Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

Villian here hasn't played many hands. He's pretty TAG with a 24.3/9.5 over 350+ hands. Preflop he doesn't raise very often, postflop it seems like he's only in if he has a hand. He hasn't shown down many hands this session though so its tough to get a great read on the types of hands he plays. My notes for him are that he's a good player and plays somewhat tricky. I felt that he might have AA-1010, or a strong Q in this spot.

The other guy in the hand was a very poor player. He would often all down with jack high on a double paired board. He would also raise on the flop with a gutshot. He has 3 bet preflop with 10 5 OS so I'm not terribly worried about him.

What do you think of my play here?

I'm pretty new to 6 max so I'm curious how the 6 max regulars would play this hand.

Party Poker 1/2 Hold'em (6 max, 5 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="#CC3333">MP raises</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Button 3-bets</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero caps</font>, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, MP calls, Button calls.

Flop: (13 SB) 3[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets</font>, MP calls, <font color="#CC3333">Button raises</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero 3-bets</font>, MP calls, <font color="#CC3333">Button caps</font>, Hero calls, MP calls.

Turn: (12.50 BB) 4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
Hero checks, MP checks, <font color="#CC3333">Button bets</font>, Hero calls, MP folds.

River: (14.50 BB) 4[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="#CC3333">Button bets</font>, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 16.50 BB

Durs

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

i just call pf and try to c/r the flop. i'm calling this down- no folding for me.

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

Looks fine.

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

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Looks fine.

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you cap OOP against 2 strong hands here? I guess SOMEONE is going to so it might as well be us, right?

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

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i just call pf and try to c/r the flop. i'm calling this down- no folding for me.

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I thought about just calling preflop, but I thought that MP would cap the majority of the time. I felt that if I capped, there was a chance he would fold but that it would also appear stronger to villian who I knew was a thinking player.

C/R on the flop is definitely a serious consideration.

Durs

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

MP could be raising w/ a lot to steal and button might know something about him and be trying to isolate. i like calling and c/r the flop because if we cap and lead the flop (and miss, btw) and are raised then we're in a ditty of a situations (what does ditty mean? i wanted to use it). the difference between calling and capping is pretty small I think- but it just depends on what kind of line you want to take.

EDIT: if we miss the flop we dont c/r it. i guess that wasn't clear.

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

I cap because I think there's a good chance that the button is raising light preflop to isolate the weak player who I'm not convinced has as strong of a hand as he normally would. Also the cap gets more dead money in preflop when the bad player is likely a huge underdog.

Given the way the hand played out I like bet/3-betting the flop here. Unfortunate that it looks like we are beaten or splitting but the pot is huge so I call down.

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

PREFLOP: I'm not sure I care for the preflop cap OOP.

FLOP: Fold to the three bet. It will save you 2.5 BB. Against normal opponents, this fold will be correct because you won't win this hand more than 1 in 6 times which is about how many times you need to win to compensate you for the times you lose. If Button is a Donk, a maniac, or tends to overplay good hands, call it down. From his stats he looks pretty solid. If you think he will bet like this with less than top pair or with a flush draw, call it down. How would a flush draw explain his preflop and flop action though, unless he A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] maybe.

TURN: If you plan on calling a bet with this heart turn which completes any flush draw, I'd rather bet and fold to a raise unless Button is a donk or maniac. Then check/call as you did

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

Assuming we miss the flop:

If we call preflop we're putting in 3sb. Assuming we miss the flop when we check raise the flop we're putting in 2 small bets and if we get 3 bet we need to call. Assume now that we have put in 6-7sb on a hand that we are probably going to release UI on the turn.

Capping preflop and opening has us putting in 5 sb, and I think that if it comes back raised (either 1 or 2 bets) we can release the hand on the flop. If we miss and its bet heavy we're drawing very thin here.

The more I think about it I'm not sure what information we gain by calling and check raising the flop. I think if we lead out on the flop and get raised and 3 bet we will have no problem releasing the hand. But if we check raise and get 3 bet we're calling to see the turn. The other option is that if we go for the check raise and its 2 back to us we can release our hand easily.

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

We don't have to check/raise the flop if we miss... I would definitely check/raise this flop though had I not capped preflop.

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

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We don't have to check/raise the flop if we miss... I would definitely check/raise this flop though had I not capped preflop.

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i didnt mean c/r if we miss. i dont think i said that. ill check. maybe i wasn't clear. i mean if we cap and we miss we still have to lead into a field w/ 2 solid hands, correct? that's why if we call and the flop is terrible for us there is no shame in folding or c/c. and can c/r if we hit.

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

A 9.5 PFR at 6 max is on the low side, and you're capping a readily dominated hand against a 3bet? I'm tempted to just fold preflop. This guy's most likely hands are TT-AA, and AK, and you're a favorite against none of those. He might have another AQ, but I don't think the typical 9.5% PFR is 3betting with AJs or KQs all that often. Even if we give him credit for 99 and 88, you're still not a favorite.

This guy capped the flop against a preflop capper. You honestly think that he has KQ often enough to call down? I think we have outs to draw on the turn, but I'm folding the river.

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

A fold preflop may have been the best move to make in the hand lol.

I felt like he might be making this play with a smaller pocket pair or AQ enough of the time to call the river getting 14.5-1. In retrospect though realizing he played aggressively preflop and continued that on the flop I should have known I was most likely beat. I kind of talked myself into the fact that I might have the best hand and called down. Interesting thoughts on the hand Wookie...thanks.

Durs

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

I call PF for the reason that the button might isolate 3-bet and AQs is not a such a bad hand.

Folding the river is very weak. He might often have AA/KK or sometimes a flush but a few times it can be A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] K that missed and he just tries to steal this huge pot or TT/JJ or K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]Q

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

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A fold preflop may have been the best move to make in the hand lol.

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Better than overplaying it preflop and on the flop methinks, building a big pot that it becomes harder to get away from as you continue to add bet after bet to this likely second best hand.

Re: Starting 1/2 6Max AQ hand
 

Posting blind:

9.5 pfr is low for 6-max. The flop is played fine, but that cap along with his relatively low pfr makes me believe I'm behind here. After that flop cap, I'm saying AA-QQ. At first thought, I'm thinking call the turn but fold the river UI. Let's see what the math says...

AA - 3 ways - 2 outs
KK - 6 ways - 5 outs
QQ - 1 way - 0 outs

That's 10 possibilities.

(3/10)*2 + (6/10)*5 + (1/10)*0 = 3.6 outs on average.

With 3.6 outs, you need ~ 11.75:1. You're getting better than that. Call the turn, but fold the river UI.

*EDIT* I know we hate folding the river for one bet in a big pot, but with those raising standards, are we ahead that often? The only remotely reasonable hand we're beating is KQ. I don't see JJ capping this flop.