5-10, identifying mistakes

loose game last night. not much aggression pre flop except for the straddler who still doesnt seem to be very out of line. mostly i played well and str8 forward.

except for a few instances.

hand 1: JTspades utg, five or more are seeing each flop with very few raises. i call, five others call (well four and the bb). flop comes 87 5 with two spades. gut shot and a flush draw. i check wanting to checkraise and trap a few players (hand will not get checked around, i am 95% sure of it) checked to button who bets, bb folds, and i raise cause thats what i was planning to do. bugt i hadnt thought about it. my raise was to trap people to build a huge pot and keep them in for when i hit. instead there was no one trapped and i knocked every one out except the better. turn flush, bet call, river blank bet fold.

hand 2: straddler sitting to my right. shes on straddle tilt, doing for four rounds now, and has won each of them. i have folded each time and am getting anxious to try out the advice from jim brier in the posts on straddel play. i get A8d and give it a shot. bad move, not a good enough hand. six callers. i miss the flop by a mile, and bet it anyway. all call. turn check river checked. straddler wins with k6d and a pair of kings.

hand 3:

straddler has won five in a row, and is a kill pot. im cutoff with black 10s. six calles and straddler checks the option. i raise, button calls, bb flods all call. good raise or bad rasie on a loose table? flop comes 985 with two clubs. utg bets out, called to me, i raise, he three bets it. called by e player with 14dollars left in front of him. i call. should i reraise? turn 7 off suit. now im openended, utg checks, mp bets all in, i complete 20 (those are the rules,i have to atleast complete a more than half bet, or fold) i thinki should raise here, try to build a side pot in case mp has a str8 and i dont hit. river J. utg bets out, i raise, and utg looks surprised and says, "ive got you beat as he calls" hes right, i didnt notice that it was the J of clubs and his Q3 of clubs takes it. i left immediatly after this hand (still up) as i realized that i just completly forgot to put utg on a hand and watch for it after he checked the turn. but comments on the other streets would be appreciated, as i feel i missed opportunities for other times when he doesnt hit.

thanks

tom c.

I think you need to pay more attention to the board and the players after each street. Don't ever make your mind up to do something until the action is on you. You beat yourself here.

In your hand 1, I'd bet the flop 100% of the time in the games in which I sit. It sets up a sweet checkraise on the turn should you hit. If I can open the betting with a good draw on the flop I usually take the opportunity.


On the other hands, you know where you are making mistakes.

Regarding hand one, you do not have position to trap players with your checkraise. to 'trap' and build pots, the checkraise should come after they have called one bet. when faced with calling two bets cold, even low limit players will fold without a big hand.


Having said that, and i suspect I will get some disagreement here, I don't necessarily think that the checkraise is a bad play here. against a large field you have only the 4th nut flush. you want players holding a single suited ace, king, or queen out and a checkraise my do it. even a k-x, or q-x suited my fold if they are very tight and believe you are representing the nut flush draw.