Did I play this correctly?

[beginner]

Guys, I want to know whether I played this one correctly?

I am in later mid-pos with A /images/graemlins/heart.gif Q /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

PRE FLOP: everyone before me folds, I raise, one guy in later pos calls and everyone behind him folds.

FLOP:
Q /images/graemlins/heart.gif 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif 3 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

I check, the guy behind me bets, I raise (to see what he really has), he re-raises me, I fold.

Should I have called him, or did I play it correctly and saved myself a few bucks?

[Monty Cantsin]

No.

/mc

[onegymrat]

Dude,

I'm going to take a stab at this. It would also help if you can identify the stakes, live/online, and other helpful hints such as tight/loose, passive/aggressive , unknown type of games.

[ QUOTE ]

PRE FLOP: everyone before me folds, I raise, one guy in later pos calls and everyone behind him folds.

[/ QUOTE ]
Very nice.

[ QUOTE ]
FLOP:
Q /images/graemlins/heart.gif 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif 3 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

I check, the guy behind me bets, I raise (to see what he really has), he re-raises me, I fold.

[/ QUOTE ]
Very not nice. I play most of my hands fast. You have perhaps the most ideal situation with your hand (pf raise with TPTK, HEADSUP!), which does not warrant any clever moves. Bet the flop. You are likely to be in the lead by a lot. Realistically, what do you think he has that has you beat?

[ QUOTE ]
Should I have called him, or did I play it correctly and saved myself a few bucks?

[/ QUOTE ]
You probably lost some winnings. It is very possible for villain to have a queen with a worse kicker or even a chop. The only hand that has you drawing dead is QQ. I recommend you 4-bet the flop and lead on the turn. You need to see the river on this hand.

[beginner]

I was afraid of something like AA, KK, or 77. He did not even hesitate to re-raise me for a second. This was an online game .50/1. I'm pretty new to this (only a few months playing), and although I tripled my buy-in after two hours, I still have a lot to learn. This was not a deciding hand or anything, just that I am learning to play tight-agressive and I get myself into this situation pretty often, when I have high pair, I raise a bet and get re-raised.

I am just cautious because I've been beaten by 3 of a kind, two pairs, and higher pocket pair on many of these occasions.

Thanks!

[mrjim]

Giving them credit for those hands with this amount of information is what they call weak-tight. You have a very good hand, don't give up on it so easily. I agree w/ capping the flop and betting out on the turn and if re-raised, call down. You need to see the river with this one.

Good luck!

[shawn_p]

Just a few thoughts.
Don't forget to consider what kind of player you're up against. Does he play a lot of hands or is he a rock? Does he bluff too much or does he usually have a hand? There a few super-rocks in my regular game that will never bet or raise with less than the nuts against these players I would probably make the same laydown. But under normal conditions I agree that the line you took was weak tight.

[Vollycat]

I have not read Ed Miller's new book, but from what I gather from his posts and others that have read it, I think Ed would have certainly slapped your hand for laying this down. Reraise and, I agree with everyone else, then take his money.

[onegymrat]

Hi Beginner,

By the way, welcome to the forum. I understand your way of thinking, for I am a recovering weak-tightaholic. It takes months, if not years, to recover. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif

When you look at a situation, you must look at all the details that surrounds it. For example:

How many players in hand: 2 (very good)
Texture of the board: Q 7 3 (very good)
Position: you act first (not as good)
Action: Preflop, he only cold-called your raise (good)
What type of player is he?: Unknown (not so good)

No one can be 100% sure, but from looking at this, the chances of you being ahead is very real. Playing tight-aggressive does mean waiting for the right situation and play it hard, but are you making the most out of the hands that you are playing?

Sometimes even good players get a bad streak of luck (set over set, losing top pair to a rivered gutshot, etc.) and lose good hands and start playing scared. Even with all the beats that you described, in the long run, the strong hands that you hold and win with will far outnumber the badbeats that you receive. This can also have them playing in a style that is other than their "A" game. This is a form of tilt. At this point in your career, you need to develop a better understanding of basic theories of holdem. Without this, you won't know what is a good play and what is a bad play.

Keep racking up the hours and reading. This is the time you need to experiment a little more (.50-1.00), since the investment is still low. The worse thing that could happen is that you start winning with terrible plays, and then you move up in limits and make the same plays expecting winning results.

Oh wait, I think the worse thing is folding the winner when it is pretyy apparent that you are winning. /images/graemlins/smile.gif