Flopping middle pair

[PolishSwatTeam]

How do you play this? lets say in a No limit game where the blinds are 10-20. Lets say I got QJo and i raise the 4x standard bet and 2 guys call. The flop comes KJ3 rainbow. I want to bet to see if one got their Ace but how much should I bet? Lets say the pot is at $180. i usually bet about 2-3x the BB (so about $40-$60). Is this too much? Too little?

[LSUfan1]

In the case you have shown here it would be too little. In general you want to make 1/2 to a full pot sized bet, but I am not a NL player, so I will let the experts give you all the real advice. I would say at a minimum you want to be 90 here or fold.

By all means, correct me if I'm wrong.

[slickterp]

i wouldn't be 4x raising QJo in any NL game myself, but hey. in this situation, think what would call you that would have you beat: hands like KJ (you are toast), AJ (better kicker), KQ (toast), AK (toast), etc. in other words, there are alot of hands out there that youcan't beat or have a very slim possibility of beating, so i'd proceed w/ middle pair here very cautiously. this situation is precisely why you don't PF raise w/ QJo, b/c you get in a situation where you feel you need to play it out even though there is a really good chance you are totally f'ed.

[KenProspero]

[ QUOTE ]
How do you play this? lets say in a No limit game where the blinds are 10-20. Lets say I got QJo and i raise the 4x standard bet and 2 guys call.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, first of all, what position are you in, how many have folded, and are there any other callers. How loose is the game in general. All the usual stuff.

Early position, no callers loose game, I call, tight game, I fold.

Middle position, no callers -- I probably fold this hand (yes, I'm very tight), two or three callers, I'm thinking of calling. Any raises, I fold.

Late position, no callers. I probably raise 2x-3x the bb (especially if I'm on the button) because it's a blind stealing situation. 1 or two callers, I fold. 3 or more callers, I probably call. Any raise, I fold.

However, you raised 4x on this hand (not standard to me, but whatever). I assume you're first to act. You have middle pair, with a back door straight draw. What are you trying to accomplish. With two callers, you're most likely beat, and it's unlikely that anyone who called with a King is going to fold. However, if you think your callers have either low pairs or bet on a draw, you might drive them out.

If you want to make a stab at it, try a continuation bet of half the pot, fold to any raise. You could bet bigger, but IMO, it's throwing away chips. I don't think your bet of 40-60 is going to scare away anyone who's hit top pair, and probably isn't going to scare anyone else who's called your bet.

So -- if in your game, people routinely call a 4x raise with crap, maybe it's worth the continuation bet. Otherwise, fold.