$11$ NL HE MTT: How did I play this hand? QQ

[ammje]

Game

Hold'em

Game Format

No Limit

Table Format

MTT

Buy-in

11$

Currency

$

Hello friends, how do you think I played this hand?

Should I c-bet? against two players I decided not to.

When I saw check-check on the flop, I decided to bet, the river I decided to bet small to get value from hands like TT, 99, 88.

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[puzzlefish]

Just looks like a cooler to me. I think you played it ok.

 

[fundiver199]

Preflop
Standard open of course.

Flop
I like your decision to start with a check here. You definitely cant get 3 streets of value with the A on the board, and QQ dont need much protection. Its kind of a way ahead way behind spot, where either someone has you crushed with top pair or a set, or they are both drawing very thin. If BTN puts out a big bet, and BB call, I would actually just fold right now and live to fight another day.

Turn
They have both shown weakness by checking now, so I think, a delayed C-bet is totally fine and standard.

River
Highly unlikely another 2 helped him, so I am fine going for another street of value, targeting mainly a worse pocket pair.

Results
When we go for thin value, we are sometimes going to value own ourself. This is just part of the game and nothing to worry about. The opponent definitely missed some value here. If he had 3-bet pre, then chances are, you would have 4-bet jammed, and he would have gotten your whole stack. So I think, its fair to say, you dodged a bullet here and actually got away very cheaply, because the opponent decided to slowplay preflop.

 

[eetenor]

Hello friends, how do you think I played this hand?

Should I c-bet? against two players I decided not to.

When I saw check-check on the flop, I decided to bet, the river I decided to bet small to get value from hands like TT, 99, 88.

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So watching action by action to address hand preplanning
Open sizing fine-

BTN and BB call -What ranges are we expecting them to have? What are the difficulties when we have a pair vs those ranges?
How much does a 3 way pot decrease our preflop equity? Does this effect our goal for this hand? If we have just one pair are we thinking our goal is to play for stacks? Do you have notes on the V's - How will those notes effect your play?

flop- Ac6s3d

Do your notes suggest V will play face up on this flop- If so how will they react to a bet? Can you increase your equity by getting one of the players to fold on the flop? Can we bet fold? Would you bet an Ax hand?
Have you studied 3 way bet sizing strategies? What sizing would a bet be here vs the wide ranges that the V's have if you had an AX

Turn 2h R is this a good card for you? Do you have the range advantage? The nut advantage? What is the nuts? Can our V have it? Second nuts?

We lead half pot why? How strong is our hand on this board? Is this the correct sizing for a marginal made hand vs 2 players?
Can we bet fold the turn vs weak players who have few bluffs? If yes are we still using half pot sizing to target what for value?

BTN calls ---again we preplan
River is a 2 what are our value targets now? What sizing do we use on this river for those targets? Do we check to call bluffs? What raises us on this river and is it always the nuts? What bluffs?
You bet 33% can you bet smaller and not induce bluffs? Are you thinking to bet fold? V calls are you expecting to see a weak AX hand?

Wow V had KK what a great result for you-you did not get stacked

 

[choprav]

Yeah think you played it jist fine - I would have done something similar. Thing is theres more than 1 good way to play every hand and also depends on what others do to your decision.

 

[puzzlefish]

So I think, its fair to say, you dodged a bullet here and actually got away very cheaply, because the opponent decided to slowplay preflop.

Wow V had KK what a great result for you-you did not get stacked

Would hero have gotten stacked here though? Once the ace is on the board, it kills the action from both undercards and any wild betting on the river would probably lead to a fold.

 

[fundiver199]

Would hero have gotten stacked here though?

For < 30 BB effective it would be fairly standard for Hero to 4-bet jam QQ rather than just call a 3-bet and then play out of position.

 

[najisami]

Should I c-bet?

That's the eternal question when an A shows up and you're holding QQ or KK. In this hand, I think your opponent would've floated there, had you decided to C-bet and probably bet the river if you'd decided to slow down on the turn. Overall, that A kind of helped you, especially that your opponent was a little weak.

 

[300HPGOD]

Jumping to the flop I think it depends on what we think of button villain. BB is going to be/should be somewhat wide with 2.2x raise and a caller in front of them so I not so worried they have the ace. I would think button definitely could have the ace but how often are they vpiping, what is their fold to c bet %? That is what I would be concerned with here with this flop decision. If we dont use a HUD or dont have a read on button then I think a case can be made for either checking or small c betting like 1000 ish. If we did have Ax on this board we would be small c betting anyway since we would be making a bet where we would not be looking for folds. The reason why I dont like checking is that would we ever check an ace here and/or has villain ever seen us check top pair on the flop? If they have then we check here since our checking range is protected but if we havent done that then button villain can easily get us off our hand which they will assume is maybe close to what it is or broadway cards. So for that reason I lean (readless) towards a small c bet and then of course even if we just get called I would proceed with caution. I also want to point out that I like FunDivers point above that if we do check here and then button sizeable bets and BB calls that we are better off folding here as by that point we know at least one of them has an ace.

On the turn as played I think we can do either bet or check again. If I bet I would go smaller than you did here by a few hundred chips and if we decided to check then I would be looking to bluff catch. I think I lean towards checking though yes we can target smaller pairs but button I think after two checks to them on the flop bets their 88-JJ there at least a decent portion of the time (results of this hand really show I know what I am talking about here lol) so I would not think they have too many large pairs.

River I am a little torn on as well. Our hand when we bet again is starting to look more and more like JJ or 1010 so I am not sure if villain is thinking that they automatically call here with 88 ish. I could be wrong on that and I miss some value at times on the river but I think if check flop, bet turn, check river our hand looks like something that can be bluffed off the pot so I might check this river and see if villain stabs at it and then plan to call. That would not have worked out well in this hand but no way we could ever really know villain had KK after flatting pre.

 

[mariale_1990]

I think I would have played it like you, but I think my dear instinct would have told me be very careful ⚠️ it's that seeing that they pay me like this and then check check would make me a little suspicious, but I also think that my overconfidence would have played against me

 

[ammje]

Thank you very much for your comments, very accurate, I will take them into account.

Just looks like a cooler to me. I think you played it ok.

So watching action by action to address hand preplanning
Open sizing fine-

BTN and BB call -What ranges are we expecting them to have? What are the difficulties when we have a pair vs those ranges?
How much does a 3 way pot decrease our preflop equity? Does this effect our goal for this hand? If we have just one pair are we thinking our goal is to play for stacks? Do you have notes on the V's - How will those notes effect your play?

flop- Ac6s3d

Do your notes suggest V will play face up on this flop- If so how will they react to a bet? Can you increase your equity by getting one of the players to fold on the flop? Can we bet fold? Would you bet an Ax hand?
Have you studied 3 way bet sizing strategies? What sizing would a bet be here vs the wide ranges that the V's have if you had an AX

Turn 2h R is this a good card for you? Do you have the range advantage? The nut advantage? What is the nuts? Can our V have it? Second nuts?

We lead half pot why? How strong is our hand on this board? Is this the correct sizing for a marginal made hand vs 2 players?
Can we bet fold the turn vs weak players who have few bluffs? If yes are we still using half pot sizing to target what for value?

BTN calls ---again we preplan
River is a 2 what are our value targets now? What sizing do we use on this river for those targets? Do we check to call bluffs? What raises us on this river and is it always the nuts? What bluffs?
You bet 33% can you bet smaller and not induce bluffs? Are you thinking to bet fold? V calls are you expecting to see a weak AX hand?

Wow V had KK what a great result for you-you did not get stacked

That's the eternal question when an A shows up and you're holding QQ or KK. In this hand, I think your opponent would've floated there, had you decided to C-bet and probably bet the river if you'd decided to slow down on the turn. Overall, that A kind of helped you, especially that your opponent was a little weak.

Jumping to the flop I think it depends on what we think of button villain. BB is going to be/should be somewhat wide with 2.2x raise and a caller in front of them so I not so worried they have the ace. I would think button definitely could have the ace but how often are they vpiping, what is their fold to c bet %? That is what I would be concerned with here with this flop decision. If we dont use a HUD or dont have a read on button then I think a case can be made for either checking or small c betting like 1000 ish. If we did have Ax on this board we would be small c betting anyway since we would be making a bet where we would not be looking for folds. The reason why I dont like checking is that would we ever check an ace here and/or has villain ever seen us check top pair on the flop? If they have then we check here since our checking range is protected but if we havent done that then button villain can easily get us off our hand which they will assume is maybe close to what it is or broadway cards. So for that reason I lean (readless) towards a small c bet and then of course even if we just get called I would proceed with caution. I also want to point out that I like FunDivers point above that if we do check here and then button sizeable bets and BB calls that we are better off folding here as by that point we know at least one of them has an ace.

On the turn as played I think we can do either bet or check again. If I bet I would go smaller than you did here by a few hundred chips and if we decided to check then I would be looking to bluff catch. I think I lean towards checking though yes we can target smaller pairs but button I think after two checks to them on the flop bets their 88-JJ there at least a decent portion of the time (results of this hand really show I know what I am talking about here lol) so I would not think they have too many large pairs.

River I am a little torn on as well. Our hand when we bet again is starting to look more and more like JJ or 1010 so I am not sure if villain is thinking that they automatically call here with 88 ish. I could be wrong on that and I miss some value at times on the river but I think if check flop, bet turn, check river our hand looks like something that can be bluffed off the pot so I might check this river and see if villain stabs at it and then plan to call. That would not have worked out well in this hand but no way we could ever really know villain had KK after flatting pre.

 

[ammje]

Thank you for your comment, very accurate.

Preflop
Standard open of course.

Flop
I like your decision to start with a check here. You definitely cant get 3 streets of value with the A on the board, and QQ dont need much protection. Its kind of a way ahead way behind spot, where either someone has you crushed with top pair or a set, or they are both drawing very thin. If BTN puts out a big bet, and BB call, I would actually just fold right now and live to fight another day.

Turn
They have both shown weakness by checking now, so I think, a delayed C-bet is totally fine and standard.

River
Highly unlikely another 2 helped him, so I am fine going for another street of value, targeting mainly a worse pocket pair.

Results
When we go for thin value, we are sometimes going to value own ourself. This is just part of the game and nothing to worry about. The opponent definitely missed some value here. If he had 3-bet pre, then chances are, you would have 4-bet jammed, and he would have gotten your whole stack. So I think, its fair to say, you dodged a bullet here and actually got away very cheaply, because the opponent decided to slowplay preflop.

 

[ammje]

I think I would have played it like you, but I think my dear instinct would have told me be very careful ⚠️ it's that seeing that they pay me like this and then check check would make me a little suspicious, but I also think that my overconfidence would have played against me

Hello Mariale, you are right, thank you for your comment.

 

[billibooo]

<3 I do always find these questions a bit tricky. Only because I am answering without understanding the table dynamic but with your position and cards; I definitely think you played it right.
I find I like the $11 dollar games better. Not that that is serious cash but I do find the players are more into the game of poker over gambling. I tend to tighten my range a bit and I always trust my gut. <3 I wonder what your gut was telling you there
This game is so great. The answers are definitely not set in stone, it is fluid. A wrong move yesterday is tomorrow's win! Woohoo poker lol GLGL on and off the felts Juan <3

 

[ammje]

<3 I do always find these questions a bit tricky. Only because I am answering without understanding the table dynamic but with your position and cards; I definitely think you played it right.
I find I like the $11 dollar games better. Not that that is serious cash but I do find the players are more into the game of poker over gambling. I tend to tighten my range a bit and I always trust my gut. <3 I wonder what your gut was telling you there
This game is so great. The answers are definitely not set in stone, it is fluid. A wrong move yesterday is tomorrow's win! Woohoo poker lol GLGL on and off the felts Juan <3

Thanks for your comment Billy.

 

[StealTheButton]

I think that your preflop raise was a little low and should have bet 2.5- 3.5x. The big blind is getting a good price to call with a lot of hands.
Let me start off by saying that the villain was a dodo for smooth calling with his KK.

So with 1 caller I am C-betting here the majority of the time. With the smaller preflop raise the big blind gets less credibility for having a hand.
But checking is definitely not wrong. You are keeping the pot small. If he has the Ace then you are beat. The only likely hands that going to pay you off that didn't pair the ace are smaller pocket pairs. The problem with checking is that is screams that you are afraid of the Ace, and the villain knows this (you could also be slow playing).

I think the correct answer is a balanced approach and there are reasons for both a C-bet and a check on the flop.

 

[feisas7991]

once he calls such big bet on the turn he is mostly on Ax and id be check folding on the river. if you bet smaller on the turn we would have room to vbet otr again.
Hope this helps and Good Luck!