Newbie at NL.

Small NL home game. Most of the players are experienced online limit players but only one or two has played NL more then a handful of times. Anyway two hands for comments.


1)

Early in the session. 6-handed, 1 & 1 blinds and all stacks are about 50. I'm in the BB with Kd Td. UTG folds. UTG+1 limps (fairly tight player), CO raises to 5 (very aggressive player), button folds, SB folds, I call and UTG +1 calls.


Flop: Ad Jd 6c


This is a nice flop for me. 12 nut outs twice. I decided to bet 15, about the size of the pot. UTG+1 calls my 15 and pushes all in for another 30. UTG+2 folds and it's up to me. I have a big draw but I can't see him bluffing. I call. He flips over As 6s I get no help and lose.


Comments?


2)

Later in the session, 7-handed I'm the biggest stack with about 130-140. I'm in the CO with K6o. UTG folds, UTG+1 limps, UTG+2 limps, I limp in CO. Button raises to 5. SB folds, the rest calls to me. Button is probably the second biggest stack at the table with about 90 in front of him. I call his raise, figuring to flop two-pair or better or dump. 5 players in the hand 26 in pot.


Flop: Kd 6c 3d


Monster flop in my mind. Two-tone is a bit scary but overall I like the flop. It's checked to me and I check as well figuring to checkraise everyone. Button bets 20 into the 26 pot which leaves him with 60 or so in his stack. Everyone folds to me. I raise enough to set him all-in, I fully expect him to give the pot to me at that point. However, I'm lucky and he calls with KQo. No help for him and I break him.


Comments?


Sincerely, Andreas

Hand 1)


Considering the stack-sizes I wasn't to get anyone who raised me to fold any decent hand for an all-in reraise. In hindsight I feel I should have check-raised the flop. A weak ace might very well bet the flop but fold to an allin raise. Against better hands the result would probably have been the same. A "free card" isn't dangerous since I have the good draw. The way I played it I more or less never gave a decent ace a proper chance to fold and I made their play sort of mistake-proof.


Hand 2)


I got really lucky that I got played with on that flop. He told me that he though I had a flushdraw that I was pushing. Not entirely unlikeley I must admit but it's a bit to big of a raise to call even if you suspect that I'm on a flush draw. The preflop call is questionable but then again I got about 20:1 implied odds to flop two pair or trip 6s. Not having position over him in the hand really hurt. With position I could have called his flop bet and set him all-in on the turn. Without position what could I do? Call his flop bet and bet the turn? Check the turn hoping to checkraise and risk a free card? Reraise a smaller amount on the flop? I didn't like being out of position so I eliminated that disadvantage by pushing all-in on the flop.


Comments on my thinking are appreciated.


Sincerely, Andreas

1) I think you played this hand fine. Of course you need to understand that when you bet the flop most aggressive players would push you all-in with any ace.


2) I wouldn't play K6o in any position except the blinds. I probably don't go for the check-raise unless you know he is the type to bet any flop he raised pre-flop.


Ken Poklitar