of the time a raise here will be reraised by an Ax hand. But aces are still definitely possible. There is also the flush draw to worry about.
I bet 1/2 pot ($0.04). BB folds, HJ calls, BTN folds. The pot is $0.16
The turn comes: 5d giving me the second nut flush draw but potentially giving my opponent a made flush. I bet $0.07 giving my opponent approx. 3-1 odds to call if he's drawing to a flush. If he has the flush already I'm dead, and also if he has an ace. He calls. The pot is $0.30
The river comes 8d giving me the second nut flush. I bet 1/2 pot of $0.15. Villain folds.
My thinking for the hand is written out in more detail below. Please feel free to rip it to bits as I found this a challenging hand to know what line to take with on almost every street.
Preflop: I think limping from the small blind may or may not be a good play. While I'm very priced in with a mediocre holding like Q8o and ended up taking the pot, I wonder if this is better as a raise or a fold? Small blind play is something I'm very unsure about. On the one hand it's hard to win pots from the SB so why throw another cent in? On the other hand, PokerStars School's guide to 6-max cash suggests a very wide opening range from the SB, but honestly I just don't feel very comfortable opening for $0.10 with Q8o because it doesn't play well, particularly not in a multiway pot. But then I'm getting 7-1 odds to see the flop, and while it might be a junky holding I'm getting a good price. Any guidance much appreciated.
Flop: Out of position I'm only reasonably happy with my second pair and two diamonds on the flop, but I don't think I can check: If someone bets I really don't know where I stand, and if I bet I can either win the pot there and then representing the ace, reduce the number of people in the hand, and get some information as to whether anyone has hit, so I take the betting lead. When I'm called but not reraised I put my opponent on a 7 or a flush draw, but also think they could be playing an ace passively. This player was a calling station, so I would have expected them to continue in the hand with a worse 7, and he's only just getting the right price to call with a flush draw but this player hadn't shown much regard for odds during our time playing together, so I didn't see much point making the bet any larger as if he was drawing he would likely have continued anyway.
Turn: Getting the second nut flush draw makes it very difficult to fold the hand here, but it does mean I'm now losing to Ax, K7 and any two diamonds. I'm not very happy with this situation, but again I decide to take the aggressive line to either continue representing an ace, or a made flush. When he calls I'm about ready to give up on the hand as there's not much I'm beating unless I hit my flush on the river.
River: Yay! I make the flush! In my excitement I bet 1/2 pot again and then regret it when he folds. I'm only getting called by a handful of worse diamonds, and considering the obviousness of the flush possibility all other hands including trip aces are most likely folding here. More often than not if I get called here it's by a full house or the nut flush. As I was willing to call 1/2 pot, I think I should have checked here to induce a value bet from low flushes and trip aces.
So let me know what you think I should have done differently, and whether you think my thinking here is generally correct or whether it was a catalogue of errors. I'm new to the forum and looking to sharpen up my playing considerably, so please don't hold back (though politeness while you tell me I'm an idiot is always a bonus).
Thanks!
I am in the SB with Qd 7c
UTG and CO fold, HJ and BTN limp. I call $0.01. The pot is $0.08.
The flop comes Ad 7d Ac: giving me bottom pair. I'm a little concerned about being against an ace-rag hand, but with two aces on the board figure I'm likely ahead with my 7 and a strong kicker, only losing to K7 combos. I also expect that most of the time a raise here will be reraised by an Ax hand. But aces are still definitely possible. There is also the flush draw to worry about.
I bet 1/2 pot ($0.04). BB folds, HJ calls, BTN folds. The pot is $0.16
The turn comes: 5d giving me the second nut flush draw but potentially giving my opponent a made flush. I bet $0.07 giving my opponent approx. 3-1 odds to call if he's drawing to a flush. If he has the flush already I'm dead, and also if he has an ace. He calls. The pot is $0.30
The river comes 8d giving me the second nut flush. I bet 1/2 pot of $0.15. Villain folds.
My thinking for the hand is written out in more detail below. Please feel free to rip it to bits as I found this a challenging hand to know what line to take with on almost every street.
Preflop: I think limping from the small blind may or may not be a good play. While I'm very priced in with a mediocre holding like Q8o and ended up taking the pot, I wonder if this is better as a raise or a fold? Small blind play is something I'm very unsure about. On the one hand it's hard to win pots from the SB so why throw another cent in? On the other hand, PokerStars School's guide to 6-max cash suggests a very wide opening range from the SB, but honestly I just don't feel very comfortable opening for $0.10 with Q8o because it doesn't play well, particularly not in a multiway pot. But then I'm getting 7-1 odds to see the flop, and while it might be a junky holding I'm getting a good price. Any guidance much appreciated.
Flop: Out of position I'm only reasonably happy with my second pair and two diamonds on the flop, but I don't think I can check: If someone bets I really don't know where I stand, and if I bet I can either win the pot there and then representing the ace, reduce the number of people in the hand, and get some information as to whether anyone has hit, so I take the betting lead. When I'm called but not reraised I put my opponent on a 7 or a flush draw, but also think they could be playing an ace passively. This player was a calling station, so I would have expected them to continue in the hand with a worse 7, and he's only just getting the right price to call with a flush draw but this player hadn't shown much regard for odds during our time playing together, so I didn't see much point making the bet any larger as if he was drawing he would likely have continued anyway.
Turn: Getting the second nut flush draw makes it very difficult to fold the hand here, but it does mean I'm now losing to Ax, K7 and any two diamonds. I'm not very happy with this situation, but again I decide to take the aggressive line to either continue representing an ace, or a made flush. When he calls I'm about ready to give up on the hand as there's not much I'm beating unless I hit my flush on the river.
River: Yay! I make the flush! In my excitement I bet 1/2 pot again and then regret it when he folds. I'm only getting called by a handful of worse diamonds, and considering the obviousness of the flush possibility all other hands including trip aces are most likely folding here. More often than not if I get called here it's by a full house or the nut flush. As I was willing to call 1/2 pot, I think I should have checked here to induce a value bet from low flushes and trip aces.
So let me know what you think I should have done differently, and whether you think my thinking here is generally correct or whether it was a catalogue of errors. I'm new to the forum and looking to sharpen up my playing considerably, so please don't hold back (though politeness while you tell me I'm an idiot is always a bonus).
Thanks!
