Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

$20 max. buy-in NL home game. 6 handed. blinds ar .25/.50. I have about $45. Pick up QQ in the CO. folded to me I make it $2 to go, which is my standard raise.

Button, who I have never played with but seems decent. aggressive but not crazy goes all-in (~$20)

SB (~$15) who loves to call big bets with marginal hands and gamble, calls.

I was 90% sure I had the SB beat, he would call with any decent Ace and almost any pair.

Button did not seem over aggressive, but I did believe he would make this move with less than AA or KK. How much less I wasn't sure.

Can I possibly lay down QQ here? Only 2 hands are better, only 6 hands were dealt, and I'm getting almost 2-1 on my money.

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

Call. You don't have any reads saying that he absolutely has a hand that beats you, so odds are pretty good that you're getting your money in when you're the favorite. What more can you ask for?

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

I'd call. Generally people in a home game do some bizarre things. Against good competition I'd fold.

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

[ QUOTE ]
You don't have any reads saying that he absolutely has a hand that beats you, so odds are pretty good that you're getting your money in when you're the favorite.

[/ QUOTE ]

if i have a 60% chance of being a small favorite and a 40% chance of being a big dog, i fold.

the other player being a maniac would be the reason i would call, not the fact that i thought QQ was "probably" good against the first guy to go allin.

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

Since the SB called, I would lay it down. It's probably +EV to call, but it's a lot of variance. Otherwise I would call just to see what cards he's going all-in with. Since it's a home game you'll be able to develop reads on all your opponents. Against some players its a good play to call this bet, and against others it's bad. This is a stranger, and I'd rather learn his style without risking my stack.

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

In a home game no limit i would always call with queens.. no question. in casino - no, but he could have something as pitiful as ajsuited....

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

IMHO if you think you have the best hand call. You seem unsure of the button. Against two players it may be tough to win unimproved. With your current info I would pick a different spot with the info you will receive - the most powerful element for most people is not knowing.... this is taken out of the equation since you'll get to see all 9 cards and they will not see yours if you fold. In a home game of 6 it is tough to lay this down - I say you called and lost to AA, KK or a spiked A.

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

An easy call IMO. You're getting 2 to 1 on your call, and it's only 10BB to call. With the stacks this small, you're looking to win with a TPTK type hand, which you already have.

If you had said the guy calling was a solid player, that would change things substantially. Also if you knew what hands the raiser would raise with, that would help. But based on what hands are worth raising 10BB's, QQ is an easy call.

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

Most people try to suck more out of AA and KK. $18 over the top of a $2 bet? For sure he wants you to fold. I would bet that he has medium pockets, and put you on overcards. He's hoping to take it down, or if called be even with you.

So call, watch him cringe when he shows TT, and hope crazy-man's AJ doesnt spike an A.

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

In a home game like this you are morally obligated to call with any pair. If you are winning or drunk you can gamble with suited aces and J-10 as well.

The Answer
 

was given by boris. a hell of a home game player. to this day some of my best memories are calling all my chips with aq on an ace-little-little board for something like $40 knowing for sure he had the set and not caring one damn bit. i did that two weeks running and busted his sets of eights twice. we had sam and sierra and a scrub apple tree to piss on so you could eat and pee at the same time, and natedogg had luck like a three-legged one-eared dog. life was good. 'course boris'll deny rememberin' the beats just like he can't remember dolly (clone my as s), but thems was the days.

god bless home games.

in a real game, well, i quote bobby hoff every time this comes up: "you couldn't put a gun to my head and get me to call." a man worth listening to closely.

matt

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

I think there is an even better chance you are a big favorite or a small favorite and not a big dog. . .

I think most guys look at JJ and TT the same way some of us look at KK and AA. . . IMO you call and laugh as he flips his JJ face up. . . .

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

maybe. "aggressive but not crazy" to me means "dont make a huge overbet preflop with JJ-TT etc." but i have a problem with assuming that people are tighter than they are.

Re: The Answer
 

Dolly has much love to give. Make sure you're third in line.

[ QUOTE ]
...boris. a hell of a home game player.

[/ QUOTE ]

I love you man. I think that'll be my epitaph.

Re: Baby NL Home game. Call all-in with QQ?
 

You're leaving out the times that he's going to be a big favorite(JJ and TT), which, according to his read, are just as likely as the times he will be a big dog. Furthermore, as someone else said, the all-in seems like a "go away" bet,something he's probably not making with AA or KK.