Correct to overbet?

I'm very new to NL and curious about a hand I played in .10-.25 NL online.


I'm on the button with AQs. MP limper (stack $20), another MP limper (stack about $11) to me. I raise to $1 (my stack=$23). BB (stack=$19) calls, both limpers call. I figured my raise would thin things a bit, but no luck. Should I have bet more? Less? Why?


Flop is Q 6 4 rainbow. BB checks, MP1 checks, MP2 bets $1 into a $4.10 pot. I figure this is the flop I wanted--I really only fear 66 or 44, right? I don't want to play against three players, I'd just as soon take this one now (correct strategy?). So, I raise $5 (the size of the pot). BB and MP1 fold. MP2 calls, leaving him with $4.


Turn is 9 of a different suit. MP2 checks and I put him all in for $4. He calls.


River is a K. He shows K6 and takes it down.


Primarily, I'm wondering about the flop. Should I have overbet the pot here? I can't believe he called a $5 raise with mid pair, so I'm wondering if another $4 would have made any difference? Was I just unlucky, or did I leave the door open somewhere when I should have slammed it shut?


Thanks in advance for any responses!

His call was wrong, so you wanted him to make it.


Would you rather overbet the pot and get him to make a correct fold, or make a bet that he'll incorrectly call?


I promise you your expectation is higher if he makes the incorrect play rather than the correct one.


Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

You played the hand perfectly and got your money in as a 3:1 favorite while making your opponent pot stuck (and thereby denying him any implied odds). That fact that he hit his 5-outer on the river is completely irrelevant.


> [preflop] Should I have bet more? Less? Why?


With regard to the stacks of your other opponents, I might have made it $1.50 ($1.35 would have been a pot sized bet) preflop to charge those small pairs and suited connectors a bit more (they are always correct to call for 5% of their stack, while 7.5% is often too expensive since they don't have position) - but this is a minor issue and others will disagree.


> Should I have overbet the pot here?


No - your bet size was just perfect: It was enough to make MP2 with his remaining $9 pot-stuck when he calls, but would still allow you to laydown when one of the bigger stacks (i.e. BB or MP1) suddenly check-raises all-in.


cu


Ignatius

"(they are always correct to call for 5% of their stack, while 7.5% is often too expensive since they don't have position)"


I am also fairly new at playing, and have been playing the $.10 - .25 PL tables. I dont know if this statement only applies to NL games, but shouldn't you be looking at the pot odds, rather than comparing your bets to your stack? I could be wrong since I've never played no limit, but I am just wondering. Thanks for any input.

No. In fact, when playing no limit the pot odds are often inconsequential. It's the implied odds in the opponent's stack that matter.


Let's say the pot is $10 and a tight, predictable opponent who can't fold an overpair now raises it to $100. You should call if you have around $1000 or more even though there's only $10 in the pot.


natedogg

nate-web@thegrovers.com

That your opponent needs to have at least as much money as you do! (I've learned that nothing goes without saying).