Critique this hand

[minwoo]

I'm really trying to improve my MTT game. Let me know how you would have played this hand differently post flop. I say post flop because I'm pretty sure many would say I shouldn't have been in this hand in the first place. However, this table was folding pretty easily to early position PF raises and I needed to accumulate chips.

Table Multi-Table(273313) Table 7 (Real Money) -- Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: kc_cool (6725)
Seat 2: joonklee (2532)
Seat 3: formethnks (3202)
Seat 4: CaitlinN (3205)
Seat 5: SpEedFReAAK (3525)
Seat 6: Hero (4175)
Seat 7: Clean_House (3648)
Seat 8: mustplaypokr (1290)
Seat 9: Villain (5600)
Seat 10: NW_LoungeAct (1165)
formethnks posts small blind (150)
CaitlinN posts big blind (300)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Qc, Jc ]
SpEedFReAAK folds.
Hero raises (700) to 700
Clean_House folds.
mustplaypokr folds.
Villain calls (700)
NW_LoungeAct folds.
kc_cool folds.
joonklee folds.
formethnks folds.
CaitlinN folds.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 7h, Ts, Js ]
Hero bets (800)
Villain calls (800)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 2d ]
Hero bets (800)
Villain calls (800)
** Dealing River ** : [ 8d ]
Hero bets (800)
Villain raises (1600) to 1600
Hero calls (800)

[CardSharpCook]

I am fine with your PF raise. Now you've flopped top pair and lead out for 1/2 the pot. He calls. You now have 2600 chips left and there is 3200 in the pot. Turn is a rag. I'm not getting away from this hand now, and I don't want him calling anymore. I push here. If I am beaten, so be it, I don't mind dying with top pair.

Given the rest of the action in the hand, I'd say it is likely that he has you and has just value bet the river. However, I do call that river bet, but I know that I'm probably beaten unless he is betting his missed KQ draw.

CSC

[Sam T.]

I don't mind the occasional out of position raise with a hand like QJs - EP raises generally get more respect.

Bet more on the flop. By my math, there is 1850 in there(right?), and the board is lovely for drawing hands. You've got t3500 left, which makes the continuation bet painful, but it must be made (you've got TPGK for crying out loud!). t1000 ought to do it, though you are getting close to pushing time. If you never made a bet less than 1/2 the pot, you'd be doing the right thing.

Turn card is a dream come true, turn bet is terrible. Pot is over 3k, and you bet t800? He'd be right to call with A7o or overcards. You gotta push here.

Just what are you trying to do with the river bet? Either his draw got there, and you're torched, or it didn't and he'll fold. When he makes this value raise, you know which. (But you have to call.)

My two cents,

Sam

[minwoo]

Great advice. Had I been smart enough to do what you guys suggested. I would have took the pot down on the turn or have suffered a bad beat on the river. Both of which is better than the result of my play. The reason for my small turn bet was because I was scared! As I said before, this table was folding easily to early position PF raises. When villain called my PF raise in position, I suddenly assumed he must have a decent hand. I make top pair on the flop but I'm still scared...thinking he might be slow playing a overpair or AJ.

I guess my river bet was pretty stupid but the reason I made this bet (I make alot of these bets these days) is because I don't want to check and give the opponent a chance to make a huge bet at me on the river, really pressuring me to fold. When I make this river bet I often find that the opponent just calls or folds. On the other hand, there are many players who will take a check on river as weakness and throw out a huge bet (for all my chips sometimes) at me on the river.

The result of the hand? Turns out...villain called my raise w/ T /images/graemlins/heart.gif 8 /images/graemlins/heart.gif. He hit a T on the flop and called my bet. He called my bet on the turn without improving. He finally made two pair on the river after hitting a 8. So he raised me on the river w/ two pair...pretty risky for a value bet, considering I needed just a 9 to have a straight. Maybe he had a good read on me and knew that his two pair was good.

[MLG]

given your stack size/depth i think this preflop raise is pretty bad.

[minwoo]

So a PF raise w/ my stack to steal blinds is incorrect. A PF raise w/ my stack is good only if I intend to go all the way with it, correct?

[MLG]

No, steaking blinds is fine, and stealing blinds from UTG occasionally is fine too. I'm more concerned with the fact that there are a couple of stacks that have enough chips to call with a fairly wide range and make life difficult on you, and a couple of others who if they push you will be potstuck into calling. This is an auto raise, from LP, and a solid raise from MP, but you don't have enough chips to make good decisions post flop, and QJ is a hand that rarely gives you easy decisions on the flop.

[curtains]

I hate your preflop raise from Early Position. This just isn't a winning play, especially online. On the flop you are happy but your bet is too small (I'd probably just move allin, there are almost 2000 chips in the pot, and you have just 3400!). On the turn your bet is ridiculously too small and you should move allin.