Did I misplay QQ in final three?

[crookdimwit]

In the money at a $10+1 NL SNG last night. Got Queens in the big blind. I've been trying to heed the advice to be aggressive once you're in the money, rather than try to settle for second... But did I misplay this hand? Play it too aggressively? Not aggressively enough preflop?

(Sorry... Hand coverter having problems with my history...)

Seat 4: Bystander (3215)
Seat 9: Hero (2005)
Seat 10: Villain (2780)
Bystander posts small blind (150)
Hero posts big blind (300)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Qh, Qs ]
Villain calls (300)
Bystander calls (150)
Hero raises (600) to 900
Villain calls (600)
Bystander folds.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 3s, 5c, Kh ]
Hero bets (1105)
Hero is all-In.
Villain calls (1105)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 6h ]
** Dealing River ** : [ 4d ]
Creating Main Pot with $4310 with Hero
** Summary **
Main Pot: 4310 |
Board: [ 3s 5c Kh 6h 4d ]
Bystander balance 2915, lost 300 (folded)
Hero balance 0, lost 2005 [ Qh Qs ] [ a pair of queens -- Kh,Qh,Qs,6h,5c ]
Villain balance 5085, bet 2005, collected 4310, net +2305 [ Kc 8h ] [ a pair of kings -- Kc,Kh,8h,6h,5c ]

[tigerite]

You should have just pushed preflop

well... i'm not a pro but considering your stack size I think I would have pushed all-in after betting 45% of my stack preflop. I know QQ is strong, but in short handed there's always someone in the lower limits who will take a chance with any ace or king and so I want to put them to the test. Because you were already pot committed, once the flop came with a king you were in all-in or fold mode and based on your read of the situation you decided to push. It didn't work out this time. I'm eager to hear what others think about your play...

[grandgnu]

[ QUOTE ]
You should have just pushed preflop

[/ QUOTE ]

Although I would probably want action on this hand, but everyone is so short-stacked at that point, it's tough to make a standard raise without arousing suspicion and pot-committing yourself.

Since it's a $10 SNG, you can't give your opponents much credit for being strong players, as most won't be. I might push there, or I might min-raise hoping to get action.

[schwza]

[ QUOTE ]
You should have just pushed preflop

[/ QUOTE ]

if you pick up the 900 chips out there w/o a flop, that's plenty good enough. just push.

[tigerite]

In my experience, a push shows weakness, and a smaller raise strength, so when the time and the blinds are right I push with the less so good hands AND the premium hands. Like when SB completes to my blind and I have, for instance, TT and not too much behind, I push, and he insta calls with his lovely 'trap hand' of, er, A9o like last night. I double up, he's made to look a chump. Someone else tried to trap with limping UTG and I picked up JJ in a similar situation, he called instantly, thinking I was just trying to take his chips. Heh, wasn't he surprised. So for this reason I think a push is best. Anyway there's plenty in that pot, I'd be happy to take that.

glad to read my play here wasn't off.

[durron597]

[ QUOTE ]
You should have just pushed preflop

[/ QUOTE ]

You should be pushing like a fool any damn way with things a lot worse than QQ. So they have no reason to expect you have QQ and will call with plenty of stuff you dominate, and they are likely to have SOMETHING to call with here because they both VP$IP (voluntarily put money in the pot).

[Nicholasp27]

i don't think u are aggressive enough here

2xbb after limper and completion...should be more like 4-5x bb in this situation, which is too much of ur stack, so pooooooosh it

[me1tdown]

Not nearly aggressive enough. When villian limps in for $300 unless you read as a trap ( AA, KK -- and I don't know how you could ) you have to think he's got a least one face card. Your raise creates a situation where he needs to put in $600 to call a pot of $1350 -- to simplify lets call that 2 to 1 pot odds. I think pairing on the flop is a 3 to 1 adventure ( and I'm sure I'll be corrected /images/graemlins/wink.gif ), so a -EV call to make, but hope springs eternal at the $11s, it's short handed, K8 is better than a random hand, and your raise doesn't scream domination. So call, hope to pair his A, K, maybe Q, maybe J, and win the race. I think not pushing to elicit some action might be OK if you were sitting on AA, but at the $11s I'd just push and be happy with a call or a fold.

[crookdimwit]

Thanks for all the responses....

Most of you have echoed my thinking (or second-guessing) after the hand. In retrospect, going all-in preflop probably would have been a smarter play.

My thinking for not going all in pre-flop was that I had a very strong starting hand, and worried that since I was the big blind, I'd get two quick folds and take down only a small pot.

Or is that the name of the game with QQ? A strong enough hand to get some value for, but a weak enough hand to get hurt in a lot of ways on the flop?

Given the rising blinds and relative stack sizes, with such a strong starting hand, I was hoping to extract a few more bets from my opponents, rather than just push and take down a small pot.

[11t]

To answer your question of "did I misplay QQ 3 handed" I am going to put up a few points.

1. Seat 9: Hero (2005)
2. Hero posts big blind (300)
3. Hero raises (600) to 900

Yes, just push preflop. Folding on this flop though would make you the worse player ever although check-calling your stack off will probably snap off more bluffs/be more +EV in the long term than pushing into an overcard will.

Push preflop though man and save yourself the trouble.

[AliasMrJones]

Push preflop. Villain got lucky, move on.

[Uppercut]

[ QUOTE ]
My thinking for not going all in pre-flop was that I had a very strong starting hand, and worried that since I was the big blind, I'd get two quick folds and take down only a small pot.

[/ QUOTE ]

Adding 900 chips to your 2000 chip stack is NOT a small pot.