Q9s in the BB

[kwyjibo00]

Party .5/1

Cutoff-1 open-raises. Button cold-calls. Small blind folds. I call a bet in the BB with Qs9s.

Flop comes Qc-8h-4h. I check. Raiser bets. Button calls. I call.
Turn is the Jc. I check. Raiser bets. Button calls. I call.
River is the 8d, for a final board of Qc-8h-4h-Jc-8d. I bet.

Feedback appreciated.

A note: this is not necessarily my default line.

[greenage]

If you’re going to see this through I think you want to get the Button out. Bet out on the flop and maybe the PFR will raise. Of course ….

[MrBlini]

Since the preflop raiser is the most likely to bet the flop, I think it would have been better to bet out. Either 3-bet the flop or stop & go on the turn. Put some pressure on the preflop raiser and see if you can get him to slow down. If you can't, you may need to abandon this before the river. You have a marginal top pair out of position.

After checking the flop, you've got to find a way to pressure the field and find out where you stand, all the while getting bets in that pot if you happen to be ahead. Get in a check-raise or bet out on the turn. Again, if the preflop raiser doesn't slow down, you could be in big trouble.

The way you played it, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if the button hit you for a raise on the river and showed down trip 8's, having started with 98s or 87s. Nor would I be surprised if the CO, who has shown aggression all along, showed down KK or AQ. You've done nothing to chase out lower pairs and nothing to figure out whether you should play this one out or let it go.

Calling is often the worst choice, and I think simply calling the flop and turn here against two other players is a sterling example of this.