Misplayed on every street

[PokerNoob]

Party Poker 2/4 (9 handed) Very loose, extremely passive table. Four unskilled players, BB is decent.

Hero has 7/images/graemlins/club.gif, A/images/graemlins/club.gif and is UTG

Hero limps, EP1 limps, MP2 limps, MP3 limps, Button folds, SB limps, BB checks

Flop(6 SB): 2/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, 7/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, Q/images/graemlins/club.gif

SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks, EP1 checks, MP2 checks, MP3 checks

Turn(3 BB): 7/images/graemlins/spade.gif

SB checks, BB bets, Hero calls, EP1 folds, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, SB folds

River(5 BB): T/images/graemlins/spade.gif

BB checks, Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls



I open limp with my suited ace since nobody's preflop raised on this table since the Reagan administration and I'm sure to get callers. This is a subtle (or maybe not so) form of tilt that I need to get a handle on. Anyway, sure enough 4 limp behind and the BB checks. The two tone flop with a Q, giving me middle pair doesn't do much for me and I ponder raising BB if he bets or just letting it go, but its checked around. The turn gives me trip sevens, but BB wakes up and bets out. To raise or call? I opt to call here, then raise the river in hopes that the army of callers behind comes along and the flush doesn't materialize, except everybody folds instead. The river doesn't look like it helps, and BB just checks. It looks as if my plans have gone completely awry. I bet out and BB checkraises! What should I do? Results later.

[Homer]

Misplayed on every street

Not sure why you say this...

Preflop - Limping is routine in a game of this texture.

Flop - I'd bet with middle-pair, top kicker and a backdoor flush draw. You are going to call a bet if you check and someone else bets, so you should bet it yourself to avoid giving a free card with your highly vulnerable hand. You'd like to get any overcards to your pair to fold.

Turn - I actually don't think calling and going for overcalls here is bad at all, given that the pot is small, the texture of the board makes it likely that your opponents are drawing at 2 outs or less (I would think that even at a passive table, most players would bet out on the flop with a four-flush), and there are four players yet to act behind you.

River - Three-bet the check-raise. You haven't done anything to this point to represent a hand better than a weak Queen. A solid BB would check-raise you here with a decent Queen and any seven.

-- Homer

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Your preflop limp is fine. I keep thinking of Dynasty's posts stressing that you *can* play Axs and small pairs in EP.

Your flop check is also fine, but i wouldn't raise if it came back to me unless the bet came from the last player to act and it was folded to me.

Raise the turn. BB "woke up" because the flop was checked around and he either has a 7 or maybe something like 88. If he has Q7 or 72, that's life. Anything but that & you have him outkicked.

He checkraises you on the river because your turn call convinces him you don't have a 7. I'd reraise him here, but if you'd raised the turn I suspect he'd bet out on the river with a 7.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Homer,

I agree with you on the preflop and river.

On the flop I think he's got too many people left to act. True he's going to call one bet, but if it's bet and raised he's not going to call. By betting doesn't he increase the chances that he'll put 2 bets in with middle pair? Plus a bet won't drive out the draws.

Now on the turn, he doesn't want the flush draws be correct in calling. Why not get it heads up with the BB?

I don't spend enough time thinking about LL hands just because I play mostly NL tourneys now. Am I thinking too much like a tournament player? You know, keep the pot small when you don't have the best of it, then when you do, make an aggressive move and try to win it right there?

I do play some ring games and I want to make sure I'm adjusting my approach adequately.

[PokerNoob]

He shows K7o and I take it down.

I'm surprised you guys like my preflop limp with A7s. If an Ace flops, I'm so easily dominated, yet tied to the pot. It seems everytime I get Ace little in the BB and an Ace flops, I get my butt handed to me. Where is Dynasty's post? I'd like to read it.

My flop non-bet I think was a mistake because of the passivity of the table. I wanted to do something aggressive there, like raise a bet from the blinds or checkraise a late position bettor to get out overcards and charge flush draws, but too often I get everybody out but the hand that beats me. As it stood, there was no pair of queens and it would have been a good move. Maybe thats overaggressive though. Just betting with middle pair top kicker is probably the right idea on a passive table, where you're not likely to get raised.

The turn call was really horrible. Who's going to come along? It appears nobody has a queen. The flush draws will come along and beat you if the diamond falls. If they are coming along, make them pay. There's probably one at most anyway. Make the original bettor pay too. I wonder how he would react to a raise?

The river call was weak. If he's slowplayed a monster or had TT, so be it. Trips and top kicker has got to be a reraise.

[biggambler]

You got the best card possible on the turn. You have trips with an Ace kicker. You have to raise. Why let anyone see the river cheaply?

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Where is Dynasty's post? I'd like to read it.

You know, it's not just one post, it's the entire gist of his commenatry on playing low-mid limit games. However, search back for Clarkmeister's "5 things low-limit players need to unlearn" for insight into playing Top pair, weak kicker post flop.

[CrackerZack]

Your limp is fine. Bet the flop, cap the river.

[slogger]

I wouldn't normally limp with this (even if a limpfest) because I'm not sure what cards (other than clubs) I want to see on the flop.

On the flop, with three opponents left to act, a bet on the flop looks a little thin, so the check isn't bad.

Technically, if you think the flush draws will be coming along for two cold anyway, then raise it up. I actually don't mind the turn call tou much in this small pot, as you'd like to get a little more $$ into this pot, and if it's raised behind you on the turn, you have a chance to go to war right then and there.

You must 3-bet the river given the action to this point, not to mention BB needs a boat to beat you. I think you can expect to be shown a set of 2s, an outkicked set of 7s, or any two-pair (though QT not likely). If BB backed into the boat, pay off his river cap.

[PokerNoob]

I searched back, but it appears to have been archived off (if it was a forum post). The archives aren't searchable as far as I can tell.